How does one go from being a kid who loves to play sports to blockbuster action star? Mortal Kombat’s Jessica McNamee shares her story on this edition of Collider Ladies Night!
McNamee plays Sonya Blade in the Simon McQuoid-directed adaptation of the epic video game franchise. When his family’s safety is put in jeopardy, Cole Young (Lewis Tan) turns to Sonya for help. She explains to Cole that the dragon marking he was born with actually means he was chosen to fight for Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat. Along with Josh Lawson’s Kano, Cole and Sonya head to the temple of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) to train to fight the enemies of Outworld in this battle for the universe.
With Mortal Kombat now available to watch in theaters and on HBO Max, McNamee joined us for a Ladies Night conversation and looked back on making her very first feature film, Sean Byrne’s The Loved Ones. At that point in her career, McNamee had already had a good deal of television experience, but making a movie came with one major perk that she wasn’t expecting:
“I couldn’t believe how slow a film moves! To film a movie, you have so much more time. And even on a small indie like that, I was like, ‘What do you mean we get to have 10 goes at this one take?’ In Home and Away, you get one if you’re lucky. And I’m a bit dyslexic so I sometimes struggle with dialogue and I would often need more than one take.”
Soon after The Loved Ones, McNamee scored her first role in an American production, The Vow starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum. It turns out, The Vow wound up being an optimal project for McNamee when making her transition from the Australian entertainment industry to Hollywood:
“It made it a lot easier. In fact, we shot that in Canada, which is very much I would say a happy medium between Australia and America. They’re kind of American in a lot of ways, but they’re part of the Commonwealth so they’ve also got the Australian sensibility about them. So I got there first and then headed over to America so it was a nice, easy transition.”
Since then, McNamee’s been busy adding one big title to her filmography after the next, going from Battle of the Sexes to The Meg and now on to what might be one of her most high-pressure gigs yet, Mortal Kombat. Yes, the film does mark McQuoid’s feature directorial debut, but McNamee insisted he was just the leader the Mortal Kombat team needed:
“I can’t say enough great things about the guy. He’s just such a good dude, and then being on set with him as well. You wouldn’t even tell. And he’s not a first time director in the sense that he’s directed some unbelievable things - amazing commercials and worked with some of the best sportsmen in the game. So he’s been under intense pressure in his career and this was a high pressure film. You know, there’s a lot of pressure from the fans, from the studio I’m sure, a lot of cooks in that kitchen.”
If you’re looking to hear more from McNamee on Mortal Kombat, the status of The Meg 2 and some audition highs and lows, you can catch her episode of Collider Ladies Night at the top of this article! We’ve also got the uncut version of the conversation in podcast form for you below:
Jessica McNamee:
- 00:36 - The first performance that made McNamee say, “I want to do that!”
- 01:36 - How playing a lot of sports growing up sparked an interest in becoming an action star.
- 03:15 - McNamee revisits an audition high and low - scoring a role in The Vow and not booking a role in The Invisible Man.
- 05:45 - Looking back on making her very first feature film, The Loved Ones.
- 06:29 - McNamee discusses her techniques for learning lines.
- 07:20 - How The Vow helped McNamee make the transition from the Australia entertainment industry to Hollywood.
- 08:03 - McNamee looks back on making Battle of the Sexes; the pressure of playing a real person and how McNamee dealt with statements made by Margaret Court that she heavily disagreed with.
- 10:49 - What made Emma Stone and Steve Carell stand out as scene partners?
- 12:06 - What’s the status of The Meg sequel?
- 14:02 - McNamee revisits filming her opening sequence of The Meg and learning the technical jargon.
- 15:20 - What was it like working with first time feature director Simon McQuoid on Mortal Kombat?
- 18:38 - What’s step one after booking the role of Sonya Blade to start to prep to play the iconic Mortal Kombat character?
- 19:45 - McNamee discusses her exposition heavy scene in the movie and show she nailed it.
- 21:23 - Mortal Kombat spoilers here! McNamee discusses Sonya’s motivation in the film, the story behind the character’s necklace in the film and the wildest stunt she did.
- 24:52 - McNamee gives out some Mortal Kombat cast superlatives!
- 25:56 - Random questions begin! Find out what film franchise McNamee would love to join, the props and costumes she kept from Battle of the Sexes and Mortal Kombat, and her biggest fear overcome right here.