While much of the build-up towards Daredevil Season 2 has focused on Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, Elektra has managed to go relatively under the radar – although we suspect this will soon change. We spoke to actress Elodie Yung…
What do you think of Elektra in Daredevil?
I really love Elektra. I’ve really enjoyed building the character and bringing some personal elements to her. I’ve tried to get her grounded and real. I’ve also tried to empathise with her on some things that we don’t have in common; I’ve tried to understand why she would react to the way she does.
How would you describe Elektra?
Elektra is a sociopath. She’ll use anything she needs to use to get to her goal. If she needs to kill people, she will. She has this coldness in her, which is something I tried to keep in the character.
You’ve trained in martial arts for many years. How does that help your portrayal of the iconic character?
Elektra is a highly trained killer and unless you have people very good at faking it, I think it helps to have someone who’s able to really throw a punch, a kick and all that. I’ve trained for decades. I’m a black belt in karate, which has definitely helped.
Has it struck with you that you have joined one of the biggest franchises in the world?
I still don’t think it has sunk it. I think the nature of my job is to live every day as it comes, but I don’t see the big picture. I just focus on the work.
What was it like to meet Charlie Cox for the first time?
It was great. We had to test together during the last round of auditions and it felt very natural. I hope he had some when we were doing the scenes because I definitely enjoyed it. He’s a great person and a great partner. Working with him is like a dance. He listens and just bounces back.
How does it feel to be cast as Elektra?
This is a very exciting job for me. Being an actor, I’m trying to understand who this person is – but she is very complex. I don’t think she’s good or bad – and I would never judge that. I think she has some element of good and she has some element of bad in her, which is the same for everyone. She is a person with different traits. She’s a person with many layers, and she’s seeking who she is. In this season, there’s an arc to her story. Hopefully, she’ll find we’ll find out who she is by the end of it.
Does this mean we will see Elektra in her full costume before the end of the second season?
Well, there’s definitely a costume…
How tough were the auditions?
The audition process was really long, but it was very enjoyable. Usually it’s a bit stressful when you go to an audition. There have only been a few auditions that I’ve enjoyed and ended up getting – and this was one of them. At first, I really enjoyed the writing because I didn’t know it was for Elektra. It was two great scenes. I saw them five or six times and then I was done with it.
How did you react when you discovered you’d won the role?
Where was I when I found out? [Head of Marvel Television] Jeph Loeb called me and said: ‘Welcome to Marvel.’ It was thrilling.
Daredevil Season 2 will be available to stream on Netflix from 18 March 2016. For more news about the latest Marvel series, pick up the new issue of SciFiNow.
