It’s rare that an actor turns down the chance to return and play a main character in the sequel to a blockbuster. It’s rarer when the character is going to get more screen time and have a bigger role in the followup. Luckily for Rosamund Pike, that’s exactly what happened.
Original actress Alexa Davalos decided not to return in the role of Andromeda for “Wrath of the Titans.” Pike inherited the role and couldn’t be happier to step into the sandals of the transformed character.
In “Clash of the Titans,” Andromeda was the daughter of royalty, serving the dying people of her kingdom and even willing to sacrifice herself to the Kraken to please the gods. That’s a far cry from what the character is doing in the sequel. Andromeda is taking a more aggressive role in the war between humans, titans, and gods.
I like the character of Andromeda because it’s a chance to create a real heroine for young girls,” Pike said in a recent interview. “Andromeda has made a big journey from the end of the first film. You knew then she was a girl who was helpless and needed to be rescued. She’s going to make sure she never needs to be rescued again. Her parents have died and she’s taken over her country and her army. In lieu of her family, she’s built up an army. She’s not just a figurehead. She’s a general in her own right. I think of her as a war hero, which is something girls and boys will look up to.
It’s great for females to have a role model they can look up to, but how does that affect her relationship with Perseus? Doesn’t that get in the way of the “damsel-in-distress” scenarios found in Greek mythology? Pike found balancing the character complex.
“When someone saves your life, you have a bond with that person that goes beyond anything else you’ll experience. Andromeda has her existence to thank Perseus for,” the actress said. “She hasn’t seen him for 10 years at the start of our movie. In a way, she wants to be his equal. [When] they come together again, she’s very excited to see him. She’s trying to be a general, but in a way, she’s like a little girl who’s just seen this guy she really fancies again.”
Signing up to play the general of an army going into battle against titans and gods could be intimidating. Pike welcomed the challenge, facing it head on with courage daily.
“You don’t know what you’re going to face on this film every day,” she noted. “I haven’t been on a film this big for a while. We had flamethrowers, huge wind turbines throwing dust at us, and rocks falling from the sky. There’s almost no acting required. You’re thrown into this maelstrom and its total chaos and anarchy.”
Pike found stepping into the role of Andromeda and working next to an actor like Sam Worthington to be exciting. She feels he’s grown comfortable in the role of Perseus.
“Sam is brilliant. He knows what an audience wants from Perseus,” Pike said of her costar. “He knows what he wants from a hero and what makes sense. He knows what course of action makes sense for this hero to take.
“He’s very clear about Perseus’s mission. [It’s] to get the job done and get back to his son. Sam will kind of throw out anything in the script that deviates from that. [Working with him] was a bit like having to win his respect as Andromeda and as me. I had to prove I was worthy to go on this mission with him. I liked that. Now he’s seen what I’m made of and he’s prepared to trust me.”
For more articles by Eric Shirey , check out:
‘Mirror Mirror’ Mixed in Eyes of Critics, Viewers
Critics Suffer ‘Wrath of the Titans,’ Moviegoers Celebrate
Reassessing ‘Man of Steel’ After New Movie Logo Premieres
Eric Shirey is the founder and former editor of Rondo Award nominated movie news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo! , DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other entertainment websites. Eric has interviewed and worked with actors like Harrison Ford, Brooke Shields, Kenneth Branagh, Gerard Butler, Brendan Fraser, Selena Gomez, and many more.
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