Grace Caroline Currey is the only actor in Shazam! Fury of the Gods to both versions of her character Mary Bromfield. The rest of the Shazam! has two different sets of actors playing the younger versions of the characters and their older superhero versions. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Grace about tackling two sides of the same character.
“It’s just so special to get to be responsible for Mary’s throughline from her human form to her super form,” Grace said. “Not to mention, I have so much love and respect for her from her comic book history and the massive amount of history attached to her. It was definitely a dream come true. I was thrilled. I mean, to get to wear a superhero suit is the kind of thing you don’t think is going to happen in your career.”
Grace revealed that Mary “hasn’t left home” when the Shazam! sequel begins. “She’s in some sort of gap year situation, not to mention, she’s a superhero now,” she added. “There’s this responsibility to use these powers for good while also being the oldest of the family and having a sobering knowledge of what it’s like to be a human in society and contribute and have a job because she doesn’t get checks anymore in the mail as a foster kid now that she’s over 18.”
The film introduces the Daughters of Atlas, played by Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler. “Rachel and I became best buds, and I gained a sister on set. That was really a fun surprise for me. I didn’t know I was going to gain such a sweet friendship,” Grace gushed. Despite already being “such a giant cast,” Grace admitted that it felt like “we gained people that were supposed to be there all along.”
Becoming a superhero isn’t easy. The 26-year-old Fall actress did Taekwondo and kickboxing leading up to Fury of the Gods. Grace is a trained ballerina and said “Taekwondo was really helpful to break me out of the softness and get a little bit more strength and awareness in my body, as well as with kickboxing. That was really helpful for me to get in touch with my power physically and the power of my limbs and my legs. I think it helped me stand a little bit taller and stronger and sturdier instead of that ballet kind of wavy, floaty place.
There have been a lot of changes in the DC Studios world after James Gunn and Peter Safran took over, leaving the fates of several DC projects uncertain. HollywoodLife asked Grace if Shazam! Fury of the Gods leaves it open for the possibility of seeing these characters again in the future.
“Having seen the movie, I got really excited about this deeper look into the Shazam! world, and I couldn’t help but think this is such a rich playground,” she said. “It just filled me with wonder. I genuinely felt the wonder I would feel watching Jurassic Park or Harry Potter when I was a kid. I think we’ve got a lot to play with, and it’s funny always to talk about these things before people have seen it. I’m just dying for people to see it because I think they’ll feel the same way.” Shazam! Fury of the Gods hits theaters on March 17.