Gal Gadot & Alia Bhatt Embrace Contradictions in Heart of Stone

Heart of Stone stars Gal Gadot and Alia Bhatt sit down with CBR to discuss the complexities of their characters in the action-packed spy thriller.

This interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike

With a story by Greg Rucka, Heart of Stone has a lot of fun with the classic tropes of espionage/action. As seen previously in projects like the James Bond series, Heart of Stone embraces old-school approaches to action while exploring a very modern story, positioning Gal Gadot's hyper-skilled Rachel Stone against a conspiracy to use the world's most dangerous weapon.

Along the way, Stone is confronted by the inherent moral quandaries caused by her role in the world -- personified by Alia Bhatt's Keya, a brilliant genius with a good reason for wanting to change the world. During an interview with CBR ahead of Heart of Stone's Aug. 11 release on Netflix, Gal Gadot and Alia Bhatt discuss what excited them about the roles and the interplay they discovered between Stone and Keya.

RELATED: Michael Sheen Explores The Human Side of Neil Gaiman's Good Omens

CBR: Gal, you've had some wondrous blockbuster experiences in the past, but Heart of Stone lets you play with that classic James Bond approach to action. How did Rachel Stone compare to your past characters like Wonder Woman?

Gal Gadot: First of all, it was a movie that we've developed from the start, from when it was just an idea. It was an incredibly creative process to go through. Very empowering, very educating, and I enjoy the creative process. I think that Rachel Stone [is] a woman of many contradictions. On the one hand, she's a phenomenal secret agent that thrives on adrenaline.

But on the other hand, she finds it a bit hard to work within the system and follow the rules. She's wild, a loose cannon, a wild woman that also has a really good sense of justice. She follows her guts, her instincts, [and] her heart, and it was so delicious playing her.

RELATED: Twisted Metal: Thomas Haden Church Reveals Why Agent Stone isn't a Traditional Villain

Alia, you had the interesting balancing act of playing a moral villain -- someone who's positioned against Stone but has some pretty good points. What excited you about Keya?

Alia Bhatt: I like the fact that she's mysterious. I like that when you look at her, she seems like this young kid, but she's so disruptive. She wants to create chaos, and she's got this game plan. She wants the heart. And, of course, we're gonna get into why she wants the heart and all of that, but she has that purpose. That purpose is what makes her believe. To her, she's right. She's not wrong. She's not the antagonist. [Stone and her allies], they're the bad guys. She's the good guy. She's doing what she wants to do for her reasons. I love that purpose. I love those little layers.

But I also deeply enjoyed, while I was reading the script, while we were performing the cat and mouse chase between Keya and Rachel -- their interactions, even when they're not physically interacting... I'm not going to give too much away, but even when they're not face to face, they still have a way to tickle each other and trouble each other. I really enjoyed the way that was written. I'm not gonna say too much because I think I'm gonna give everything away, but all those layers are so well conceptualized. Kudos to the team and to the writers that created it.

Heart of Stone is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on Aug. 11.

Brandon Zachary is a Senior Writer with Comic Book Resources and has written for CBR since 2018. He covers breakouts on comics, film, television, video games, and anime. He also conducts industry interviews, is a Rotten Tomatoes certified film critic, and knows a LOT about the X-Men. For requests, comments, or to hear one of his many pitches for What If...?, you can reach him at [email protected]