Gal Gadot on getting paid on par with Red Notice co-stars Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson: 'Important to walk the talk'

Gal Gadot takes centerstage in Netflix’s latest big-ticket  Red Notice ; she matches wits with  Ryan Reynolds , and fights alongside Dwayne Johnson. In an interview with CNN News18, Gadot says she was not intimidated or overwhelmed sparring onscreen with the best in the business. “We’ve worked together before. DJ (Johnson) and I did Fast and Furious together. We’ve been in touch for 10 years. Ryan and I did a movie Criminal (2016), and we’ve known each other since. They’re both wonderful, talented, sweet, smart, funny, fun to be with, so the vibe was super delightful.”

Red Notice is a mockbuster made even more wry by Reynold’s many improvised quips. Gadot confesses she dissolved into giggles in multiple takes “mostly when Ryan improvised.”

“I’m very easy to break takes. It’s easy to make me laugh and Ryan noticed that, and since the minute he noticed that, he went all for it. So he was waiting for me around the corner every time to try and make me laugh. Which he did manage to do very well so yes it was a very, very funny environment to be in.”

In an interview to  Entertainment Weekly , director Rawson Marshall Thurber had said he was surprised by Gadot’s athleticism. She outshines Reynolds and Johnson in the pivotal fight scene, with ease in Versace and heels. “I don’t know what he (Rawson) was surprised by, thank you Rawson wherever you are. No, but I have the background. I started my career (with action), and I’m very much into action movies. I was a dancer for many years, and I think dancing and fight sequences are very similar because it’s all choreography. You have to express yourself with your body, and it gets easier the more you do it.”

Gadot made headlines with the paycheck she drew for Red Notice. She was paid on par with her male co-stars, a reported $20 million. “I’m a feminist, and everyone who is not a feminist is a chauvinist. A feminist is someone who believes in equal right, equal pay, and equal opportunities for everyone. I’m a big believer in that. It’s important that I don’t just talk the talk but I also walk the talk so I do what I can do. I’m happy that slowly, we’re moving the needle forward. Basically, in the simplest way, I just believe that people who bring similar things to the table and put in the same work should be paid the same," she says.

Red Notice will premiere on Netflix on 12 November.