Rosamund Pike has shone a new light on why she chose to star in 2012’s Wrath of the Titans during a time she was possibly on the shortlist for the Man of Steel cast. The London-born actress has a long and varied filmography, from playing a Bond villainess in Die Another Day to her Oscar-nominated role in David Fincher's Gone Girl. Pike has covered most genres and become a reliable and favorite leading lady in recent years.
One of Pike's most notable action-based turns was in Wrath of the Titans, the sequel to Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans remake from 2010. Opposite Sam Worthington as Perseus and Liam Neeson as Zeus, Pike played the Greek goddess Andromeda. Prior to the film, the actress was heavily linked with Zack Snyder’s Superman film Man of Steel. Pike was supposedly on the casting shortlist, with many fans suspecting she was in the running for Lois Lane. In actuality, the actress was more likely considered for the Kryptonian Faora. In the end, the wait for Pike’s comic book debut went on. She instead chose to battle monsters in Ancient Greece, though she might have joined the Henry Cavill-led Man of Steel if she had continued with the casting process.
In an interview with Collider, the actress explains the reason why ultimately she chose the 2012 action flick when she was "maybe in consideration for" a role in Man of Steel. Mentioning director Jonathan Liebesman, Pike recalls his “documentary approach” to the world of the titans, and how she “pick[s] roles based on what you can learn from them.” As it was one of her more adventurous roles in Hollywood, the Gone Girl star confirmed that Libesman “taught [her] an awful lot about action." Pike implied that the factual and historical background of her role in Wrath of the Titans was what drew her to that film at a time when she might have been a comic book movie star, had she gotten a role in the DC film. Read Pike's full interview quote below:
“I think I was very interested in the way that the director was approaching Wrath of the Titans. He was a South African guy called Jonathan Liebesman and he just had this sort of documentary approach to this big world and I thought he’d teach me stuff. You know, sometimes you pick roles based on what you think you can learn from them, and I thought there were things that I would learn from that, which I did, whether or not anyone knew about it. He taught me an awful lot about action, actually.”
Pike is currently starring in Amazon’s hit new fantasy The Wheel of Time as the magical Moiraine. The show, based on the popular book series of the same name, is set for multiple seasons spanning all of the original novels. This more franchise-driven lead role in The Wheel of Time has given the actress a chance to reflect on some of her earlier experiences, such as her role in 2005’s less well-received video-game movie Doom, which Pike recently said she feels “partly to blame” for.
While fans never got to see Pike go toe-to-toe with Superman, her experience on Wrath of the Titans appears to be a valuable one, and seemingly gave the star a little taste of the action-fantasy world which has arguably influenced her latest career decisions. Pike may yet decide to take the jump into the superhero genre after Man of Steel didn't work out, with the added knowledge and experience she has received since her initial casting journey. For now though, Pike can be seen battling with magic and mystery in The Wheel of Time, which itself offers another glimpse at Pike's natural penchant for the action genre.
Source: Collider