Ant-Man and the Wasp (TF1) – Evangeline Lilly: "Part of me wasn’t sure if I wanted to play a superhero."

You gave a feminist talk during the movie preview at Disneyland Paris… Can a blockbuster movie be combined with a resolute message?

Evangeline Lilly: From where ? Even if their primary purpose is to entertain, superhero movies have a message to convey. Ours can change the relationship between men and women under the mood of comedy. Gender equality can already be seen in the title: Ant-Man AND the Wasp! In my speech, I referred to my character and said that a woman can be ambitious, brave, intelligent and sexy at the same time!

Is Hollywood changing?

The Weinstein incident, as gruesome as it was, served as a catalyst. Last time I was in Los Angeles, I had four meetings with female directors in one day. I haven’t had one in my fourteen-year career!

How did you react when you were first told you were going to play a wasp?

Part of me wasn’t sure I wanted to play a superhero. But I like that it’s a flying insect, I love them, and also that it’s a scientist. I really like science, I studied at university. Also, I thought hiring a comedy actor, Paul Rudd, to play Ant-Man was the coolest idea in the world!

You are very athletic. Did you train your body specifically for the role?

Sport is really part of my lifestyle. But after all, I needed to develop the muscles used for kicking… To be more specific, I had to train my glutes a lot! (laughs)

By the way, where does your rather rare first name come from?

It was my grandmother’s first name. It was used very little indeed… Until the Lost series. Many parents later gave it to their little girl and I’m proud of it!

Do people keep telling you about this show?

It’s really rare to get an interview without mentioning it… It even happens that eight years later, I’m still asked to reveal the ending!

Ant-Man and the Wasp, It airs on TF1 on Sunday, February 26 at 21:10.

Interview by Olivier Boucreux in 2018