While Mary Bromfield was an important character in the originalShazam!movie, acting as the responsible “den-mother” and eldest sibling to the other foster kids,Shazam!: Fury of the Godsproperly introduces viewers to her superhero persona – Mary Marvel. Alreadya beloved superheroine from DC Comics, Mary Marvel fans are now able to see the character explored on the big screen, brought to life by the actress Grace Caroline Currey.
While Currey originally only played the young version of Mary, she has taken over the role of both the child and superhero version of the character for Fury of the Gods, making her the only cast member to play both versions of her character. Currey spoke to Game Rant about her personal connection to the character.
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WhenDavid Sandberg was first announced as the director forShazam!, Currey had just finished working with him on the horror-thrillerAnnabelle: Creation. “My brother told me that David was attached to this superhero movie, and he knew how much I loved working with David,” Currey explained. Her brother, who was familiar with theShazam!comics, pulled out one of the comic books to show Currey. “He showed me the character Mary, and told me ‘Grace, you look just like her, you love working with David, you should really try to get this role’.”
“The whole process of getting cast was really this charged emotional time for me, just because my brother showed me the character and told me about it, and the prospect of getting to work with a lot of the same team from Annabelle, just felt really special and meant to be.”
Beyond looks, Currey said she feels like she also resonates with almost every part of Mary’s personality, noting how Mary is a high-achiever, places importance on hard work, and has a deep curiosity.
“I think I would say what I relate to the most with Mary is that she’s got a rich inner world, she exists a lot within her head, and I tend to live in my head quite a bit.”
Currey’s similarities to the character of Mary can be seen in the ways she describedhow she prepared for the originalShazam!. “I go really detailed with my character work – I’ll have a map of their emotional journey and their character arc. For Shazam!, it was detailed, it was heavy; I was really reflecting on where my character came from before each scene and where she was going, and what inner turmoil was going on. And that’s a lot of thinking!” Currey laughed as she revealed she was putting so much heaviness on herself and the project that she only fully grasped how fun and lighthearted the movie was supposed to be midway through filming.
“It’s so funny that midway through I went, ‘wait, this is a fun movie,’ like we’re laughing, having a great time, why am I making this such a drama? Well, that is Mary, that is her character, so that makes sense.”
Currey emphasized how much she’s enjoyed seeing how many fans are excited to seeMary Marvel represented on screen. “At the premiere, there were two gals dressed in Mary suits, which was really special… It’s been really sweet to see how many people comment on her history. I think the sweetest thing has been receiving that joy from people – that appreciation and love. Because she’s such a special character. It’s an honor to get to play her.”
Shazam: Fury of the Godsis in theaters now.
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