Brie Larson shares the advice she gives to actors who have been cast as superheroes

Captain Marvel star Brie Larson shares the advice she gives to actors who have been newly hired to play a superhero

Brie Larson knows the highs and lows of starring in a superhero movie. She made her own superhero debut in Marvel Studios’ 2019 film Captain Marvel, which earned over $1 billion at the global box office and became one of the top 25 highest grossing films of all time. She played Captain Marvel (a.k.a. Carol Danvers) again in Avengers: Endgame, which was released just weeks after Captain Marvel and earned almost $3 billion at the box office, briefly becoming the #1 highest grossing film of all time. We saw Larson’s Captain Marvel again in the 2021 hit Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, an episode of the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, and last year’s The Marvels… which did not replicate Captain Marvel‘s success, making just over $200 million at the box office and becoming the lowest-grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are a lot of varying opinions about Larson’s performance and attitude, but one thing that’s indisputable is that, at this point, she has a good deal of superhero experience. So it makes sense that she gives advice to actors who are entering the superhero genre.

During a roundtable discussion with fellow actresses Jodie Foster, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Jennifer Aniston, Sofía Vergara, and Anna Sawai, which was set up by The Hollywood Reporter, Brie Larson reveals the advice she gives to newly hired superheroes. Here’s that section of the conversation:

Brie, I’ve also heard you say that if you hear someone’s going to be playing a superhero, you’ll reach out. What kind of tips do you find yourself sharing?

WATTS Wait, you’re a superhero mentor?

LARSON Always. I’m the first person to email everybody because it’s very specific and very strange. People are like, “I don’t know how to do this.” Yeah, no one does. Why would you? I’ll say, “Train, because you’ll want to be as prepared in your body as you possibly can because it only gets harder as the job goes on. And really understand how to be able to go to the bathroom in your suit.” The first Captain Marvel, it was a 45-minute thing to get me in and out of that costume.

ANISTON There wasn’t even a little secret trapdoor?

LARSON No! That’s why I’m like, “Get a plan.”

ANISTON Yeah, a little zipper.

LARSON I can’t stand when people have to wait for me to go to the bathroom, so I’d have to time it out. 

WATTS Oh, that would give me anxiety.

ANISTON You can’t have a sip of water.

LARSON It’s a whole thing, and it’s a lot of pressure. And I think it’s a strange thing, especially when you’re a newcomer and you’re tasked with being the most powerful blah, blah, blah of blah, blah, blah, and you feel scared. It’s so hard to be the cool, confident one when you’re like, “Do I know what I’m supposed to be doing?” 

Marvel’s The Fantastic Four is expected to go into production in just a couple months, so here’s hoping the stars of that film have already received Larson’s advice. Prepare your body and plan for bathroom breaks.

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