LONDON – This summer, Natalie Dormer was part of the “Women Who Kick-Ass” panel in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, during which she called roles like Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss an “anomaly” in male-dominated blockbuster plotlines.
When HitFix caught up with the “Game of Thrones” actress during “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” press day in London this month, Dormer went into more detail on female and feminism trends in Hollywood.
“There's a wave coming. The swell has started,” she said. “I'm not much interested in waving the 'girl power' flag, I'm more interested in feminism meaning equality.”
In the dystopian future of “The Hunger Games” franchise, there's much more of the sense that men and women share equal rights — in that some members of society don't have any at all, or that the heroes and the villains are male and female in seemingly equal measure, with Katness up front. Dormer's role is Cressida, for instance, a film director who is helming propaganda pieces for the rebellion.
“What's interesting to me [are] roles that are interchangeable, that it's irrelevant that they're male or female, I think that's what we're really aiming for. President Coin could easily be played by a man,” she said, pointing to Julianne Moore's role. “Cressida the same… there are some really good blockbusters that the gender roles could be interchangeable at the moment.”
Dormer, whose biggest roles to date have been as love interests and royal ladies plotlined by their male counterparts in “Game of Thrones” and “The Tudors,” said that she's found playing Cressida “liberating” because of the lack of, well, love stuff.
“She's a woman, she's a person who's defined by her profession. It was refreshing to play a character who wasn't defined by a love entanglement or a marital ambition. She is there because she the best at her job,” she expanded. “For Cressida, it's all about getting the shot. It helps me in my motivation in how I would manipulate or steer Katniss.”
Since she's now played one in the movies, would Dormer ever take up the same role behind the camera?
“I have a huge amount of respect for that job,” she said about directors, calling them “calm incredible creatures.” “That's not on the horizon for me any time soon… but never say never.”
Watch our full interview below: she talks more on how anyone with a smart phone can be a documentary filmmaker, and the subjective art of film versus propganda.
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” is in theaters on Nov. 21.