In the final moments of Shazam, we witnessed Billy Batson gain a superhero family. We spoke with Michelle Borth about her role in the film, and that super surprise.
If you are a fan of Hawaii Five-0, then you likely recognize Michelle Borth as Lt. Catherine Rollins. Or perhaps you recognize her from Tell Me You Love Me on HBO. And while the actress might be known for these and other TV roles, we are excited for her turn as Mary Bromfield in DCEU’s latest hit, Shazam.
During an interview with Culturess, we had the opportunity to learn more about Borth, as well as her part in Shazam, and what it means to take on this special role in the film.
Considering Shazam is very much a family-centric film, it makes sense that not only in this interview, but also our previous one with Marta Milans (who plays Mama Rosa), one of the points both actresses discussed was how all of these characters came together, and why the relationships are so central to the story.
Beyond learning more about the family-centric story line and the character of Mary Bromfield, Michelle also talked about her own inspirations and even the history of these characters.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity, and does contain spoilers for Shazam.
First of all, congratulations on this role. We’re sure it is super super exciting to be joining the DCEU and Shazam. How does it feel to join such an incredible and historic franchise?
That’s a hard question to answer. It’s overwhelming. It’s slightly overwhelming and to be completely honest, because of this situation with the adult superheroes where we are not revealed until the end, it’s kind of still surreal to me because we haven’t been able to talk about it. It doesn’t feel quite real yet.
Tell us what about your character, May Bromfield, and the experience of getting to play her.
Mary Marvel is the superhero version of Mary Bromfield, who is played by the lovely, ridiculously beautiful Grace Fulton. When the kids become superheroes, they kind of turn into the best versions of themselves. For Mary, she’s really uptight for a 17-year-old. She worries a lot and acts like a second mother. She doesn’t really know how to have fun. With Mary Marvel and my role, it’s to let Mary have fun and let her hair down, you know, laugh and be bad ass. So for her, she gets to shed her skin and come into her own.
Were you familiar at all with the comic and backstories of any of these characters before taking the role?
I knew of Captain Marvel and I had heard of Mary Marvel. That was the extent of it. I hadn’t read any of the comics when I was younger, but I did do quite a bit of research. I like that Shazam is coming from the old-school DC comics, and Shazam was the original wizard that gave Captain Marvel all of his powers.
Something that’s really interesting about this story is we have a child in the foster care system who gains incredible powers. This isn’t a billionaire like Tony Stark or an alien like Superman. It’s a kid who’s struggling in so many ways and then gains these powers, and a family too.
I think that part for me is the heart of this film. It’s what makes this film so different from your average superhero movie that people are used to seeing. It gives it depth, but it also gives it that warm fuzzy feeling. Especially during a time when there’s just a lot of negative stuff going around in our country. This is one of those movies that just makes you feel really good.
That’s what I love about it. It has a total positive message that we’re sending out there. I also think foster parents are superheroes, these people who are selfless and give themselves to kids who don’t have a home. It’s my definition of what a real life superhero is.
To me, that gives this film its soul so it’s not just CGI effects and cool stuff to look at. It’s actually this really thoughtful and thought-provoking storyline. It elevates it that much. I think it sets it apart from what we’re used to seeing and that is what will be really special about it.
We also interviewed Marta Milans, who plays Billy’s mother. She said the film has an underlying message that even if you feel like you don’t belong or don’t have a family, you can make your own family. It seems you feel that way too?
Yes! It’s right on. Especially today, in this fancy, technological world, you often feel isolated. There are a lot more broken homes now then there were in my generation. We can find families in friends, we can find families working. I found a family working on this film, like not even trying to be cheesy at all. It’s really rare. I’ve walked away with six best friends and it’s just a total example of what we were submerged in.
We were in that head space and we treated each other like brother and sister. And usually when you walk away from set, sometimes it’s like “I’ll see you around” or “I’ll see you at the premiere” or something like that. It’s never like crying, hugging, saying “I love you.” I cried before getting on the airplane. I had full-on tears to leave and that goes to show that the message ran deep through us and I think it will show too.
Do you have any funny stories from being on set or a favorite moment with the cast?
One of the funniest things is that these superhero costumes are a work of art. They are beautiful pieces all put together, but they are extremely constricting and very difficult to get in and out of. So once you’re in it, you try to just stay in it. I know that this goes across the board to everyone who has played a superhero, but they just haven’t figure out how an actor can go to the bathroom.
