Exclusive: Michelle Rodriguez on Returning for Resident Evil: Retribution and More
Steve Barton
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Recently Dread Central had the chance to sit down one-on-one with one of our favorite lively and outspoken actresses – Michelle Rodriguez- during the press day for Paul W.S. Anderson’s upcoming sequel Resident Evil: Retribution.
Considering she’s a franchise veteran returning (from the dead, no less) to the world of Resident Evil after ten years away, we spoke with Rodriguez about the evolution of Rain Ocampo and how she changed things up with her character in this fifth installment. Rodriguez also discussed how Rain’s superhuman abilities were freeing for her as an actress in Retribution as well as her thoughts on reuniting with her Resident Evil family again.
Check out our exclusive chat with Rodriguez below, and look for more on Resident Evil: Retribution soon!
Related Story: Exclusive: Paul W.S. Anderson Discusses Resident Evil: Retribution, Future Franchise Plans and More
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Dread Central: We’ve seen you play badasses over the years, and very well I might add, but there was something a bit different about what you did with Rain in Retribution– was it kind of liberating to get to take on a bunch of dudes like that and just destroy them?
Michelle Rodriguez: Well, I can’t take all the credit- some of that goes to ‘Las Plagas’ (the strain of infection featured in the Resident Evil game series storylines) of course. It is a pretty amazing genetic mutation, and I had a lot of fun during those scenes with the guys- yes (laughs).
Dread Central: Because your character is a bit more complicated this time around, was that part of the appeal for you to return to the Resident Evil series?
Michelle Rodriguez: All that and the fact that for part of the movie I was almost like an Olympic athlete on the most extreme steroids you could ever imagine. You don’t get offered roles like that a lot, especially as a woman, so I just thought when I first read the script, “How fun! This could be really cool” and saw it as a chance to have more fun than I normally get to have.
And I totally loved that other side of my character, too- the Rain that drives a Prius, wears high heels, hates the NRA and doesn’t know how to defend herself- was so something not up my normal alley, but I still had fun playing it in a completely different way. And yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever played anyone so innocent before.
I have to say, though, that everyone only calls me to play these tough chicks so maybe it’s time to switch things up. In fact, that’s it; I’m doing a rom-com now (laughs). I’m going to show you all a totally different Michelle now after 13 years (laughs).
Dread Central: Do you feel like a lot of that is because you have a stronger personality, one that seems like you can take a lot of crap but give it out as well?
Michelle Rodriguez: For sure, of course. It’s all boiling down in there. In fact, a lot of times I have to keep it tamed down. You wouldn’t want to see what would happen if I didn’t (laughs).
Dread Central: Because you’re associated with several huge franchises, like Resident Evil and the Fast & Furious films or even now the Machete movies, do you always look forward more to projects like these because you are getting to reunite with the different movie families?
Michelle Rodriguez: Hell yeah; for all of them. And for this one in particular- coming back and seeing Milla (Jovovich) and Paul, now together, and everyone from the producers to the art department to the wardrobe department that have all been involved since the very beginning. It’s pretty amazing to come back after ten years and see everyone and just how loyal they all are to this franchise and this world. It’s great to get to come back again and hopefully come back again if we get to do another one.
It just kind of feels like my life is a comic book series, and it all seems to happen in “volumes,” whether it’s returning for a Resident Evil movie, a Machete movie or another Fast (& Furious) movie. I’ve been very lucky.
Written and directed by Paul Anderson, Resident Evil: Retribution stars Milla Jovovich, Boris Kodjoe, Li Bingbing, Kevin Durand, Shawn Roberts, Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Johann Urb, and Colin Salmon. Look for Resident Evil: Retribution in theatres on September 14, 2012, from Screen Gems.
Synopsis
The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of the flesh eating Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, Alice, awakens in the heart of Umbrella’s most clandestine operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past as she delves further into the complex. Without a safe haven, Alice continues to hunt those responsible for the outbreak; a chase that takes her from Tokyo to New York, Washington, D.C. and Moscow, culminating in a mind-blowing revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true. Aided by newfound allies and familiar friends, Alice must fight to survive long enough to escape a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun.
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