Sometimes a character is so perfectly cast, an actor so uniquely perfect for a given role, that any other possibility is unthinkable in hindsight. More often than not, these unions come seemingly out of nowhere.
Hugh Jackman — immortalized in the eyes of an entire generation as the definitive version of Wolverine — was an unknown Australian musical stage actor whose role was originally written for Russel Crowe. Before he was tapped for the lead in Marvel’s Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr.’s career had crashed and burned in spectacular fashion, leaving precious few in Hollywood who were willing to give him a second chance. Although Chris Evans is the spitting image of Steve Rogers, nobody wanted to see the Human Torch from those terrible Fantastic Four movies portray the star-spangled Avenger.
And now Gal Gadot — the living embodiment of Wonder Woman — joins their ranks as the unexpectedly perfect woman for her role. Gadot was a former officer in the Israeli army and best known for her work as a model. Although she was beginning to appear in increasingly high-profile films — from a supporting role in the later Fast and the Furious movies to bit parts in the largely forgettable Knight and Day and Date Night, she was not on the public’s radar at all.
As it turned out, she wasn’t even on Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins’ radar before she was cast as DC’s Amazon superheroine. In a recent interview, Jenkins recalled:
“I remember when I read in the news that Wonder Woman had been cast and my heart sank. I had been talking to the studio for so long about doing it and I was like well ‘that’s that.’ I’m sure we wouldn’t have made the same choice. And then I started paying attention to her, and watching her and looking at her and it was just unbelievable.”
In the afterglow of Wonder Woman‘s success with both critics in the movie-going public, it’s hard to imagine somebody who could have filled out the role better. In fact, previously widespread criticisms about Gadot being too small to be Wonder Woman — frequently portrayed as a buxom and thick-framed warrior — seem ridiculous with hindsight.
While Jenkins remains quiet about who she would have liked to see in the role, she admits that Warner Bros. made the right choice. She confessed that:
“Frankly, I think they did a better job than I could have because I don’t know that I would have scoured the earth as hard to find her. I don’t know that I would’ve looked internationally. I would have just looked for an American girl. The fact that they found Gal and chose her is a magical gift to me.”
While Gadot lacks the traditional proportions of Wonder Woman, she was never a pushover in front of the camera. Although smaller, she is powerful: with a fierce screen presence worthy of an Amazon. She was able to capture both Diana’s innocence upon first entering into Man’s World and her savagery in battle, no small feel for any actress.
Jenkins, as it turns out, agrees. She admits that:
“She shares every quality with Wonder Woman and that’s no joke. It’s one of those rare things. You need someone who can appear to be Wonder Woman on screen. That’s what you’re looking for–someone who can embody all of those.”
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