From Blockers to Miracle Workers, and You’re Cordially Invited, there’s no secret that Geraldine Viswanathan has taken on Hollywood roles that showcase her versatility as an actor. Now, the 29-year-old Aussie is back on the big screen in Thunderbolts*. Playing the character of Mel, who’s the assistant to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character Valentina, Geraldine says it was easy to accept the role when it came her way.
“I think it was such a no-brainer,” Geraldine tells Missing Perspectives over Zoom.
While she wasn’t allowed to read the script until she officially signed on to the Marvel movie, Geraldine says that after a meeting with the director, Jake Schreier, she was sold on the idea.
“I was just so thrilled about his kind of vision for the movie,” she says, “and what the movie was, the themes that it was taking on, and kind of how it’s Marvel in this new direction.”
Casting was another drawcard in joining the project, with Geraldine particularly excited to act alongside her Seinfeld star idol. “Working with Julia Louis-Dreyfus who is a hero of mine, it really was just… the whole package,” she says. “It just couldn’t have been more ideal!”
Unlike several other films in this genre that have been more male-centric, Thunderbolts* unquestionably puts strong women at the centre of its narrative. In addition to Geraldine and Julia, we see the likes of Florence Pugh and Hannah John-Kamen portraying fiercely determined and powerful anti-heroes. They’re multi-faceted, deep and “nuanced”, as Geraldine describes.
“I think something that’s really cool about this movie is all the female characters, you know, are not defined by their relationship to men,” she explains. “They’re complicated, and they’re nuanced.”
Without giving too much away, Mel’s (played by Geraldine) moral conscience and loyalty towards Valentina is tested throughout the story – and she has to make bold decisions. But even so, the film allows viewers to decide whose side they’re on.
“I think the conversations between Val and Mel, who are sort of at different ends of their position in their career… I think I just thought that they were really interesting,” says Geraldine. “I think those are interesting conversations to watch play out between women.
“The audience can make their own judgment on how they feel about those decisions and what they’re saying about power. But I think it’s valuable to see on screen nonetheless. And it’s something that I really appreciate about this movie. It’s sort of unique in that way.”
Speaking about her connection with her character, Geraldine says she “identified with Mel a lot”.
“I think that she is sort of confronting the realities of the world. I think she comes into this position with a lot of big ideas, and is sort of optimistic about the future, and knows that she’s smart and capable and will do something good for the world.
“But then, as she really faces that, it’s a little bit more complicated than she thought, and she really has to figure out how she feels about her position in the world, which I think is a very relatable thing.”
Thunderbolts*, which also stars the likes of Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Chris Bauer and Wendell Edward Pierce, is in cinemas now.
Top photo source: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney (Supplied to Missing Perspectives by Disney)
