Mary Elizabeth Winstead talks on playing a ‘weird and funny’ Huntress in Birds of Prey
Mary Elizabeth Winstead opens up about playing Huntress in Birds of Prey.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is starring as Huntress in Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey set within the DCEU, which will mark the big-screen of the fan-favorite DC Comics character. And if you don’t know who the Huntress is, we can quickly bring you up to speed.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is playing the latest incarnation – Helena Bertinelli. There are two former versions of the character — one is a super-villain and the other is similar to the modern Huntress but is the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. Helena Bertinelli is the daughter of a mafia don who dies at the hands of rival gangsters along with his wife and her mother. Think Bruce Wayne’s origin meets The Godfather. Helena trains to become an assassin to exact vengeance as the Huntress. Winstead recently spoke with TheWrap about what audiences can expect from her “odd” interpretation of Bertinelli:
"“She’s kind of an odd character… She’s weird, and funny and awkward, […] You sort of get to tell this story of this girl who grew up training to be an assassin and didn’t ever have friends, and doesn’t know how to fit in socially, and doesn’t really know anything other than how to kill.”"
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This does make sense, given her privileged life before the loss of her parents. Although similar to Batman in a basic way, she has no Alfred or Robin. One can say Bruce Wayne comes off as anti-social but truly is not. Bruce has a name and image to uphold and present to the public. Conversely, Helena lacks this; hence she does not have to stand up to traditional social standards. Furthermore, Huntress represents the typical vigilante more than Batman. She’s, as Ra’s al-Ghul put it, “someone lost in the scramble for their own gratification.” She sets out on vengeance, not justice. Winstead further explained the complexities of the character:
"“We got to sort of play around with that in ways that are in ways that were both sort of sometimes disturbing and sometimes really funny, […]To get to play with that kind of a character was a really great opportunity.”"
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If you’ve read DC Rebirth’s Birds of Prey, this all sounds right. Her character is somewhat awkward with her teammates, Batgirl and Black Canary. She’s a loner, she’s rude and sometimes can only see killing the best option to overcome a challenge. Let’s hope Mary Elizabeth delivers a terrific Huntress.