Emma Corrin was ready to bulk up to play supervillain Cassandra Nova in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Corrin, 28, plays Professor Charles Xavier’s twin sister in the Marvel Studios blockbuster, but unlike costars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, they didn’t have to hit the gym too hard to prepare for the role.
The Crown star made the revelation in a new video for British GQ in which they answered questions from various social media platforms. One fan noted that Deadpool & Wolverine is Corrin’s first action movie and asked via Reddit, “Did you have to undergo any physical training for the role?”
“This is funny because I did ask if I could have a personal trainer and they said no,” Corrin responded. “They said I don’t have to undergo any physical training. I was so ready to undergo, like, a huge [physical] transformation but they were like, ‘That’s absolutely not required of you. Please stand down.’ I tried.”
Corrin also revealed that they got to bond with costar Reynolds, 47, off-set when Reynolds invited them to see his soccer team, Wrexham AFC, play a game.
“I think I ended up spending most of the time playing games with his kid more than watching the football,” said the actor. “I remember they won and I attributed that to my being there. And I think Ryan agreed.”
Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy approached Corrin to star in the movie after seeing them perform in a London stage adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando. However, Corrin admitted last year that they weren’t a huge Marvel Cinematic Universe buff when the filmmaker reached out.
“Hands up, I’m not a Marvel person,” Corrin said in an interview with Empire magazine published in August 2023. “I’ve watched Spider-Man and Black Panther. I was like, ‘Look, you’re gonna have to debrief me into this.’ It’s such an intricate world. There’s so much to it, it’s an absolute mind-f–k. All the language and the Easter eggs, and this person is related to that person who did this, and this person came back and this person’s dead… it’s amazing.”
Since being cast, Corrin has caught up with the MCU. “I really understand why it means as much as it does to so many people,” they said. “It’s a phenomenon, and I feel really lucky to be part of it. Especially Deadpool, because I love the fact that it’s self-aware and critical of its own inner workings.”
Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters on Friday, July 26.