EXCLUSIVE: Actress Gal Gadot says wearing Wonder Woman's Golden Eagle Armour is like being pregnant

Wonder Woman gets a new costume in 'Wonder Woman 1984'. Photos: Warner Bros

If there is one thing that comes across clearly during this video interview with actress Gal Gadot, it’s her affection towards Wonder Woman – the superhero character she has portrayed four times now on the big screen – the 2017 blockbuster, fighting alongside Batman twice, and now in Wonder Woman 1984.

Hence, it didn’t matter to Gadot that she had to work out rigorously at the gym every day, learn all the choreography for the multiple fight scenes, and that the filming took almost eight months to complete.

The 35-year-old admits to StarLifestyle that wearing those red-and-gold knee-high boots for the second movie was even more intense physically than for the first film.

“This time around, (director) Patty (Jenkins) really made a point about wanting to have minimum amount of CGI in the movie, which meant that we – the cast – had to do everything ourselves, ” she explains.

“And if there were things that we couldn’t do, because it was too dangerous and whatnot, then our stunt teams would take over.

“But in order to be able to do that, we had to rehearse, we had to prep.

“We had to, you know, learn all the fight sequences, we had to keep in shape for such a long period of time in order to make sure that we’re all doing it in the safest, best way.

“It was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun,” says Gadot, whose first international role was in Fast & Furious (2009), but really gained worldwide fame as Wonder Woman.

Today, the star is at the No. 3 spot in Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid actresses.

Gal Gadot gained worldwide fame playing Wonder Woman in the 2017 film. Photo: AFP

The film sees the Amazon warrior from Themyscira living among humans as Diana Prince, an artefact curator at a museum in the year 1984. But, once in a while, she dons the Wonder Woman outfit to lend a helping hand or catch the bad guys, incognito.

While she does everything she can for mankind, she still misses the love of her life, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), and often lives in the memory of her days with him back in 1918.

But Diana’s quiet, reminiscing days are about to get hectic when a mysterious object falls into the hands of Wonder Woman’s future foes: Max Lord (Pedro Pascal) and The Cheetah (Kristen Wiig).

Gadot says Wonder Woman 1984 was a chance to show the demi-god in her element, having co-existed with humans for 66 years now.

“She’s no longer the wide-eyed, fish out of water type of girl. She now understands the complexities of mankind, and actually shares the same perspective and even suffers from similar issues and problems that they’re dealing with.”

This grounded approach allows the character to be relatable despite her comic book origin. The actress, who didn’t see many strong female characters on film growing up, acknowledges the power of movies like Wonder Woman.

“I’m a big believer that when you see it, you think you can be it, and then you become it. While I didn’t have the opportunity to see all of these strong female characters, and now seeing the way that it affects my daughters... it’s so powerful.

“I feel very grateful that I have the opportunity to be a part of this.”

In a 20-minute interview, the Los Angeles-based Gadot talks about revisiting the 1980s, things she has come to appreciate during the pandemic, as well as comparing the Golden Eagle Armour Wonder Woman wears to pregnancy.

You have to look super serious opposite Chris Pine and Kristen Wiig in the film. Just how challenging was it to keep a straight face while working with them?

At times, it was very, very challenging (laughs).

We all had such a good time on set. Even though the movie was so laborious, and we shot it for eight months, sometimes six days a week on six different locations... it was very, very demanding, the light at the end of the tunnel was the people that I worked with.

Both Kristen and Chris, and Pedro and Patty, they’re all so funny and open and smart.

We had so many hilarious moments when we were on set.

Kristen and I, when we’re waiting on set to shoot a scene, we’d just film ourselves singing, saying or doing silly things. It made the whole experience very fun.

'Wonder Woman 1984' uses a lot more wire work than CGI in creating Wonder Woman's super strength.

The film is set a year before you were born. What did you enjoy about going back to 1980s?

First of all, it was a breath of fresh air after shooting the first film in 1918. That was gloomy and grey, and it was World War I.

It felt really good going to colourful sets with neon colours where the fashion, the music, everything, were to the extreme.

I think the 80s is almost a character in the movie, because it’s so present.

You have a new costume in the movie, the golden armour. What was it like to put on this rather complicated outfit?

I have a love-hate relationship with the golden armour.

It was a long process to be able to wear the costume and also have it be practical so I can fight in it. It killed my shoulder and my neck. It was a hard one.

But now that I’ve watched the movie, I’m happy that we stuck with it.

The costume, it’s like pregnancy. When you’re pregnant, everything is heavy and long, and you feel huge. And then you deliver the child, which is crazy, and then you have the child, right, and you’re so in love with the child, all you remember is the child.

So that’s how I feel about the golden armour.

Now that I’ve watched the movie, I love it. But the whole process of shooting in the costume was dreadful.

Chris Pine returns to the second film to reprise the character Steve Trevor.

Wonder Woman 1984 explores themes of greed, fulfilment and loss. How did these topics resonate with you as an actor in your journey of becoming who you are today?

I think we’re always on a journey, and I’m still on my own journey.

But I think that the themes that we’ve dealt with are very universal, and easy to relate to.

Because all of us have this need of wanting more, and it’s really about asking yourself, “When am I going to be happy and be content with what I have?”

So, I definitely found myself thinking about different things and experiences that happened in my life while I was shooting some of the scenes.

What have you come to appreciate especially during this pandemic?

You know, one of the positive things about this pandemic is, I get to spend a lot more time at home, obviously, with my family.

What I’ve learned is that, the most magical moments, or the simplest ones, are just, you know, sitting on the carpet in the living room while you’re playing with your daughter, and then she looks at you and out of nowhere, she says “I love you”, you know.

And those are the moments that fill your heart the most. So, these are the moments that I aspire to have more and more in my life.

Kristen Wiig plays a nerdy woman who gains powers through a magical artefact.

Wonder Woman and other strong female characters in films are somewhat changing how people perceive women. As a mother to two daughters, what do you want for them?

What I want for my daughters is, first of all, for them to know how much they’re loved.

Then I want them to do what makes them happy to do, and follow what they’re passionate about without being afraid to fail. Or, you know, I want them to try.

I want them to just follow their hearts and do whatever they want to do without any boundaries or any stops. I want them to enjoy life and live it to the fullest.

Do your daughters know you are Wonder Woman?

They are aware (laughs). My oldest one is nine and my youngest is three. My oldest one has seen the first Wonder Woman movie.

And, you know, they are part of the movie, I couldn’t do the movie without them. And they’re very proud. They always come to visit on sets. And we have our own Wonder Woman families that they absolutely adore.

Director Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot figuring out a scene in 'Wonder Woman 1984'.

If Patty continues to make more of these Wonder Woman movies, how much Wonder Woman is still left in you?

Look, Patty is the best partner anybody could ask for. She’s my best friend here, and I would do anything with her.

But, you know, as far as Wonder Woman goes, we need to figure out the right story. We’re always setting the bar so high.

So, time will tell. But, there’s for sure more Wonder Woman in me to play.

Wonder Woman 1984 is showing at cinemas in Malaysia located under the recovery movement control order from Dec 16.