OK_Magazine_Australia_June_26_2017

THE ACTRESS WHO ALMOST QUIT
HOLLYWOOD LOVES HER ALTER EGO
Gal Gadot ain’t your average
arse-kicking lady. The
Israeli-born actress has been
a beauty queen representing
her country in the Miss
Universe pageant, a combat
instructor in the Israeli army, and was almost
cast as a Bond girl in Quantum of Solace
before she landed the part of Gisele in the
Fast & Furious franchise. But the 32-year-old
says her past roles are nothing compared
to her titular role in the recently released
Wonder Woman film. ‘I feel that I’ve got the
opportunity to set a great role model for girls
to look up to a strong, active, compassionate,
loving, positive woman and I think it’s so
important,’ she says. ‘It’s about time that
somebody will do that and I’m very privileged
and honoured to be the one.’
And the call from DC Comics couldn’t have
come at a better time for the actress, who
admits she was considering walking away
from Hollywood just before she got the small
yet important part in Batman v Superman:
Dawn of Justice. ‘They wouldn’t say what [the
role was],’ she explains. ‘So of course I was
intrigued and I did the audition and Zack
[Snyder, the director] was there and it was
great. Two weeks later… Zack called me
and he was saying, “Well, I’m not sure if you
have it in Israel, but did you ever hear about
Wonder Woman?” I think I went dead for
a few good seconds, came back to life, and
then tried to pull off my best voice saying,
“Wonder Woman, yeah, of course.”’
And so Gal’s superhero journey began…
A STAR IS BORN
Born and raised
in Rosh HaAyin,
Israel, Gal says her
parents knew she
was a star in the
making from
a young age.
‘I really liked
to perform. My
mother always
tells this story:
I was five. They
had a party, and
they’d put me to
bed. I heard everyone on
Gal and hubby
Yaron shared
the ‘wonder’
of bub number
two on social
media last year
the rooftop, and I went upstairs. No-one
paid any attention to me, so I took a hose
and sprayed everyone,’ she regales. ‘Very
elegant, right? “It’s meeeee! Look at me!”
I loved the attention. But I never connected
all the dots that maybe I should be an
actress.’ And yet, here we are…
So how did a young woman from Israel
end up in Hollywood? ‘If things had gone
according to my plans, I’d be lawyer,’
Gal muses. ‘I never dreamed of being
an actress. My mother was a teacher;
my dad is an engineer. But at 18, I was
approached to compete in Miss Israel,’ she
reveals. ‘I thought, “That would be a nice
experience.” I never thought I would win!’
While her beauty queen days are behind
her now, Gal says the experience helped
her get where she is today. ‘I made friends
with women from all over the world! And
er
oman!’
‘This little lady has
a beautiful soul,’
the proud mama says
of daughter Alma
FOCUS
ON FAMILY
Gal says her priorities
in life have shifted since
having Alma and Maya.
‘Everything changes
when you have kids,’
says the star.
because of Miss Israel, I started modelling
and travelling,’ she reveals. ‘It opened my
mind to different possibilities.’
WONDER WOMAN
‘It’s a huge honour to be the one who got
this amazing opportunity to tell such an
important story,’ Gal says. The film, which
pulled in a record-setting $295 million across
the global box office in its opening weekend,
is also a critical success, and the star mum
says she’s incredibly proud to carry the legacy.
‘I have a [five-year-old] daughter and she
adores princesses. At the same time, she would
tell me, “The princess, she’s so weak; she falls
asleep, the prince will come and save her and
kiss her and he’s the hero,”’ she shares. ‘So I’m
so happy to be the one that’s going to tell the
Wonder Woman story. It’s such an important
story to tell and I’m grateful, but I also think
that it’s so important for girls and boys to have
a strong female superhero to look up to.’
And while Gal admits there is a long way
to go in terms of gender equality, especially
in the film industry, she says her character
breaks barriers with every swipe of her sword.
‘It was important for me that we show how
independent she is. She’s not relying on a man
and she’s not there because of a love story.
She’s not there to serve someone else.
She has so many strengths and powers,
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