How Elsa Pataky Prepared For Her Role In Interceptor - Exclusive

In Netflix's "Interceptor," former "Fast & Furious" star Elsa Pataky plays the only woman standing in between a nuclear-armed terrorist group and the United States of America. Stationed on only one of two so-called "interceptor" stations, JJ Collins (Pataky) leads the fight against a crew of assailants dead set on unleashing nuclear armageddon. After an initial attack on the facility proves fatal to a plethora of on-site personnel, Collins finds herself leading a one-woman army against the aggressors. 

Of course, taking on a role like this one meant that the lead actress had to really look the part. Needless to say, realistically taking on a group of attackers is typically going to require some muscle and a fair amount of fighting skills. Fortunately, Pataky has some prior experience in these departments. In real life, Pataky swaps deadly action with terrorists for playful fun with her husband Chris Hemsworth and their three children (via Instagram). However, staying physically fit is certainly not foreign to the 45-year-old star. 

She has also spent much of her professional life detailing the different diets and workout routines that she finds work best for her. In March 2019, Pataky graced the cover of Women's Health Magazine, in which she discussed her love for exercise and explained how she incorporates yoga into her fitness regimen. Later that same year, she also published a book titled, "Strong: How to Eat, Move, and Live with Strength and Vitality" (via Amazon). In an Instagram post announcing the project, Pataky wrote, "This is your guidebook on how to live to a balanced and healthy life. My approach is about building strength of body and mind."

In an exclusive interview with Looper, Pataky further explained the specific routine she undertook in order to get in top-tier physical shape and how she prepared herself for loads of fictional combat.

According to Elsa Pataky, the preparation required for her role in "Interceptor" involved a very long process. She dedicated a whole six months of training to the project. During this time, she began to alter her body in order to take on the role of the veteran military officer. As Pataky said, "I was doing lots of military kind of training [at the] gym and physically changing my body."

Pataky also faced a number of requirements specific to "Interceptor." Not only did she undergo intense levels of tactical and military training, but she also began to learn all of the different movements associated with the fight scenes in this particular film. In total, Pataky memorized 800 distinct moves, each of which help her character take down a slew of bad guys throughout the movie. Pataky said, "I wanted to portray that strength and physicality that a character like this will have in real-life, as a combat kind of military girl."

Unsurprisingly, this process required building a truly impressive amount of muscle. According to Pataky, she spent approximately three hours a day learning fight choreography. However, at the end of that daily process, her work had only just begun. She said, "In the afternoons, we'd go on and get into the gym and workout and do chin-ups and weights." Of course, this was a process with which Pataky was already quite familiar (via Marie Claire). 

Ultimately, we're still not sure that we relish the idea of a one-person army protecting the world against a nuclear standoff. However, if such a disastrous event were to ever actually occur, we certainly know the type of person we'd like to see on the case.

"Interceptor" is now streaming on Netflix.