Captain Marvel: Why Brie Larson Initially Hesitated To Take The Role

For most people, getting offered a starring role in a Marvel movie would illicit an immediate, probably involuntarily loud response: A thousand times, yes. But for Brie Larson, there was a moment of hesitation before she accepted the opportunity to portray Captain Marvel in her own solo movie. 

Speaking with The Associated Press during the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards, Larson admitted that she was initially unsure if playing Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel was the right thing for her to do, since signing on for a Marvel film comes with a ton of extras not usually packaged with other movie roles — from a legion of new fans and the possibility of backlash to being placed in a bigger and brighter kind of limelight.

"There's a lot about it that felt like a big decision, and it's not just a big decision for myself. It's a big decision for my family and my partner and for my friends," the actress said about choosing whether to become an official member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "It's a big change for everybody and I wasn't sure if it was the right thing for me."

Larson continued, adding that Marvel Studios brass completely understood her uncertainty and gave her time and space to make her final decision. Ultimately, the freedom to be with her own thoughts and intuitions led Larson to embrace the starring role in Captain Marvel. 

"I never want to do [or] make artistic decisions that will feel like a burden or that would take me away from the parts of my life that I find fulfilling, so Marvel was super patient and allowed me a lot of time to think it over. And then once I felt like I had made the right decision, which was doing it, I got both feet in and I'm really happy," she revealed. 

Beyond contemplating the exposure that results from top-lining the first female-centric installment in the MCU, Larson also had to consider the physical aspect that comes with the gig. The Academy Award-winning actress set her Oscar aside and picked up dumbbells and did tons of deadlifts to get ripped for the role — a serious training regimen that offered her insight into her emotional strength as well. 

Larson told Variety that she's learned she's "much stronger" than she realized in playing one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, which, to her, has felt like a dream. 

"My highest right now is 215 pounds in deadlifts. 400-pound hip thrusts ... being able to lift weight like that really changed my perspective and understanding of myself, she explained. "A lot of my life recently has felt like it's happening to somebody else. I think part of it is a defense mechanism. It feels better to kind of continue to have my own understanding of myself, rather than one that was put on me by the outside world ... Going through a movie that requires so much and takes this long, I'm realizing I'm way stronger than I knew."

Like another Marvel great once said, with great power comes great responsibility — and it looks like Larson has the inner and outer strength it takes to wield her authority wisely. 

Captain Marvel will fly into theaters on March 8, 2019.