Black Widow is already out worldwide, both in theaters and on Disney+, allowing fans to say their final farewells to Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff. At the same time, they are being introduced to fascinating new Marvel characters with rich comic histories and infinite MCU potential.
One such character is the villain Taskmaster, who is gender-bent in the film and played by Olga Kurylenko. The actress spoke to Screen Rant about what lies beneath the surface of her character and where she’d like to the role in future films.
Screen Rant: What drew you to the role? It's such a focus spot within the film, and it's almost all nonverbal. What was it like as a performer to tackle?
Olga Kurylenko: No, I was happy to get the part because the character is super cool. There's so much to it. Obviously, I was thrilled to get on board and be part of Marvel.
It's true that the character is mostly physical. It's her nature. This is the facade and this is what she's made to be. And this is what was great to explore: that she is this cold-blooded, or seemingly cold-blooded, killing machine. Underneath, nevertheless, there is a human being and there is a person; there's a woman who has gone through a lot of suffering and who is battling the good and evil. She's confused and has gone through a lot of trauma in her life.
Marvel is known for altering their stories to make the biggest impact. Were there ever plans in development that maybe had a different path for Antonia in the film?
Olga Kurylenko: Oh, I wouldn't know that if there was. I only have the final version, of course, and that's the one I worked on.
This is a departure from the comic book version. What research did you do into the role of Taskmaster?
Olga Kurylenko: I just watched some more films. I'd seen Marvel films and, obviously, I looked the character up. But mostly I concentrated - because I knew about the revelation, and that it was gonna happen here. And it wasn't just gonna be that facade that's running around, and super strong and unbeatable and this amazingly strong villain.
That's all we know of that, but I was concentrated on the secret or what's behind that. What was I going to offer? What was going to be the surprise or the shock? And it's good to surprise; it's good to shock. It provokes feelings and emotions, and I was concentrated on the backstory of the character; of the human being who is underneath all of that.
What is driving Antonia now? If you could write a sequel for Antonia, where would you take her story?
Olga Kurylenko: Yeah, obviously, it's an interesting one. If I was to write the story, I just think I would explore her humane side and get to know her better. Because that is a more complex side, and there's a lot of contradictions. It's an amazing combination of good and evil, and I would just explore all of that further.
Essentially, we know no one is born bad. It happens very rarely if it does. So, everything is explainable. The fact that someone is somewhere at some point is all due to their history, their story, and mainly their childhood. All those traumas, and everything that she went through.
I think we're human beings and we all need love. It's just [something] humans can't live without. And when you're stripped of that, all sorts of things go wrong. And I think that everyone, even the villain, craves love. I think that secretly, sometimes these horrible doings are a way of seeking love, but they just don't know better. This is how they want to be noticed. In the end, they get hated - but they just don't know how else to do it, because they've been raised that way. But it's a cry for love. It's a cry for attention; it's cried for help, in a way.
I think it will be interesting to explore how much of that love she craves. Can she ever be loved? Can she find love? Is she capable? I would be interested in that.
Taskmaster is known for her ability to mimic fighting styles. Which Avenger style do you think is the most effective, both in the film and in the future?
Olga Kurylenko: Oh, gosh, they all have such different styles. The most effective? I'm not sure. They're all pretty good. But because Taskmaster will mirror their movements, if she fights them, for them it'll be like fighting themselves, right. It's not good for them, but it's very cool for Taskmaster to do that.
And it is an interesting thing that, whoever you put her in front of, she'll just be possessing their skills in a way. It could be cool to go through other fights with other people. That could be something very interesting.
A large part of Taskmaster's training is in full costume. What kind of training did you do and do you hope to get more physicality in the future? Or do you want to leave that up to the stunt team?
Olga Kurylenko: If there was a future, I love doing stunts. I love martial arts; I love doing choreography, and I like being expressive with my body. I used to dance so I enjoy it. And of course, if I could do as much as possible, I would.
Knowing the skills of Taskmaster, it's not just a couple of easy steps. It's pretty complicated, so that would involve some heavy training. But you know, what? If I had to do it, I'd be up to it. Because I just love it. It's so cool. I would totally train.
Obviously, in every action film, you have to have stunt doubles. Because there are certain things that just won't even be allowed to be done by actors for security reasons. But if I could do most of it, or as much as I could, I would.
Has there been talks of continuing Antonia's story at all?
Olga Kurylenko: You'll have to ask Marvel.
Oh, and I definitely will at some point. Superhero films are big right now, but this one actually flips over to things that are happening in the real world with human trafficking and things like that. What do you hope audiences take away from the bigger picture of Black Widow?
Olga Kurylenko: Yeah, actually, it's a good question that you asked. Because there are lots of messages, and there is a lot of things to take back. I myself watched it as an audience [member], and there is a lot of reflection on what's going on right now with women's empowerment.
It's interesting that you brought up trafficking, women being stripped of their rights and women being forced into doing something that they don't want to do and being prisoners. It's a big issue, and it's great that it's very clearly and well-portrayed in this film.
On the side of that, there are also very cool female characters that are strong; they got out of it and managed to get out because they have the guts. They have the power - and they have not only physical power but this internal power. It's about having strong character. As a woman watching that, it's empowering, because you either aspire to that or you identify with that. And both are great.
I think the film comes out at a very good time. It's very actual with everything that's going on with the world.
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July 17, 2021 at 12:02AM
