Brie Larson Interview - Will Captain Marvel Be Your Fave Superhero?

By: Lynn Barker

Actress Brie Larson has played roles in more adult-aimed indie films (Room, a very intense movie in which she played the long-time captive of a psychopath won her an Oscar) but she’s also thrilled kids and teens as a photographer who got to meet a very large gorilla in Kong: Skull Island. Now Brie joins the Marvel Universe as she takes on the iconic role of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel.

The pretty and talented actress has always been grounded, candid and friendly to reporters and her latest interview is no exception. Read on to find out what she loves about the Captain Marvel character, what it was like to work with a cute cat in the film although she is allergic, her strength training, love of the strong female friendship that centers the film and much more! 

Captain Marvel Trailer

Q: Brie, why do you love Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel?

• Brie:  There’s a lot to love about her, which is why I was really excited to do this; in particular, the idea of playing a female superhero because my interest is in female complexity; I was a little worried about playing a superhero that would be perfect because I don’t feel like that’s realistic, or something aspirational at all. (I loved) getting to play a character where the whole character arc is watching her be this major risk taker, which means it’s not always going to work out the best. Those are the defining moments of her character, where she doesn’t lay down, she gets back up. That’s everything.  That’s for everybody.  There isn’t a person who can’t relate to that, I don’t think.

Q: So true. She gets back up. She looks so great using her powers too.

• Brie: Well, you could just see this beautiful finished product where I look great, maybe… in your opinion, but you don’t know all the other takes that are on the cutting room floor where sometimes I physically landed on my face doing stunts and sometimes I just do a bad take.  It’s just how it goes.

Q: You make her look like the strongest being in the galaxy. Was there that day when you just didn’t feel like getting back up?

• Brie:  Yeah, all the time! You’ve been training for that many hours every day for nine months, like every day, I was just like, I’m amazing. I sobbed in the gym many times.  My trainer would be like, ‘Oh, she’s crying again’.  It’s very emotional when you’re kind of stirring up something very vulnerable and raw inside of you and you’re also learning that it’s just for you; there was nothing for me to prove.  I wasn’t proving it to other people at the gym.  I certainly wasn’t proving it to my trainer, because he was never going to be fully impressed; it’s his job to not be impressed.  It was for myself.

Q: And what did you learn about yourself?

• Brie: The main reason for doing it was so that in moments like this when we’re talking about Carol’s strength and what I learned from her, it’s that I’m stronger than I realized.  Of course this movie is assisted with the VFX, because I can’t personally shoot photon blasts.  There’s not enough prep in the world for me to do that (laughter) but I will figure it out if there’s a way.  But I can stand here and say that I am really strong; I was able to dead-lift 225 pounds; I was able to hip-thrust 400 pounds.  I was able to push my trainer’s 5000-pound Jeep up a hill for 60 seconds. The female body is capable of a lot, you know.

Q: What drew Carol to fellow pilot Maria? They were and are such BFFs and both bad-asses.

• Brie: I think you’re right.  I think what they’ve gone through together, going through military training together, being the only women and then using each other to lean on through that type of support and a recognition of their experience is really special. I think they would have been friends outside of that experience but I think that that’s a really tight-knit bond that they have and they’re family. This is the love lost.  This is the love found again.  This is the reason to continue fighting and to go to the ends of the earth for the person, the thing that you love.

Q: They are besties and also Carol has a relationship with Maria and her tween daughter.

• Brie: Yes. It’s her best friend and best friend’s daughter which to me is so natural. That love is so strong. The movie shifts when (Lashana as Maria) is onscreen.  There’s a level of power that she commands. A lot of people were tearing up talking about some of the speeches that she gives. I felt like she was talking to me.  She was reminding me of myself.

Q: Let’s lighten up. What thing, song, etc. from the 1990’s do you wish was back now?

• Brie: Butterfly clips (in your hair).

Q: Totally! Those were so cute.  How did you prepare for playing Carol and Captain Marvel?

• Brie: Usually I prep for a really long time to put myself in the feeling or in the experiences of the character to see how I react and try to become her. It’s usually my mom that points it out, where she’s like, ‘Well, I think you’re turning into somebody else’.  I’m like, ‘No I’m not’, and then two weeks later I’m like, ‘Oh, shoot, I’m Carol now’.  It’s always a little delayed for me because I never want to feel like I have it or that I know her.  It always feels a little elusive to me. You can keep trying and keep searching every day for a year. If you feel like you’ve arrived then it’s kind of game over. 

Q: What was a lesson or what did you take away from making this movie?

• Brie: I realized that I was stronger than I realized, which was crazy, because I knew I was really strong.

Q: The cat in the movie was played by real cats, one named Reggie and a few CGI ones and a puppet. Aren’t you allergic to cats?

• Brie: I’m severely allergic but we could work together. Reggie wasn’t a diva. Just to be clear, the other three cats were more like Reggie’s stunt doubles. I got in trouble because I ran screaming right next to a cat and they’re like, ‘The cat’s working right now’. That was my one very unprofessional moment.

See Brie as Captain Marvel in theaters now!

Let’s Hear from You!

Have you watched Brie Larson in films like Kong Skull Island?  What would you most like to see a female superhero do? Are you happy to see such a strong hero, male or female in the Marvel Universe? Talk all things Marvel, Brie etc. by leaving a comment or writing about it on your Kidzworld profile page.