Jessica Fisher
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Phoebe Waller-Bridge is about to make a splash in the final chapter of Harrison Ford’s Indy saga, Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny. The actress plays Indy’s goddaughter Helena in the film, and she goes with her godfather on an epic adventure. Judging by the trailers and clips we’ve seen from the movie, Helena is in for quite a wild ride, and Waller-Bridge recently sat down with Vanity Fair to talk about preparing for the adventurous role, saying:
“I’ve always been such a lanky, gangly kind of awkward physical person, so I was as surprised as you are. I remember quite early on saying to Jim and Kathleen, ‘So I’ll be doing lots of training for my stunt debut?’ And they were like, ‘I think it would be funnier if you don’t.’ What I love about the character is that she leaps before she looks. And she will just jump on the back of that car not knowing if she’s going to survive or not, and it’s just through her will that she manages to stay on.”
When I ask if any of the physical stunts actually scared her, Waller-Bridge says, “Do you know when the bottom of the airplane opens and all the Nazis fall out?” She can’t help laughing at the ridiculousness of the words that just tumbled out of her mouth. Still, she admits it was thrilling to be hanging by a harness out of a plane:
“So much of acting is getting rid of your self-consciousness and your self-awareness. When you have to jump out of a plane or jump on the back of a car, then it’s much easier just to let go.”
On the other hand, she was surprised by her reaction to a scene that involved bugs swarming all over her body. Waller-Bridge suggested they first try a take in which Helena keeps her cool, but as soon as they threw plastic critters at her, she ran out screaming.
Waller-Bridge and the sometimes cantankerous Ford got on famously, which is just as well since they spent close to a year shooting in far-flung locales.
“He made it very clear to me that I was his equal from the first day, and that was very liberating and allowed me to be mischievous and silly.”
When word of her casting first leaked, rumors circulated that she was taking over the franchise for Ford. Waller-Bridge says that was never a conversation.
“There’s no replacing Indiana Jones in any way. But I feel like the character herself—she did feel fresh on the page, and there is a sense of, is there room in the world for someone like this?”
She remarks that Indy was always a flawed, reluctant hero, a professor who’s scared of snakes and gets sore after his punch-ups.
“So I do think there’s room for a slightly clumsier, bruised, limping female action star, maybe, in the future.”
Harrison Ford glowingly said of his co-star:
“She’s certainly capable of being a movie star. It’s a question of whether or not she wants to endure that responsibility. Whatever it is that we think she should do, she’ll have a better idea. She’s sitting on top of the pile right now.”
It will be fun to see Helena’s full story being told on the screen when Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny hits theatres this weekend, and it seems like after that, the world is her oyster.