As Mortal Kombat 2 prepares for its big theatrical release on Friday, Jessica McNamee is back in action as Sonya Blade, this time alongside Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage. In a candid chat with ETimes, the actress spoke about her return to the ring in the epic video game series and also spoke about her experience working with Urban.
While she was at it, she also shared how their easy off-screen bond and shared sense of humor helped add depth, chemistry, and passion to their evolving on-screen relationship.“I’m really excited about ‘Mortal Kombat 2,'” said Jessica, talking about stepping back into the shoes of Sonya Blade and in the midst of all the action. “We’re back with a bang. It’s been like riding a bike, getting back into the shoes of Sonya.”
I missed her, and it had been four years between making the two, so I was very anxious to get back into character, my costume still fit, which was good, and my shoes were nice and worn.
“Part 2 sees Karl Urban join the team and spark chemistry with McNamee’s Sonya. When asked about their pairing, she admitted: “I love Karl. He’s New Zealander, so he’s a neighbour. I’m Australian, of course. So, there’s definitely a shared familiarity already just through the fact that we grew up very similarly in the southern hemisphere.”
Speaking about their on-screen chemistry, she said: “We also have a fair number of mutual friends, so it was easy. I’m very lucky. It would have been, you know, we really needed good chemistry and friendship first and foremost to make the chemistry work on screen, I think, and we got that, which was great. We got along really well. We had a lot of fun.”She also praised Urban’s collaborative approach while discussing how they worked together to deepen the relationship between their characters.
“Carl was always very encouraging to me and open to ideas,” she shared, “and you know, for us, we spent a lot of time trying to find different parts throughout the script where we could maybe connect our story with a little bit more kind of subtext, knowing that by moving forward with this franchise, we’re developing, you know, there’s a lot of things moving forward in our relationship in the franchise.”
“Considering that Sonya and Johnny are one of the most interesting couples in the game, McNamee hinted at the possibility of a romance between the two.
She shared, “So it was kind of trying to find hidden places where we could infuse her a little bit with some things like reading between the lines. So it was fun, kind of trying to figure out little moments where we could infuse her with a little bit more, and add a little more weight to their relationship.”
“Reflecting on Urban’s transformation from his fan-favorite role in “The Boys” to…Mortal KombatMcNamee admitted she was fascinated by the contradiction. “He’s so rude and alpha in ‘The Boys’.”
And then, you know, he comes to “Mortal Kombat” where he has to be the opposite of that, which is completely insecure and backwards and has no control. “It was really fun,” she said.Having followed Urban’s career for years, McNamee said she was eager to see how he would handle the iconic character. “It was fun because obviously I had seen his work in The Boys. I’d seen a lot of his work over the years, but I didn’t know what to expect. I was really looking forward to seeing his take on the character and the way he would embody that. I thought he did a great job.”Mortal Kombat hits theaters in India on May 6.