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Read articleLet’s start with the obvious and redundant, so you know I’m not a bot: Elodie Yung is extremely beautiful and very, very sexy.
And French, which is the same as sexy, really.
Yung, 36, is co-starring in Marvel’s new Netflix series The Defenders, which premieres on August 18, as the complex sociopath assassin Elektra, the same character she brought fire to in the Emmy-nominated Daredevil.
The half-French, half-Cambodian ex-law student—who’s also starring in The Hitman’s Bodyguard, in theaters now—got her big break in 2013’s GI Joe: Retaliation. We get a big break every time we see her.
Yung: It was quite a tough area. But when you grow up there, it’s your reality. I think I only realized how tough it was when I studied in Paris in high school. But I can’t complain, I loved my childhood. I think it made me different, a bit more worldly.
I don’t know if it intimidates them, but people should get more used to having strong women in the room. They should embrace the rise of female power! [Laughs.] We all need challenges.
Am I impressed by men? I’m not sure I am…I’m intrigued by some of them, I admire some of them. Kindness is a quality I love in people. And a good sense of humor. I don’t think anything would depress me. I’ve known men who didn’t take care of their loved ones—that enraged me. And that doesn’t apply just to men, by the way.
I’d love a really gritty part in a gritty movie. Because with Elektra, I play a superhero, and I have no complaint, but you don’t always want to be the action hero, always doing the same thing.
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“To be honest, I don’t think I’m a sex symbol. Some days I just want to be in my jeans, a T-shirt, and trainers, and chill out.”
I’m not aware that I am—is that a compliment?
Ha, yes, it’s rarely an insult.
To be honest, I don’t think I’m a sex symbol. Some days I just want to be in my jeans, a T-shirt, and trainers and chill out. And some days I bump it up a bit and go out. But if I’m perceived that way by some people, I appreciate it.
I go through phases. If I’m doing a role, I throw myself into it 100% and really train—when I have to do it, I do it. But I’m not going to lie and say I hit the gym all the time, because I’m quite lazy, to be honest with you.
I had the chance to do a French TV series—they asked me if I was an actress, so I lied and said yes, and got the part. It was a big paycheck for me at the time. When I finished school, I started acting full time.
Yes, it helps me read the contracts.
The hardest thing, but also the thing I enjoy the most, is that Elektra is extremely complex, but I don’t think she understands herself very well. Deep down she has this blood thirst, but at the same time she’s the opposite of that. It’s exciting to play!