Appearing on THR's Awards Chatter podcast this week, Gal Gadot gave an in-depth interview where the 32-year old opened up on her rise to fame, dealing with sexism in the entertainment industry and roles that almost came her way. With Wonder Woman surpassing all manner of milestones this year to score $800m plus at the global box office, the Israeli began as a fringe player to now become a household Hollywood name.
While she modestly admits "I never planned on all of this," there is a confident assurance that she is geared up to be a mainstay on the big screen for many years to come. As she recalled, that breakout hit could have come a couple of years earlier.
GG: I Was a Nobody in 2015
When George Miller was searching for his female protagonist Furiosa for 2015's blockbuster reboot Mad Max: Fury Road, he would eventually settle on the action prowess of Charlize Theron. As Gadot recalls, her name was thrown into the mix but without the past credits to call upon, it would end up with another Patty Jenkins collaborator from Monster.
"I had so many almosts for big, great things," she remarked. "But I was never big enough of a name. It was always me and the big name (actress). By then, I was married and I already had my first daughter, and going back and forth from Israel, and dragging everyone with me, and trying and feeling the pressure of, I'm coming here, now I've gotta book something! I've gotta get a role in something. Charlize (Theron), I love. It's funny, because we have Patty Jenkins in common."
That snub a few years ago would be a devastating blow to her emotional state, fearing that a career in the limelight might have faded.
"It just came to a point where I was like, 'I don't want to do this to my family. If it's not going to work, why push it?' I was on the verge of quitting everything and just going back to Israel."
Trolls Judged Gadot on Her Physique From Day 1
Over the moon to receive a casting call from Zack Snyder, the role of Diana would emerge within the DCEU as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice went into production. Giving her a new lease of life, she would immediately be attacked online by social media trolls who did not see her as a "sexy" option.
"The thing that I really noticed was they were very judgmental and being very critical about the way that I looked," she says. "They had a lot to say about the lack of boobs and the lack of booty. Everyone was talking about, 'How come I don't have big breasts?' I never thought that this was the most important thing that Wonder Woman would have to have; I thought it would be the performance. But if you want to be realistic and if you want to be (faithful) to the truth, the Amazons had one boob, because of the bow and arrow — they had to cut off the other boob — so should we go there? What do you want me to do?"
Taking that criticism with the pinch of salt it deserved, Gadot is adamant that she is never shifting from her feminist ideals.
"To be a feminist, to me, is all about freedom of choice and equality, and I think that everyone should be feminist, and whoever is not is a sexist."
Source: THR
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