Grace Caroline Currey Discusses Shazam's Mary Marvel, Her Scariest Stunts, and Her Dream Roles (2024)

Perhaps most recognizable as Mary Bromfield/Mary Marvel in Shazam!: Fury of the Gods, 26-year-old American actress Grace Caroline Currey has been making waves for her roles in a variety of notable movies including Fall, Annabelle: Creation, and Most Guys are Losers.

Game Rant recently had the opportunity to speak with Currey about her experience returning to the Shazam! set and stepping into the role of Mary Marvel, as well as her scariest stunts, dream acting roles, and much, much more. The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.

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Q: Over the past few years, you've filmed movies such as Annabelle: Creation, Shazam, Most Guys are Losers, and Fall – all these movies are completely different in terms of genre and tone. Was it mentally challenging to swap between different mindsets while preparing for these movies?

A: Oh my goodness. Yes. Funny enough, if you think about Annabelle: Creation, that was a horror film with David Sandberg, the same director as Shazam. In Annabelle, I was crying and on edge so much for my role. It was so intense, being in a horror film, right? We were terrorized orphans in the 50s. And then to go to Shazam, it wasn't until towards the end of shooting that it hit me, ‘oh, this is a fun movie.'

I go really detailed with my character work, I'll have a map of their emotional journey and their character arc. And for Shazam, it was detailed, it was heavy, I was really reflecting on where my character came from before each scene and where she was going and what inner turmoil was going on. And that's a lot of thinking! A lot of, I don't know, heaviness I was putting on myself and the project. It's so funny that midway through I went, ‘wait, this is a fun movie,’ like we're laughing, having a great time, why am I making this such a drama? Well, that is Mary, that is her character, so that makes sense.

Q: So is there a genre of film that you think that you perform the best in or enjoy filming the most or maybe one that you find more challenging?

A: I really love when a job requires more of me, whether that be stunts, or I'd love to have a role that requires me to have a specific dialect. I just love it when there's more for me to do than just being me or some version of myself. I like it when there's more shape-shifting required, and I haven't gotten to play as many roles where shape-shifting was required. But I'd love that, I think that'd be so much fun. The stunt work definitely takes a toll when you're doing stunts in the morning and then a dramatic scene at night. You feel like you've been at the gym all day.

Not to mention with these stunts, it's like you're acting at the same time with them sometimes. Specifically for the film Fall that came out last year, you know, the scene would go into a stunt. There were some emotions at the front end that were captured, and then the stunt occurs and I'm falling off a tower, so there'd be like crying at the beginning of this. A lot of it is very hard. Sometimes I wonder if I don't enjoy how hard that is, but I know it's what makes me passionate about acting.

Q: Yeah, definitely. I mean, are there any stunts that stick out in your memory that you've done that were particularly super draining or particularly fun?

A: I would say the ladder break [scene] in Fall. That was such an important shot for the movie and required understanding the choreography of the stunt because there were different pieces to it. It was very technical, working with a harness with wires, so there's someone down below controlling when those wires release for me to be able to fall. And they have to work in time with me. I had to manually release the ladder from the tower and initiate the stunt, but it had different parts to it as in different moments of emotion for my character, as she's realizing she's on a ladder that's breaking away from a tower and this might be where she dies. So that stunt was pretty exciting and exhilarating. I actually got hurt on the tape that we used, but it was kind of exciting to get the shot. I mean, when we saw the shot afterward, it just was awesome.

Q: That's so cool. So moving on to Shazam specifically, were you familiar with the character Mary Bromfield before you were cast in the movie? And can you tell me a little bit about how you prepared for the role?

A: Yeah, so when David Sandberg was announced as the director for Shazam, I had just worked with him on Annabelle: Creation, and Annabelle was coming out right as that news was announced. My brother told me that David was attached to this superhero movie, and he knew how much I loved working with David and what a wonderful time that was. [My brother] was familiar with the comic book. So he actually pulled out one of the comic books he had and showed me the character Mary, and told me ‘Grace, you look just like her, you love working with David, you guys had a great time working together, you really should try to get this role’, which of course, might sound simple now that I have played the role, but at that point, I was going, ‘um, I can't just get that role. You have to audition. You've got to make sure you're on the radar of casting’.

The whole process of getting cast was really this charged emotional time for me, just because my brother showed me the character and told me about it, and the prospect of getting to work with a lot of the same team from Annabelle, just felt really special and meant to be.

Q: Yeah, that's amazing. Were you a big fan of superhero movies before or no?

A: I mean, I grew up on the Batman animated series and the Justice League animated series, I watched those a ton with my brother. One of my earliest memories is telling my brother ‘I love Superman’ and him telling me ‘no, no, Batman is where it's at. He’s a detective, he doesn't have superpowers, and he grew into the superhero he is.' And I went ‘Batman is awesome!’ I was probably like, four years old, and I'm going ‘Batman rules! I love Batman!’ I grew up with comics and the characters from DC, and I'm a big Batman fan.

Q: In Fury of the Gods, you're now the only member of the cast who plays both the child and the superhero version of yourself. So can you tell me about how it felt taking over both versions of Mary, and some of the different acting choices you made when portraying the young version versus the hero version?

A: Yeah, it's just a really unique situation to get to play both because it doesn't quite work for any of the other characters. It works for Mary because she's the oldest of the foster kids, I was already an adult when we shot the first one as well. They were trying to decide if they wanted to have one actor play both the human form and superhero form for the first one as well because she's older, and a lot of the time in the comics Mary visually didn't change that much. She just had a suit and maybe some more hair, which we do in this one – I've just got more hair when I'm super.'

