Despite the experience of winning an Oscar for her role in the film “Room,” Brie Larson’s world is about to change like never before. In March, the actress’ next film “Captain Marvel” opens around the world, and with it, Larson becomes an overnight superhero sensation, joining the ranks of Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr, Mark Ruffalo, and Scarlett Johansson, among others, as members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And according to a new interview, the actress plans on using this newfound fame for some real-life good.
“The movie was the biggest and best opportunity I could have ever asked for,” Larson says, in a new interview with InStyle. “It was, like, my superpower. This could be my form of activism: doing a film that can play all over the world and be in more places than I can be physically.”
And what exactly does Larson mean when she says that this film can be seen as a form of activism? The Oscar winner says that portraying a strong, independent, and supremely powerful superhero, that happens to be a woman, will not only inspire others, but also give Larson the means to use her fame for good.
First off, she wants to create a pipeline for women and people of color to join the various roles in the production of a film. “My next goal is to start a school to train people in various jobs [on set],” she says. “There are so many great jobs. You like the weird alien blasters? You could be the one who makes them. We need young people to carry on this tradition in moviemaking, and it would be so great if we had more diversity coming in through that.”
The actress also talks about what excited her most about becoming Captain Marvel in the MCU. Apparently, it all dates back to the first time she saw Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, and how she was desperate to find a role that gave women the female equivalent of that flawed hero.
READ MORE: ‘Captain Marvel’: Brie Larson Releases The First Action-Packed Clip + New Superbowl Spot
“I remember losing my mind,” she says about seeing ‘Indiana Jones.’ “I couldn’t think of a female equivalent. There was Sigourney Weaver in ‘Alien,’ of course, but there wasn’t enough of that spectrum of confidence and sass and a little bit of a mess, just a mix of everything. Women weren’t allowed to do that.”
Brie Larson is also taking her own bit of inspiration from the role of Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel. “I want to hold on to the cockiness and the sense of ownership,” she says. “Because I do believe in my abilities, and I do value myself, and I do know that I’m strong, and I do know that I can do a lot of things that people don’t think I can do.”
“Captain Marvel” opens March 9.