Actress does own stunts but she’d like a swearing double

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This article was published 15/04/2010 (5678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Actress Chloë Moretz is front and centre in the comic-book adaptation Kick-Ass as the violent, sailor-mouthed juvenile vigilante Hit Girl.

Ironically, in Manitoba, she would not technically be allowed to see the movie. Moretz is 13 years old and the film’s 18A rating specifically prohibits anyone under the age of 14 from entering the theatre (and teens between the ages of 14 and 17 must be accompanied by an adult).

Fortunately for the Atlanta-born Moretz, she is American and therefore has been able to see the film about six times so far. She says she gets more out of it every time she sees it.

"I see more depth to the characters every time," she says. "It’s so amazing.

"I don’t like seeing myself on screen, but I like seeing the movie. I could see it thousands of times more."

In the film, Moretz’s character, whose civilian name is Mindy Macready, is raised by her ex-cop father (Nicolas Cage) as an expert in martial arts and bloody mayhem.

In that capacity, Moretz acknowledges, being raised in a house with four brothers didn’t hurt in getting her into the role, at least when it came to the action requirements.

"It had me prepared," she says on the phone from Toronto during a publicity tour. "Also I do ballet and gymnastics, and that all helped me. I did almost all my own stunts except running up the wall and stuff."

The foul-mouthed aspects of Hit Girl’s character, on the other hand, were anathema to the actress, whose resumé includes roles in (500) Days of Summer, The Amityville Horror and the upcoming vampire movie Let Me In.

"I have never cursed in my life before, besides in the movie," she says. "I can honestly say, behind closed doors and even with my friends, I have never uttered a curse word in my life.

"It’s not a part of me. It was a part of my character and that’s why I did it. I would personally never say anything like that, but it was a word and it was in the movie and it was a part of Hit Girl. When I was in character, it just happened."

Shooting the film’s violence was not as punishing as it looks, but Moretz says it resulted in occasional minor injuries.

"You fall and you sprain ankles here and there," she says. "It’s no different from doing a sport, you know?"

As for the occasional requirements of shooting visual effects scenes in empty studios against green screens, Moretz enjoyed the challenge.

"It’s fun because you have to keep guessing and you have to imagine," she says. "And part of acting is imagining."

Moretz doesn’t have any trouble imagining she might play Hit Girl in a sequel if Kick-Ass proves to be a hit.

"I’d love to play her again," she says, adding she has already negotiated a new set of wheels with the film’s screenwriter Jane Goldman.

"I’ll definitely say that if there’s a sequel, you’ll see me on a purple Ducati," she says. "That’s all I’m saying."

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca