For Wonder Woman 1984, directed by Patty Jenkins, actress Kristen Wiig gets to step into the dual role of nerdy scientist Barbara Minerva and her alter ego, the villainous Cheetah.
During a virtual press conference on Dec 8, the 47-year-old – who established her career as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2012, and then later with the blockbuster movie Bridesmaids – says her role in Wonder Woman 1984 is something she’s never done before.
“I've never played anything like this. So, it was... very scary.”
She adds: “I don't really get asked to do those kinds of things, to be honest. And I was like, really shocked and happy and, of course, felt extra pressure when I signed on.”
Despite the fear, Wiig said yes immediately because she’s a fan of the first Wonder Woman movie.
“I am like a superhero geek. I’ve seen all of the movies at the theatre. I was obsessed with the first one, ” Wiig shares.
“So, to know I was going to be in it, and that I got a chance to be a villain, and Patty believed I could do it, it was an amazing life experience for me.”
Wonder Woman 1984, starring Gal Gadot, is set in the year 1984 when the Amazonian hero is saving as many people in trouble as possible as Wonder Woman. At the same time, she’s keeping a low profile assuming the identity of Diana Prince, who works at a museum alongside new colleague Barbara.
But a mysterious object that lands in Barbara’s hands, gifts her with power which changes her personality completely.
Wiig describes Barbara as a woman that nobody sees, and when they do, she appears awkward. “Even though she’s very smart, she’s very insecure and doesn’t like herself much, so she tries too hard, which makes matters worse.”
But Wiig didn’t want to make her transformation from “a mousy girl” to a villain to be typical.
“We really wanted to (show) what is it about her that makes her so lonely and so invisible? And then what does she really want?
“So, yeah, she goes through kind of like three really big stages.”
Working closely with Jenkins, Wiig figured out each stage of Barbara’s transformation to Cheetah aided by the characters’ different looks.
“I’ve always wanted to do something like this, so it’s a dream for me to get to play her, ” Wiig mentions.
Gadot posted on her Twitter working with Wiig: “I was so thrilled to work w. Kristen Wiig, I knew she is super funny and talented but I had no idea we would have such an instant powerful connection. She made every day on set so much fun, made me laugh until I cried & made this whole experience so special to me. I love you Krissy!I
I was so thrilled to work w. Kristen Wiig, I knew she is super funny and talented but I had no idea we would have such an instant powerful connection.She made every day on set so much fun, made me laugh until I cried & made this whole experience so special to me.I love you Krissy! pic.twitter.com/Lg4oy1uIJ8 — Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) December 9,2020
Wonder Woman 1984 will start showing at cinemas in Malaysia at locations under the recovery conditional movement order. Sneak previews start from Dec 16 onwards.
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