Little known fact: actress Olivia Munn got her start on the ill-fated video game network G4, where she was the co-host of Attack of the Show!, a kind of nerd culture version of a news magazine, but with more yelling and more of a focus on the fact that Munn, an attractive woman, also liked video games. You could say, then, that she was the eye candy on that show. So it’s completely understandable that, now that she’s escaped that world and succeeded in the world of acting, she’s reluctant to reprise her role as the attractive woman, or, say, the girlfriend.
Specifically, in a new interview she discusses the fact that she chose not to accept the role of Deadpool’s girlfriend in the recently (very) successful Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds. You know — the one that made a ton of money? Well, Munn turned down that role because there was no fighting. And she accepted the role of Psylocke because there was fighting.
“I thought Psylocke was always one of the most lethal characters, and I said, ‘Yes, as long as you’re not using her to be the eye candy,” Munn told American Way. “She has really powerful abilities.’ And they said, ‘Yes, that’s an important part.’” Yes, one would believe that the superpowers in a movie about mutants with superpowers would be an important aspect of a character that is a mutant. And it’s nice to know that Munn, a childhood favorite for many of us twenty-somethings, is now choosing her roles more tactfully. It seems like a silly bar to set for herself, merely trying to play characters who have the least bit of substance, but, unfortunately for women in Hollywood, it’s a necessity. So, good on you, Olivia!
X-Men: Apocalypse will be released May 27. Watch a trailer below.