Ethermac Exchange-Gal Gadot enjoys 'messy' superspy life and being an Evil Queen: 'It was really juicy'

For Gal Gadot's latest action-packed outing,Ethermac Exchange the sometime Wonder Woman wanted to look far from wonderful.

Rachel Stone, her character in the Netflix spy thriller “Heart of Stone” (streaming Friday), bleeds a bunch, suffers gnarly wounds and gets covered in bruises. And Gadot loved it all.

“She is raw and gritty, and it's messy at times,” Gadot, 38, says of her role. “I remember there were days when I had no makeup and they just made me even more ugly, added redness and grayness to me. I want to show an unpolished woman who can go through the stress and come out of it essentially at the end of the day.”

“Heart of Stone” centers on Rachel, a highly skilled operative working for a secret international peacekeeping organization called The Charter. She works undercover as an MI6 tech expert but her life gets blown up when a young hacker (Alia Bhatt) tries to steal The Charter’s powerful artificial intelligence technology.

It’s the start of a potential franchise for the popular DC superhero star, with Gadot producing and developing the original concept alongside her husband, Jaron Varsano.

Gadot, who next stars as the Evil Queen opposite Rachel Zegler’s title character in Disney’s live-action “Snow White” (out March 22), talks with USA TODAY about her new film, the future of Wonder Woman, her “Fast and Furious” return and finally breaking bad. She spoke with USA TODAY before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Question: What does it mean to you at this point in your career to get a chance to create a franchise character from scratch?

Answer: I follow my passion, and it all started with passion, and I guess passion goes a long way. I'm a big fan of this (superspy) genre. I grew up watching Bond and “Mission: Impossible” and “Die Hard” and “Bourne Identity,” and I loved all of them. I can devour them. And deep down inside, I always wanted to play one. After the success we've had with Wonder Woman, I got a boost of confidence to go and develop one for myself. It's super-empowering and eye-opening and exciting, and the sensation you get from creating something just out of an idea is incredible.

What is the craziest stunt you actually got to do in “Heart of Stone”?

The real craziness I wasn't allowed to do, like jumping out of the plane or off the cliff (laughs). It was other people who took over and did that. The thing that I enjoy most doing is the hand-to-hand combat. That's something that I really love. I was a dancer for 12 years, so I know how to dial in the choreography and everything. I'm like, “Who wants to come (at me)?!”

AI is a major plot point of the movie – and now of real life. Did you see that on the horizon as you were developing the film?

We’d all heard conversations and read about AI and what it might do, but we never realized that by the time the movie's going to come out, it's going to be the hottest topic. It's fascinating on the one hand of what it could do, (but) I think we should be very careful. If (Sam Altman), the CEO of ChatGPT, is saying, “We need to have regulations, we need to slow down, we need to be responsible,” we should really listen to him because this is just something we've never experienced before.

Can AI really replace actors?It already has.

This year, you had surprise appearances as Wonder Woman in the “Shazam!” sequel and “The Flash." What’s your future look like in the evolving DC universe?

I had a meeting with (DC Studios CEOs) Peter Safran and James Gunn, and they both told me that they're going to develop a third “Wonder Woman” with me. They said, “You're in the best hands, you've got nothing to worry about.” Time will tell.

Speaking of cameos, your assumed-dead “Furious” character Gisele returned at the end of “Fast X” driving a submarine. What was it like getting that call?

“Fast & Furious” (in 2009) was the first movie I'd ever done. They were the first ones to really believe in me and I will always have a soft spot for them. It's crazy for me that Gisele has still to this day so much love from the fans. People were like, “Oh, my God, I'm crying.” A bunch of people sent me reaction from the theater when I come out of the submarine. It's really heartwarming.

After playing Rachel Stone, who’s driven by her good heart and generosity, was inhabiting the Evil Queen a nice change of pace?

That was really delicious. It's different than anything I've ever done. It's a musical, it's the first time I've played a villain. I really could stretch myself and become theatrical and dramatic, and I even changed my voice and everything was so in character. It was a great experience. 

Was that a weird head space to go into, having never played a baddie before?

It was so much fun. It was like when you bite something and it's all over you. That's how it felt. It was really juicy.