Everyone else in a full bodysuit on set, they’ve got legs and a top. Mary Marvel is just in a onesie with a skirt. So, mine was very interesting. There was a situation where I had to use the bathroom very bad. I ran to the bathroom, undid my costume, but it’s impossible to do yourself up. There’s like eight different mechanisms you have to clasp and snip and it’s all in between my legs.
I wobble back to the greeting room, holding it like a bathing suit, asking can someone please buton me up! All the guys gave me a look like “nope, we’re not touching that, not going near that.” My Girl Meagan (Good), who I feel we were separated at birth we’re so close, she helped me out!
Glad someone could help, for sure! Now, onesie issues aside, how did you feel getting to play a superhero?
It’s ridiculous. It’s hard. It’s ridiculous.
It’s hard to explain or articulate in words. I didn’t know how bad I wanted to be a superhero until I got cast as a superhero because to be completely honest, it wasn’t something that I had on a checklist somewhere. And then the minute that I got cast, the weight of it really sunk in and all of a sudden, I was terrified because projects fall through and you know, things happen and they don’t pan out.
I remember I felt like this cannot fall through. I want to be a superhero so bad. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, a once in a lifetime thing for an actor. You know, it’s up there and I didn’t realize it until I got it. And then once we were there shooting and we were all in our costumes and we were on this insane set… it’s all very overwhelming. You just, you feel so lucky. You feel so grateful and you also feel proud, you’re so proud, but then you also feel a certain sense of responsibility as well.
When I’m all done up — and Mary is very different from who I am in real life physically — it is really a surreal moment of like. Oh my God, I’m Mary Marvel. I feel so blessed. I can’t even describe it.
Now, in the comics, she has so many powers — intelligence, resistance to magic, healing, clairvoyance, etc. We know you’re on-screen for a short period of time, but of that time, how much did you enjoy playing with those powers?
Because this is mostly the origin story, we are in the last minutes, a reveal at the end of the film, and we didn’t have a tremendous amount of screen time. Everyone gets something different. Mary’s powers are exactly like Captain Marvel — speed, strength, flight, bullet immunity — all of that. Mary has all of them. I would say the one that we’re going to see most though is strength from her. Like she can kick some butt and she might wear a fancy skirt and some nice fancy boots, but those boots are made for kicking butt.
It’s also indicative of her character and her gaining this confidence, letting loose and being free to be who she is and have fun with it. When Mary is out there, she’s laughing and having a blast doing it. She’s like, “You want some more. Come on, bring it on!”
It’s a fun character to play for a superhero because lots of times they have to be quite serious. But Mary is not. She is this 17-year-old girl having a blast realizing that she can lift the world on her shoulders!
It’s inspiring to see this rise right now with empowering female superheroes. How does it feel to be a part of that?
I do consider myself to be a feminist and I try in my personal life and use my platform in acting to really connect with young women. I have been doing that for years now, being able to reach out to younger women. Whether it’s advice or telling them to grab the reins of this era — the future is female. Just seeing that white sea in Congress during the State of the Union, I remember watching and seeing that sea of white and I just felt Mary Marvel. They get to do that their way and I get to do it my way. How lucky am I?
Honestly, very lucky. Every girl has some form of a hero they look up to — whether they’re in a comic book, a TV show. I mean there are little girls right now who just want to be Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
I literally just posted on my Instagram of RBG in a superhero uniform. I posted it and shared this quote with it: “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
Finally, we like to ask this of any woman we chat with for Culturess. Who is a woman, either fictional or nonfictional, that you looked up to growing up and why?
To be honest, my entire childhood, up until my teens I wanted to be Nadia Comaneci. She was a Romanian gymnast and the first gymnast in the world to score a perfect 10. She made history. I was a gymnast growing up, and so to me, what she did, and like how talented this woman was, was ridiculous and to me she was a superhero. She could do things that looked like magic. It looked like it was impossible to do.
And she was such a young girl. She was such a tiny little package, but she was a powerhouse. And I remember thinking I just want to be her, she’s so strong and she can do things that amaze people and inspire people. She inspired her entire country.
And even as I got older, her life was still inspiring to me because she got asylum here in the US. That took a lot of strength because she had to leave behind everything she knew and come to America to get freedom. And so her life, it wasn’t just gymnastics, her life, in its entirety has been a huge inspiration for me. I’m obsessed with Nadia Comaneci.
That’s amazing. See, it doesn’t have to be a hero with a cape — heroes come in all forms.
And then, of course, my mother. My mother is my wonder woman. I don’t know how she did it. She has super powers. Anytime I want to complain about anything, I think about the circumstances my mother was in and everything that she sacrificed for me.
Reporting by Sharareh Drury