Captain Marvel: 10 Facts About Brie Larson

Captain Marvel is coming out in theaters next month, and many fans can’t wait to see the first Marvel movie with a female superhero as the lead. While the character of Captain Marvel is inspiring, it’s always fascinating to see similarities between Marvel character and the actors who play them. Chris Evans, for example, is another actor who plays an MCU captain, and fans have seen how in real life he has many similar characteristics to Steve Rogers.

Before you go see Captain Marvel, we’ve collected some facts about actress Brie Larson herself. While two different people, Larson has definitely taken on the role of Carol Danvers with a lot of passion and strength, and we can’t wait to see her portrayal.

SHE’S AN OSCAR WINNER

While Captain Marvel is definitely going to propel Brie Larson to superstardom, she is already an established actress. In 2015, Larson starred in the film Room and ended up grabbing the Academy Award for Best Actress for this performance. This was her first nomination for an Oscar. She also won the Golden Globe Award for her performance.

Larson is a talented actress who has played many different roles. Clearly, Brie Larson is someone who is skilled at their craft and career, much like her character counterpart of Carol Danvers.

SHE STARTED ACTING AT AGE 6

While we don’t know exactly the story of Captain Marvel in the MCU, the trailers have shown us brief images of her as a child. The kind of child who continues to rise after falling. Brie Larson was also a pretty kick ass kid. When she was just six years old, she started training as an actress.

At six, she was admitted to the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She was actually the youngest person to ever do so. Can someone say prodigy similar to Captain Marvel, maybe?

LARSON HAS ALSO WRITTEN AND DIRECTED A FILM

Kong Skull Island - Brie Larson with a camera

While Larson clearly is a talented actress, that’s not all she can do. We know that Captain Marvel herself is multi-talented. She’s supposed to be the most powerful character in the MCU so far and has a wide range of powers that fans are excited to see in action.

Larson herself is multi-talented, too. In 2012, she won an award at the Sundance Film Festival for the film, The Arm. She co-wrote and co-directed this movie which won the Special Jury Award for Comedic Storytelling.

SHE IS INSPIRED BY CAPTAIN MARVEL’S HUMANITY

Brie Larson as Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel

When playing a character like Captain Marvel, it makes sense that you would be inspired by the character and all she represents. In an interview, Larson said that she has identified with the character in many ways and also found inspiration.

She said that one of the things she loves the most about Carol Danvers is how human and relatable she is. She said that “this character is probably the most dynamic character that I've ever played, there's the most range. As of now, and we'll see what the movie is, but as of now it's been the most range I've ever played in a character."

LARSON WAS UNSURE ABOUT PLAYING CAPTAIN MARVEL AT FIRST

While Larson had embraced the role of Captain Marvel now, she wasn’t so sure about taking on this opportunity at first. She said that while she thought the character was amazing it was hard to make a decision because Marvel keeps things so secretive.

When deciding if she should take the role, she was worried about talking to anyone about it since Marvel likes to keep things under wraps. In the end, she realized this opportunity was one she didn’t want to pass up.

SHE TRAINED FOR THE ROLE OF CAPTAIN MARVEL FOR NINE MONTHS

Brie Larson as Carol Danvers training in Captain Marvel

Superheros are powerful beings who can do things that the rest of us can’t. While Brie Larson doesn’t have super strength, the ability to fly, or time travel talents, she did train really hard to embody the role. She underwent training over nine months in preparation for Captain Marvel.

While she notes in interviews that her being super strong herself wasn’t necessarily essential to the role, she felt it helped her get into character better and was important on a personal level.

LARSON TRAINED TO BE ABLE TO DEADLIFT 200 POUNDS

With all the months of training that Larson put in, it’s no surprise that her body got a lot stronger. In fact, Larson said she was able to deadlift around 200 pounds at the end of the training process.

Along with that, she said that part of her training involved pushing a literal Jeep up a hill. It sounds like Larson has a driven, no-quit attitude that makes her the perfect fit to play Captain Marvel. While not a literal superhero, being able to push a car up a hill is pretty intense.

SHE LOVED CLASSIC FILMS FROM A YOUNG AGE

Brie Larson directs her first feature film Unicorn Store

Larson has always loved film and acting. It seems like she always wanted to be an actress and felt drawn to movies and the art of acting. Even as a child, she loved to watch well-known cinema.

At eight years old, she was already watching classic films like Gone with the Wind and Masculin Féminin. We aren’t sure if Captain Marvel is a film buff, but both Carol Danvers and Brie Larson seem to be pretty damn smart.

SHE SEES PLAYING CAPTAIN MARVEL AS A FORM OF ACTIVISM

Captain Marvel is being looked at by many as a rather feminist film. Since this is the first time the MCU has had a movie with a female lead, many fans are looking forward to this representation. Larson herself feels that playing Captain Marvel is a way for her to be somewhat of a feminist activist and that the character is inspiring.

In her interview, she said that “I wanna see complicated female characters. I wanna see myself, which is not a simple person. I surprise myself constantly by what's happening and what's coming up. So hopefully that's what comes out on screen.”

LARSON MET WITH AIR FORCE MEMBERS TO PREPARE FOR THE ROLE.

When Larsson was preparing for the role, she did more than just train physically, even though she did a lot of that. Part of her training involved meeting with actual U.S. Air Force members. Since Carol Danvers is an Air Force pilot, this was an important way for her to learn more about the character and what she would have experienced. Larson has even noted that many of Carol’s best traits such as her drive and focus come from her past as a pilot.