Zazie Beetz Had A Real Love-Hate Relationship With Training For Deadpool 2

Zazie Beetz as Domino

This week is a very exciting one for comic book fans. After two years of waiting Deadpool 2 has finally arrived in theaters, and is bringing the Merc with a Mouth back to theaters for a second adventure. Early reception for the sequel has been positive, praising how the franchise was able to expand into an ensemble project, while also giving its protagonist proper time to shine. One of the newcomers joining Wade Wilson for his sophomore blockbuster is Domino, played by Atlanta actress Zazie Beetz. Superhero movies are notorious for putting actors through grueling training, and Beetz recently told CinemaBlend's Eric Eisenberg about her love-hate relationship with the physical process. As she put it,

For me, the training aspect was super hard. Part of it were fun too. I enjoyed the fight training and boxing training. I think it's super mental and you have to engage your whole body, and you're sparring with people. But the weight lifting was very boring to me. That being said, I love my trainers.

Anyone who has ever gone to a gym can feel Zazie Beetz' pain. Because while she knew weight training and other forms of exercise were going to pay off when she played the mutant Domino, it didn't make it any less boring. Same, though.

While playing a superhero is any actors' dream, it comes with a massive amount of work and responsibility. Aside from filming and marketing the movie, there's also physical conditioning and training. Fans are eager to see footage of their favorite star getting pumped for comic book roles, and Beetz had to do it in order to properly live in Domino's lucky skin.

During Eric Eisenberg's same conversation with Zazie Beetz, she also spoke to the pressure of playing Domino in Deadpool 2; the character's physicality is just one part of this process. Another big challenge was not being stuck in her own head.

I put a lot of pressure on myself to do the character justice and deliver. So for me, emotionally, the biggest burden was getting out of the way of myself, and being free. Because that's when you get the best stuff.

Fans have been eager to see Domino in live-action for the first time, especially with Beetz playing the role. She's been teased to truly keep up with Ryan Reynolds in regards to improvisation, so it should be great to see her kick ass and deliver comedy in spades.

You can check out our conversation with Zazie Beetz and her co-star Julian Dennison below.

Deadpool 2 is in theaters May 18th, and you can see CinemaBlend's official review here. And be sure to check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.