Gal Gadot, who has been controversially cast as Wonder Woman in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, said it was her daughter, Alma, who inspired her to put on that iconic outfit.
“I have a 4-year-old daughter and she adores princesses at the same time she will tell me the princess is so weak, she falls asleep and the prince will come and kiss her and save her and he is the hero,” Gadot said Friday at a press conference for the film.
#WonderWoman's @GalGadot talks about the importance of having a strong, female super hero https://t.co/bDXSSi6iJU pic.twitter.com/Ml4nqpGD9E
— People Magazine (@people) March 19, 2016
“So I am so happy to be the one who is going to tell the Wonder Woman story. It is such an important story to tell,” she added. “It is so important for girls and boys to have a female, strong, super hero to look up to. The more the merrier and there is plenty of room for many more women to come and I am very happy to be a part of it.”
Gal Gadot hopes #WonderWoman will be a female hero to her daughter https://t.co/gSbDp2JHxT via @PEOPLEbabies pic.twitter.com/z1qMDRL1Ss
— People Magazine (@people) March 16, 2016
The 30-year-old actress faced criticism back in 2013 when it was announced that she would portray Wonder Woman, a.k.a.Diana Prince, a.k.a the Princess of the Amazons. DC Comics fans complained that Gadot wasn’t curvy enough for the role comparing her to Lynda Carter, the actress who previously suited up as Wonder Woman on the small screen.
“For me being an actress, my responsibility is not to pay attention to all the noise around me and to pay attention to the script and the director and protect the character and try to tell her story the best I can,” she said of the controversy.
Despite the backlash, Gadot says she is thrilled to star alongside Ben Affleck (Batman), and Henry Cavill (Superman).
#BatmanVSuperman Premiere: Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot Talk Expectations, Character Inspirations https://t.co/9e7yhwZfbD pic.twitter.com/p1Yf2NDjTX
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 21, 2016
“It’s a huge honor for me to be the one to get this amazing opportunity to tell such an important story. I feel very grateful,” said Gadot. “I never planned on being an actress or Wonder Woman but everything just happened and I am grateful and happy and in love with what I do. I am enjoying everything but it will take me sometime until I really understand what is going on.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens March 25.