But I mean, a big part of it was me. I come from a ballet background, so I can be a little light and delicate and my physicality. I wanted to have more strength and sturdiness being Mary, so I did taekwondo beforehand, as well as kickboxing to just feel more grounded and rooted in strength – just to kind of marry that with the elegance and grace, if you will, that ballet pushes you to have. I wanted that combo, so it was really exciting to get to physically train for Mary. Wearing the suit also just adds so much.

Q: Of course. I mean, do you think your ballet background is helpful when it comes to doing things like stunts or physical work?

A: Absolutely, absolutely. Because in ballet, when you're performing, you're telling a story and you're acting a story. At the same time, you're telling the story with your facial expressions and your upper body, but your legs a lot of the time are doing really laborious hard things. The actual movements of ballet are so taxing and exhausting, and you have to act at the same time.

There's choreography to remember and a lot of the technical side of ballet is almost like a puzzle, where your muscles, your fingers, and even your bones, everything is working together to do these beautiful steps. With the stunts, there are so many different pieces of choreography and timing, so there's kind of a musicality sometimes to it. I think that's why I enjoy the stunts so much because it reminds me of my ballet background. It definitely helps.

Q: Yeah, definitely. So for Fury of the Gods, this is the first franchise sequel you’re returning to, is that right? Can you tell me a little bit about what you were most excited about in terms of returning to work with the cast?

A: Oh my goodness. I mean, the answer is right there, I was so excited to be with the cast again! There it is. I love that group so much, and we've really grown together from the first one to now. A lot of us have stayed in contact from the first one until now, and we still stay in contact. We've got our group chats that are sometimes a little too much for me. There are so many of us having so many conversations, I look at my phone like ‘what's going on?' But, I was really excited to be with my Shazam family again. Of course, being in the suit was my biggest excitement and focus, because I was getting to play a brand new character to a degree, even though I was returning as Mary in her human form, the superhero form was so new for me, so it was really exciting to get to explore that side of her.

Q: Yeah, I mean, during the first Shazam, you were one of the oldest foster siblings. It must have been interesting to come back and see how all the younger actors have grown, right?

A: Oh my gosh, oh, my goodness. Oh, Ian’s voice is so low now! And he's so much taller! We had to do a Zoom when we were shooting to go over COVID safety and how we were going to be mindful when working on set, and he unmuted himself to say something, and it was this low baritone voice and Jack and I were just like, looking at each other in the Zoom going ‘what happened!? Who is this!? Where did Ian go!?’

Because the three of us spent a lot of time together on the first one, he, Jack, and I were just laughing and joking around a bunch, so to see him grow so much was such a shock. But even seeing him at the premiere, he's grown even more. It's kind of wild for me. We had to put me on an apple box when we did shoots for the first one because the kids had grown just from the few months that we hadn't been together and of course, I'm not growing. I'm done growing. They just keep growing and they're getting me more and more little boxes to stand on.

Q: Okay, so the DC Universe and superhero franchises in general are known for how passionate their fan bases are. Do you have any really memorable fan interactions after becoming a part of the DC universe?

A: Oh, gosh. At the premiere, there were two gals dressed in Mary suits, which was really special. I love seeing how many people are excited to see Mary Marvel from the comics represented in a film. It's been really sweet to see how many people comment on her history, and I think the sweetest thing has been receiving that joy from people – that appreciation and love. Because she's such a special character, it's such an honor to get to play her.

Q: Are there any parts of Mary specifically that you feel like you resonate with personally?

A: All of them! Except for foster care, I'm not from the foster system, obviously. That's definitely a side of her that is such a big part of why she is who she is. But she's a high achiever, and she places a lot of importance on hard work. We see that in the first film and in this one, with her having a job, but at the same time, being a superhero and still studying organic chemistry, even though she didn't go away to college. She's a curious person. She's got a passion in organic chemistry, and she continues to learn and expand herself. I think I would say what I relate to the most with Mary is that she's got a rich inner world, she exists a lot within her head, and I tend to live in my head quite a bit.

Q: Are there any kinds of genres, projects or specific roles that you'd be really interested in trying in the near future?

A: I dream of acting in a biopic where I get to play a real-life person. I think it'd be so fascinating to study someone and try to create something that feels like an honoring piece of art about them. Being inspired by them, trying to emulate them – that's a big dream for me. That's actually one of my favorite genres, watching biopics and seeing actors transform themselves based on the source material, the history, the interviews, and all they can possibly find on another person.

Do you have any dream biopic roles off the top of your head?

A: It's so silly, but I mean, I really dream of playing Audrey Hepburn. Her ballet background, I mean, that's like almost tooting my own horn to think I could play her, If I could and I had a whole makeup department, costume department, hair department turning me into her, I’d love to do it. I feel that we just haven't really gotten an Audrey Hepburn biopic yet. There's been a lot of Marilyn Monroe ones. There's one in the works right now of Audrey, but I just think it'd be so special to do one that really gives the heart and soul of what her films gave, which was having a dream and romance. You walk away from those movies just feeling lovely and wonderful.

Then in my later years, I'd love to do a Margot Fonteyn biopic, who is a ballerina and some of her greatest years actually occurred right when she was getting ready to retire. And Nureyev, who was a dancer, came from Russia. Those are her most notable years, which I think is just so inspiring. So, hopefully down the line, I continue to dance ballet, and I'm able to play a ballet role into my 40s.

[END]

Shazam: Fury of the Gods is available in theaters on March 17, 2023.

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Photo Credit: Nailah Barcelona