Camila Mendes relished her Masters of the Universe challenge, but why?
Camila Mendes got herself in tip-top shape for her role in Masters of the Universe.
Camila Mendes loved getting herself in shape for Masters of the Universe.
The 31-year-old actress has been a fitness enthusiast for many years, but Camila ramped-up her usual routine in preparation for playing Teela in the live-action film.
The brunette beauty - who stars in the new movie alongside Nicholas Galitzine, Alison Brie, Morena Baccarin, Kristen Wiig, Jared Leto, and Idris Elba - told Entertainment Weekly: "Normally, people don't put enough emphasis on the women being strong in these kinds of movies.
"You always see a really thin woman who's supposed to be this pillar of strength. And I'm like, 'Why is it that the men get to put on muscle and be all strong and heroic, but we still have to be lean and thin?' And I really wanted to go for it."
Camila also loved the challenge of conveying Teela's quiet internal strength.
The actress reflected: "I feel like I could bring a great depth of feeling to her that you would see through the strong exterior.
"You don't get to see her really let her walls down too much in the film, so you have to be able to see it without her saying it."
Camila observed that Teela is "affected by toxic masculinity just as much as the men in the film".
The actress also noted that her character goes into "survival mode".
The Hollywood star said: "It's hard to talk about Teela without talking about her relationship to her father, because I feel like so much of who she is has to do with how she was, I guess, let down as a kid. And I feel like that really built this outer wall around her that's sort of like shielding this inner sensitivity.
"She's affected by toxic masculinity just as much as the men in the film. And I think she's sort of adopted masculinity to protect herself in this very masculine world. It's how she survives. She's in survival mode, and has been for a very long time."
