Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame actress Brie Larson indicated that “we gotta move faster” when it comes to LGBTQ superhero representation.
Larson appeared on Variety and iHeartRadio’s first episode of their new podcast, “The Big Cast” where she spoke with Variety’s Marc Malkin.
Larson would begin the interview by highlighting the importance of diverse storytelling. When asked about the box office records Captain Marvel broke, she responded:
“I’m happy to be on the forefront of the normalization of this type of content and to prove once again that representation matters. Diverse storytelling matters, the female experience matters, and these are markers. This is kind of in our society some of the way it takes to prove that point. So it’s something I’ve always known and I think a lot of people always knew, but this is just normalizing.”
When asked about what it feels like when fans come up to her and thank her, Larson noted it makes her “emotional” and “surprisingly emotional.” She would then highlight the value of person to person interactions saying, “Person to person interaction is really valuable. It reminds me of what I didn’t have growing up. I don’t think we think about that all the time as kids. I think we accept what we have, but to see this new generation of boys and girls, or kids who don’t identify as either, being able to see this on screen and to not know anything different is really exciting.”
Larson also spoke at length about the role Marvel Studios gave her with Carol Danvers, when she was asked about how much she knew about the character before she took on the role.
“Once Marvel kind of softly pitched the idea to me and said they wanted me to come in, I did my own research on it and kind of looked at the history of the character. More than anything, the work began once I sat down and talked with them about it. Because there has been a lot of iterations of this character and I wanted to see what pathway they were going to take with it, what was there reason for making this story, and who do they want this Carol Danvers Captain Marvel to be.”
She would add:
“Once I understood that and on top of that, understood that they were really hiring me to be the expert on this. That I was going to take all the source material and run with it and create something in regards to representation that I felt like was missing. Then it felt like a right match.”
Later on in the interview, Larson would talk about LGBTQ representation after she was prompted by Malkin who mentioned Marvel’s Victoria Alonso.Alsono recently indicated the world is ready for an LGBTQ superhero. Malkin would state he never thought there would ever be a gay superhero. Larson responded:
“That breaks my heart to hear that because there is no reason. It’s taken us too long to say these words out loud. We are all just people. I don’t understand how you could think that a certain type of person isn’t allowed to be a superhero. So to me it’s like, we gotta move faster. But I’m always wanting to move faster with this stuff.”
Larson would then list off a number of people who she says empower her.
“So many people. Even from a distant standpoint. The other women. The other groups of minorities whether its people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ, all of these people that are standing at the forefront are speaking out about what they believe in. When I see them do it, when I see people living their truth and speaking honestly it gives me strength. And that’s how we continue to build on this.”
She would go on to discuss a number of promises she made when she decided to play Captain Marvel:
“There are certain promises I made myself when I decided to play Captain Marvel. And the main one was that I was going to lead with my heart. That on that set I was going to lead with my heart. I wasn’t going to pay attention at looking at the monitor. I wasn’t going to deal with vanity. I was going to get strong for myself because I wanted to feel empowered and capable. And that I was going to use that platform for good. That it wasn’t enough for me to just look strong on a poster. That it needed to extend further than that. Because it’s something that I believe in so strongly, I’m happy to use this currency. And I don’t know what that means. You know, I think that some people are afraid and rightfully so. But I just don’t feel that way because I feel I can’t at the end of the day go to sleep at night if I didn’t do everything that I possibly could.”
Larson previously spoke about using her Captain Marvel “currency” at Tina Brown’s Women in the World conference:
“If I have any sort of privilege, I immediately want to spend it. Whatever that currency is, I’m spending it immediately. I’m not going to hold onto it and hope that I put it into some account and it makes more money. I want to spend it because we need the change now. And I’m really not afraid of falling on my face because I’ve done it my whole life. I’m just kind of like bring it.”
As for “the change” or using her platform for good, Larson has openly spoken about using it to promote “diversity.” She infamously noted that she did not want to hear the opinions of 40-year-old white guys when it came to reviewing films like A Wrinkle in Time, She would double on those views in an interview with Marie Claire.
She would eventually clarify her comments saying, “What I’m looking for is to bring more seats up to the table. No one is getting their chair taken away. There’s not less seats at the table, there’s just more seats at the table.” She would further explain that she was taking on more press interviews in order to bring those seats to the table, “That meant for me taking more time on my press days. Adding more hours to my day to make sure all those voices were in. Because I’m not trying to exclude anyone.”
When asked if she would run for political office Larson responded, “Probably not. I don’t know if that is my vibe. I feel like the arts is always been the thing that scares politicians so I like to be in that position.”
What do you make of Larson’s comments?