With the movie Heart of Stone about to be released, the actress and producer is proactively embracing her future.
Gal Gadot can’t sit still, both literally and figuratively. During a Zoom call from her sunny Los Angeles home, the Israeli actress did everything to emphasize her words, waving her hands, rubbing her chin, even stroking her face without hesitation, about her shoulders. acting as heroes in action movies to villains in Disney movies. 38-year-old actress who rose to global fame after the 2017 film Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot admits she has a hard time relaxing. She shared: “I can’t sit still. Either I give birth to a baby, or I’m pregnant with some project. I feel life is too short, and I want to devour everything.”
As an actress, producer, businesswoman, wife and mother, Gadot’s day rotates between different positions and roles. Currently, she is acting in and also producing Netflix’s thriller Heart of Stone, which is currently in preparation for release. In it, Gadot plays Rachel Stone, an intelligence agent tasked with rescuing the most valuable asset of a supranational organization; Gadot nurtured the project from concept to conception.
After Wonder Woman, Gadot’s vitality comes from actively participating in every project. Not only was she deeply involved in the production of Heart of Stone, or founded the Goodles brand that specializes in making healthy Mac & Cheese, but she also made great leaps in acting, entering the “villain era”. ” with the live-action musical Snow White with director Marc Webb and co-star Rachel Zegler (and those are just a few of the projects she could mention…)
Gadot shared with L’OFFICIEL about her upcoming plans, “imposter” syndrome and the responsibility of continuing the legacy of her grandfather, who survived the Holocaust.
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You recently voiced a video at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, where your grandfather returned alive. How did you feel during this process?
Where do I start? I went into the project without any concerns. Steven Spielberg’s organization [Righteous Persons Foundation] reached out and asked if I could do it. I don’t even know what I’m about to narrate. I didn’t know they were going to play that [at Auschwitz]. Grandfather lost his whole family there. Imagine when he was 14 years old, someone whispered in his ear, saying that a few decades later his granddaughter would tell the stories that happened in this hellish place… it really made me stunned. . For a long time, he never talked about it – That memory was too painful. When his grandmother passed away, I think he realized the brevity of life, that everything comes to an end. He opened up and told us the whole story.
Obviously, that experience brought a lot of trauma. He overcame it with love, forgiveness, by admonishing people to be good people so that such things never happen again, and with compassion. Grandpa is like the cutest teddy bear in the world, with smiling eyes and not a single gram of anger or frustration. I feel very lucky for this opportunity, and to be able to complete the trip with my grandfather.
Grandchild of a survivor – What a precious legacy to carry on. There are so many similar stories that have disappeared.
Yes, I feel the same way. I think the human soul never really changes. I think love, compassion, acceptance, and community—all of these ideas will make society better. No division, no hatred, no fear, no jealousy. These things will truly move us towards a better life.
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Not only do you play the lead role, but you are also responsible for producing Heart of Stone. From a production and acting perspective, what is interesting about this project?
The whole idea of starting a production company with my husband [Jaron Versano] was to control my own destiny. I’m not the type of person who likes to sit and wait for new movie offers. Heart of Stone was one of our first ideas. I realize, we often think of female audiences as the main target of films revolving around women. Wonder Woman proves that universal storylines can still work well. But at that time I felt there was still a lack of action movies aimed at all audiences, gritty, with female protagonists that were more raw and relatable than a polished hero movie.
Usually, as an actor, you get a script and you can discuss it with the filmmaker, but that’s it. On the one hand, everything comes very easily; you don’t have to worry about anything. But when you create something with your own hands from scratch, it feels really stimulating and interesting.
How do you feel about working together with your husband?
Most people raised their eyebrows when they heard this. Everything depends on the dynamics of the relationship. I’m in the same boat as Jaron. He contributed from the business side, and we had a great opportunity for him to sell his entire [real estate] portfolio in Tel Aviv. At that time, he could choose to continue with the real estate industry, or work with me. I said “let’s work together,” because he was the missing piece. Jaron has a business mind, and who can manage my interests better than my partner?
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What stands out about [the character] Rachel Stone is her compassion to the point of frustration. What attracted you to this character?
I really wanted to portray a flawed character. I enjoyed playing a superhero, accomplished it all, and now I want to become a real person. I wanted to create a woman who had to learn how to do everything herself. She is not easy to understand, she can never trust anyone completely. And that’s part of the reason why I admire our director Tom Harper. I remember watching the movie Wild Rose with Jessie Buckley – With a simple plot, he managed to keep the focus on the character. To me, it’s more important that a director cares about emotion and story, rather than what the action looks like.
“The whole idea of starting a production company… was to control my own destiny.”
It can be seen that we don’t have many spy-themed thriller movies with female leads. What does the opportunity to star in the film – and potential franchise – mean to you?
A lot of people say “let’s save room for a sequel,” and I always reply “let’s focus on making a good movie before working on anything else.” Funny thing is, I think I have “Imposter” syndrome, because I’ve always felt so lucky and so blessed to be doing what I really, really, really love. I always thought “hopefully people will like it.” Never once did I think “they will definitely like it.”
I once asked Francis Ford Coppola: “How does it feel to be a national treasure?” He replied: “Well, what’s wrong? I’m always filled with doubts. I’m always afraid that people won’t like the work. I just follow my heart and accept everything humbly.”
I think this is one of the biggest lessons. I was sitting with the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, and he was talking about his feelings of insecurity and smallness. I thought, “Well, I can feel insecure all the time.” It’s too early for me to talk about the meaning of playing the main role in this movie. Most of all, I hope everyone enjoys it. And then, if I’m lucky enough to go ahead and make another Rachel Stone movie, I’ll be happy and we can continue to talk about this topic.
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What movies or actors influenced the way you created Heart of Stone?
I can’t compare this movie to a female version of Bond, because who am I to say so? Bond? A legend, a treasure! We’re launching our own thing. We want to bring suspense, excitement and keep the audience on the edge of their seats, not a story where you can predict the ending.
So this is a difficult question for me, because we try not to take too much from those inspirations. It’s true that the film is as large in scale as Mission Impossible and the Bond series, being shot in five different locations. Almost everything the team put into the film was realistic, which was important during the action sequences. But we really tried to create our own piece, hopefully succeeding in bringing back that original feel.
“I really wanted to portray a flawed character. I wanted to create a woman who had to learn how to do everything herself.”
You mentioned 5 filming locations. Where is your favorite place?
[We filmed in] Iceland, Morocco, Lisbon, London and Italy – in the Alps. Every place is special. I have to say, I really enjoyed Lisbon because I had never been there. I like everything about this city, from the people to the food to the culture.
And filming here is so comfortable, there’s good energy.
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You’re also playing a villain in Snow White. How does it feel to “switch to the evil side”?
Great! In Heart of Stone, everything was extremely realistic, Snow White was the opposite, and I shot both movies back to back. That’s a big change. I can’t believe I get to play the evil queen, the first villain in Disney history. I get to sing and explore my dark, ugly side. The first four days, I really got into character, it was hard to escape that personality. It feels like a stage play. Everything is more epic, more dramatic and there is a lot of fun.