Sofia Boutella has been in some of the most popular action films of the 2010s. She starred alongside Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde and played pivotal roles in other big-budget films such as The Mummy, Star Trek: Beyond, and Kingsman: The Secret Service. She is finally playing the lead in Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon and its upcoming sequel.
Boutella’s breakout role out was in Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service where she played the assassin named Gazelle. The actress did not have any former training in action and stunt work. However, her background as a dancer helped in convincing Vaughn for the role.
Sofia Boutella Recounts Nerve-Wracking Audition for The First Kingman Film
Sofia Boutella was cast as Gazelle in Matthew Vaughn’s 2014 film Kingsman: The Secret Service. The character is an assassin who works for the billionaire villain played by Samuel L. Jackson. The actress had not done any action film before and when she auditioned for the film, she had no idea what she was up for.
However, Vaughn was interested in casting her in the film. Boutella had a rich background as a dancer in Nike ads and had worked with Madonna, even appearing in Michael Jackson’s Hollywood Tonight. Thus, she had the flexibility and physical agility to perform stunts.
She trained hard in Tae Kwon Do and her dance background helped in the choreography of the fights in the film. While Boutella never imagined herself as an action star, the film will be the beginning of her journey as an actress capable of doing her own stuns. She told Vulture,
“My dance background gave me everything. I had never done any action before Kingsman — never done any martial arts or fight training. I went into my read with Matthew Vaughn, read a scene with him, and he said, “Great. I’m happy. You can go into costume.” Then he said, “Wait a second. Can you do a kick?”
I said, “I think.” Because I’m a dancer I can lift my legs quite high, so I did from my memory what a kick looks like, and he said, “Perfect.” I went into training, I learned Tae Kwon Do, and I just applied the discipline of dancing to that. I mean, it’s very much mental.”
Boutella proved to be an exciting addition to the film and has since carved an interesting career with other action-oriented roles. After a string of supporting roles in big-budget films, she is now leading her own epic sci-fi film Rebel Moon with Zack Snyder at the helm. Fans can watch her in Kingsman: The Secret Service on Disney+.
Sofia Boutella Was Incredibly Sad after Seeing the Negativity Around Rebel Moon
Zack Snyder’s sci-fi epic Rebel Moon was released last year on December 22, 2023. The film had incredible fanfare and hype from Snyder fans who were expecting something great out of the project. However, the film received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics and audiences. It currently has a 21% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The lead actress of the film Sofia Boutella recently addressed the negative reviews that the film received. The actress stated that she was very much affected by how the film got criticized by everyone and she feels that it undermines the passion with which the film was made. She claims that she is proud of being part of it and calls the experience an important part of her life. She told Vulture,
“I always thought that I was fully armed to take on those punches, and then I read the critics that came down on ‘Rebel Moon’ and it really affected me. If anything, I’ve been pretty lucky, and people like my work in it, but the movie was criticized. I’m proud to have been part of it, and if there is no more ‘Rebel Moon,’ it will be a very important part of my life that I will defend forever.”
Snyder has confirmed that the R-rated version of the film which will be released this year, is a different movie altogether. Maybe fans will have a different opinion of the first part after watching that. Boutella is set to return for the sequel to the film titled Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver which will release on Netflix on April 19, 2024.
