Video:Watchmen - Malin Akerman Interview
with Rebecca MurrayAs Silk Spectre II in 'Watchmen' Malin Akerman's gorgeous and she kicks butt. At the 2009 WonderCon, Akerman talked about bringing Silk Spectre II to life and taking on the part of the film's main female character.See Transcript
Transcript:Watchmen - Malin Akerman Interview
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the 2009 WonderCon.
Malin Akerman - 'Laurie Jupiter'/'Silk Spectre II' in Watchmen
You are so fantastic in this movie and I love that I connect with you as a woman in this role. You connected with that part too? How'd you get into it?Malin Akerman: "Absolutely. That's actually why I love this character because all the characters, first of all, are all very human – aside from Billy [Crudup's], of course. But it's one of those things where you go, okay, I as a woman also when I was reading, I thought, 'This is a superhero film.' Usually that's male oriented, you know? Still I go and see them and I always enjoy them, but it was amazing to have this love story that gives it a through-line where the women have something to relate to - even though she's still an equal with the boys. So it's not just, 'Oh, here's the girlfriend or the wife.' This is a really tough woman who is going through a lot of different experiences throughout this film. We watch her sort of soul-searching, coming of age, finding true love, figuring out her relationship with one of her parents. It's things that we go through in life, really. So it was easy to connect in that sense because there's a lot of my reality that I could bring into it."
At what point do you just forget that it is based on a graphic novel and forget that it is a comic book character?
Malin Akerman: "I think we all did it that way. You kind of have to disconnect all the pressure of the fans, and just be concentrating. I think any time you do any kind of role you make sure that you know your source material. You make sure you know where you're coming from and then when they call action, you just play her truth and be in the moment. Because if you think on a bigger scale, you can't play a superhero genre. You can't play… So you just have to connect with that person in the moment. Although before you go on set, that's when you do your research. You make sure that you've seen the panels. It's really helpful to have a visual, just to go, 'Oh, yeah, okay, so that's her body language. She's vulnerable in this one.' So it was an amazing experience to have."
And you get to kick some ass.
Malin Akerman: "And that, which was awesome."
Was it kind of fun to just get out there and do that kind of stuff, because you don't do that in films?
Malin Akerman: "No, I don't. I do it every day in my real life, on the streets, all the time. No, that was a huge bonus. First of all, you get to stay in shape while you're shooting. But also just to learn a new craft like that was unbelievable and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to feel powerful like that. Even though it wasn't real, having 15 guys coming at you and you're knocking them down – you feel pretty amazing."
Was there actually fire behind you?
Malin Akerman: "Yes. The stunt guys actually put fire…it's basically gel…all over my back so that in case because latex could easily catch on fire. You're not supposed to be close to fire in latex. They were always very safe and never close enough to the fire. But it's definitely a bit nervewracking and it got really hot in there, but they took all the precautions that they needed to."