Most of the promotional material for DREDD 3D has featured star Karl Urban clad in the iconic helmet and perpetual scowl of the titular Judge, but the film’s biggest standout performance comes from co-star Olivia Thirlby, who portrays rookie Cassandra Anderson. After failing her aptitude test and being deemed unfit for duty, Anderson is given one final chance at redemption, and finds herself partnered with the legendary Dredd for an assessment of her capabilities. During a recent promotional stop in the Phoenix area, we were fortunate enough to chat with the young actress about her role in the film.
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You’ve done a lot of smaller, character-driven pieces like Juno and The Wackness. What was it like to go from doing those types of films to a gritty, super-violent action flick?
It was a fun transition to make, but also I should note, not as severe of a transition as it might seem. I think Dredd is, bizarrely, very character-driven for a film of its genre. My character specifically, as a character she might be one of the most complex and interesting ones I’ve ever played. In terms of format, it definitely is a little different. Having to wear leather and handle weapons is a very different vibe than Juno, which was like knee-socks and hoop earrings. (laughs)
Was there anything in particular that drew you to this project?
It was the character. She was so many things mixed into one, and I really identified with how her sensitivity and her vulnerability were also kind of her greatest strength, and what set her apart in the world and made her special. They were also things that, on paper, made her unworthy, so I thought that was really interesting.
What was the most challenging aspect of developing your character?
I think the biggest challenge came from me, actually, and it was less of a character thing, but more just constantly battling the insecurities that plague us all. Like “God, I look terrible with blonde hair. I look like a football player in this leather bodysuit. It’s not sexy, it has shoulder pads.” (laughs)
It was definitely very daunting to take on a role like this because what you do on the day when you’re shooting is only such a very small part of what the final product ends up being, so you’re really just trusting that it’s not going to end up being embarrassing, and that’s always part of it. Not to say that it was a huge struggle that I was going through, some kind of crisis of self-confidence, but there were certainly moments when I thought, “Man, why didn’t I just dye my eyebrows, too? It’s too late now, we’ve been shooting this for a month. And I don’t like the way my hair looks.” (laughs)
What kind of physical training did you have to do in order to prepare for the role?
I worked with a trainer, just to kind of keep me… the leather bodysuit was very small, with no room for growth in any direction. (laughs)
There was weapons training, which was just learning how to fire guns. We were using Airsoft pistols, and also in scenes where it required it, we were using guns with blanks. So it was that, learning how to change magazines, and mostly just looking like you’re comfortable handling those things. I’m not a good shot. At all. (laughs)
There was stunt training, as well. There’s a fight sequence in the film where I have to take down a couple of henchman without a weapon, and I also have to roundhouse kick, so there was that. That was a big one.
When compared to Milla Jovovich in the Resident Evil films or Kate Beckinsale in the Underworld franchise, your character in Dredd seems much more human, much more vulnerable, and much more relatable. How important was it for you to portray that part of her personality?
It was probably the most important thing, I think. The gun and the leather bodysuit provide enough of the physical… “badassness.” But especially in the beginning of the film when you meet my character, she’s incredibly vulnerable, just by the nature of the fact that she has failed her Judge aptitude test. She’s unfit, on paper, to do this, to be this thing, which I think is all she’s ever really wanted in her whole life.
So you meet her in this very precarious place, where she has one chance, and it might kill her. It’s a very vulnerable place to be in, and I think she spends the first half of the movie just trying really hard to keep it all together and do the right thing. And it’s only once all of that completely falls apart and she thinks that she has no chance of getting what it is that she wants, that she really becomes herself.
That’s a beautifully human arc, and something everyone can relate to, and that’s mostly a credit to Alex Garland and the script that he wrote. For me, playing Anderson’s strength and playing her vulnerability went totally hand-in-hand, it wasn’t one or the other. And I actually think it’s the combination of both of those things together that make her believable. Hopefully.
If you were to be approached about a sequel to Dredd, would you return? And where would you like to see your character’s arc go from here?
I absolutely would. Fingers crossed, I would be so thrilled to revisit this character, because I really like her. And there’s thirty-plus years of source material to draw on. I can’t profess to be acquainted with all of that, but Anderson has some very interesting ties to some of the Dark Judges. And I think that whole concept in general is really fascinating, Judges that Mega City One has turned bad.
I think Dredd himself is in such a high moral seat of right and wrong, and Anderson has such a finely tuned sense of it, as well, it would be interesting to see them come up against the Dark Judges. And Judge Death, she gets chained to him for all eternity. That would be interesting to explore.
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DREDD 3D opens nationwide on September 21, 2012.