In the gripping new spy thriller Haywire from Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh, a female covert ops specialist goes rogue when she discovers that the very people she has trusted with her life have double-crossed her, putting her and everything she values in jeopardy.

Mallory Kane is a highly trained operative working for a government security contractor in the dirtiest, most dangerous corners of the world. After successfully freeing a Chinese journalist held hostage in Barcelona, she discovers the man has been murdered—and all the evidence points to her as the main suspect. Suddenly the target of skilled assassins who know her every trick, Mallory realizes someone deep inside has betrayed her. But who? And why?

Far from home and on the run, Mallory executes a series of daring maneuvers to throw the local SWAT team off her trail, only to find herself pursued by far deadlier forces. Crossing multiple international borders, she eludes a powerful web of law enforcement and private operatives until she finds herself left with few options.

Increasingly desperate to clear her name and reveal the real traitor, Mallory uses her black-ops military training to devise an ingenious—and dangerous—trap. But when things go haywire, Mallory realizes she’ll be killed in the blink of an eye unless she finds a way to turn the tables on her ruthless adversary.

With a unique heroine like Mallory Kane, Soderbergh knew he needed a singularly talented actress to fill the role. Gina Carano, sometimes referred to as the “Face of Women’s Mixed Martial Arts,” is beautiful, determined and tough as nails. She arrived at her first meeting with Soderbergh sporting a black eye she had earned in battle the previous week.

Though she’s fearless in a fight, Carano, who counts Soderbergh’s previous films Traffic and Erin Brockovich as two of her favorites films, says she was a bit overwhelmed to be meeting with the director. Starring in a film was not something that Carano ever anticipated doing. “Every kid thinks, if people only knew what I was capable of,” she says, “but I’ve always known that I’m not your typical celebrity.

I don’t think I look or act like anybody else. I’m slightly awkward. So I always knew that if it was going to happen, somebody was going to have to come find me. And that’s exactly what happened.” Soderbergh did his best to put the newcomer at ease. “I can only imagine how weird it must be for a non-actor to have a director ask to meet you and then propose building a movie around you,” says Soderbergh.

“But she was game for it. I explained that we would be designing the film to capitalize on her strengths, both physically and in terms of performance. I wasn’t going to ask her to do things that were out of her range.” The filmmaking experience left Carano with a great deal of respect for the hard work that goes into creating a movie. Even after her grueling experiences as a professional fighter, she found herself exhausted by the process. “I’ve never experienced such long days,” she says.

“Not only are you putting yourself out there physically, you’re putting yourself out there emotionally. You’re surrounded by people constantly and even your body is not your own. You’ve got hair and make-up, people are picking out your clothing, you’re with all the different actors. It was the most overwhelming experience, but I also felt like we were on this adventure together.”

Giving her an added boost of confidence was the top caliber cast and crew. “Steven surrounded me with the best people from beginning to end,” she says. “He walked me through every step of the way. He gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.”

According to producer Gregory Jacobs, selecting the remaining cast for Haywire revolved around finding A-list actors to support the young star. “Steven and I promised the studio we would surround Gina with great actors,” he says. “Both Ewan McGregor and Michael Fassbender signed on early in the process.

Then Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas and Channing Tatum became available. Not only are they all great actors, they are extremely nice men. Each has given his character real substance. And each one welcomed Gina and gave her incredible support and confidence.”

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/haywiremovie

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About the author

Claudia Sondergaard
Specialised in American foreign policy media discourse, I have a real passion for media and writing and feel comfortable in subjects such as human rights, politics, environment, social issues, movies, TV and books. Reporting from Denmark. Follow me @swirlgirlversus