Brie Larson believes her fitness training for ‘Captain Marvel’ broke boundaries of what it means to be a woman.
The 29-year-old actress endured nine months of intense exercise for her role as Carol Danvers – a former US Air Force fighter pilot who turns into one of the galaxy’s mightiest heroes – in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and she eventually got to a point where she was able to lift over 225 pounds and hip-thrust over 400 pounds.
Despite her physical transformation, the ‘Room’ actress insisted that the film "is not really going to look very different" because of her new found strength, although she felt it was "meaningful" for a woman to be muscular and able to "own [her] body".
In an interview with InStyle, she said: "The movie is not really going to look any different with the fact that I can actually lift 225 pounds. It doesn’t matter to anyone else, but it did to me. Breaking that boundary of what it means for a woman to be muscular and strong and own your body and use it as a tool, that felt meaningful."
The ’21 Jump Street’ actress went on to explain that she accepted the titular role was because of her character’s own sense of humanity and ability to "atone" for her mistakes.
She said: "She didn’t apologise for herself, I felt like that was a really valuable trait because she is incredibly flawed and makes a lot of mistakes … and has to ask to atone for them, and that is super valuable. She’s not ever shrinking herself down."
Brie added that the opportunity to play the first female superhero to have a stand-alone film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was the perfect way to incorporate activism into her work.
She said: "The movie was the biggest and best opportunity I could have ever asked for; it was, like, my superpower.
"This could be my form of activism: doing a film that can play all over the world and be in more places than I can be physically."
Brie Larson became a powerful woman on Captain Marvel
