Vanessa Kirby on Fantastic Four Birth, Doctor Doom Scene and Malice

Kirby, who rose to fame for her BAFTA-winning performance as Princess Margaret in “The Crown” before her Oscar-nominated turn in “Pieces of a Woman,” isn’t letting the craziness of the Marvel machine dull her gratitude for the opportunity to shed new light on the Invisible Woman.

“It certainly taught me about motherhood, and my own motherhood journey. That can’t be a coincidence,” she tells Variety on the day of the film’s release, finally able to unpack the scope of Sue’s journey through the film.

“Fantastic Four” opens with the revelation that Sue is pregnant, and follows the heroic astronaut and her husband Reed Richards as they question if their son will be born with any abnormalities due to their own intergalactic abilities. When Galactus and his herald, Shalla-Bal, express their intent to to devour the earth, Sue and her team travel to space and attempt to change his mind. She eventually gives birth to her son Franklin, and refuses to offer him up as a bargaining chip. When Galactus descends upon earth, she exerts her full powers in an effort to save Franklin, ultimately sacrificing herself — until the infant manages to revive her.

Below, Kirby unpacks Sue’s most pivotal moments in the film, from her “primal” birth scene in space to the moment she lays everything on the line to protect her son.

Invisible characters are often portrayed as meek and shy. I was so glad to see that wasn’t the case with Sue – she’s powerful, capable and is immediately established as a leader both within the group and with the public. Was that a key factor that drew you to her?

Yes, definitely. And it’s a testament to Matt Shakman’s vision for her, and wanting to be faithful to the comics. It was such a pleasure to go back and read Sue from 1961. It always felt like, “How can we be as true to what these incredible artists have imagined over the years?” She always felt like a total mixture of so many things: obviously, deeply maternal and deeply loving and incredibly steady, but also fierce.

In a way, it taught me so much about motherhood, because that’s what motherhood is. It’s not a passive thing. To give birth, you have to be completely, totally fierce. I’m so happy that you feel that. That’s so moving to me, and all I could have hoped for her.

You brought up giving birth, and of course, this film features a memorable scene in which Sue goes into labor in space. What did you think when you first read that in the script, and how did you approach that scene?

I remember reading that going, “This is so cool that, at the midpoint of the movie, it centers this woman giving birth, and these three kind and loving men supporting her as she’s doing it.” It was so cool to see that a superhero was doing something so primal and so utterly human. I was most excited for that bit. I also did a birth in this this little movie called “Pieces of a Woman.” I was so excited to be asked to do it again, and I also wanted to make it different. And then, of course, we were doing it in zero gravity, so that’s its own challenge.

The courage to put this very primal feminine act — and what it represents that it’s happening intergalactically while they’re in space — there’s something very metaphorical about it. We had an amazing couple of weeks shooting that sequence in that spaceship. I loved every minute. I lost my voice by the end. You only see a few shots in there, but we did hundreds, just roaring the whole time. I think the crew had to get earplugs by the end. It was a very beautiful thing to shoot. I felt so supported by those actors.

And it gave us an iconic moment of The Thing cutting the umbilical cord, and holding the baby so gently in his giant hands.

It was so moving. It was important to us to have this baby at the center of this family, and for these men being uncles and a father. This baby really is at the heart of the story, and there’s something about this new life that they’re protecting. They’re not just protecting the world. It’s about what this new consciousness represents.

When shooting with Franklin, how often was it a real baby versus movie magic?

100% of the film was shot with a real baby. Our lead baby, Ada, a little girl, was just heaven. We had lots of other babies who were acting with us and helping us. We got really attached to them, and they were so part of our journey. It almost became weird if they weren’t there.

Also, it’s challenging. The speech that Sue has was a night shoot. It was really late and we were shooting in winter in London, and all the babies cried at exactly the same line. I thought, “Am I delivering something so bad that they’re crying at the same moment?” Babies are the most natural actors in the world.

The beautiful bond Sue shares with Franklin is ultimately what propels her to save the world – she’s willing to give up her life to defeat Galactus and protect her son. What was it like filming that scene and evoking such a physically exhausting task for her?

It was so helpful to know that it was a mother’s rage, and a mother’s love, because it felt animal. I wanted it to feel more primal, rather than just, “I’m trying to defeat this enemy for everybody.” It’s more like, “I’m fighting to save my child.” I wanted to tap into how fierce the feminine is, while knowing that Sue also embodies a very soft femininity as well.

Sometimes action females can feel invincible. We don’t see the softer sides of them. For Sue, undeniably, since the ’60s, she felt like this maternal force. I think for all of us and Matt Shakman, it was asking the question of what the maternal feminine is really like. I really hope women like the film, because that’s what I responded to Sue about in the comics so deeply.

In many ways, the film feels like a love letter to motherhood. Sue delivers a powerful monologue about moving heaven and earth for her son, and it’s what reminds the world of their humanity.

That’s such a beautiful way to put it. I’m so touched. I really noticed my own apprehensions about playing a pregnant mother, superhero, wife and sister. We were so conscious of trying not to fall into any tropes. It’s not like Sue had to be so tough that she couldn’t also be very gentle. Mothers are honestly warriors, everyday superheroes. We all know that, because we all come from one.

You’re the only member of the Fantastic Four who appears in the mid-credits scene. It was directed by the Russo Brothers during “Avengers: Doomsday” filming and notably features our first glimpse at Doctor Doom – but we don’t see his face. Was that really Robert Downey Jr. on set with you?

Yeah! Robert’s never not been on set. He’s always there. He is our leader. We call him our Godfather. He’s looked after us. It’s such a joy working with the Russos and him, because they’ve had such deep collaboration for so long.

And it’s been amazing being pregnant and working on “Avengers.” I felt so inspired and so relieved that I’ve been so taken care of. It’s been a really beautiful journey. Robert is just doing incredible work. I’m so excited.

You’ve spoken before about being drawn to Sue’s Malice incarnation. Is that something you’re itching to show in the MCU?

Itching! I’m dying to do Malice. She’s come from a really tough background. She lost her mother in a car crash. Her dad tried to save her mother. He couldn’t. He then spiraled, became an alcoholic, got locked up in prison for murdering a loan shark, and then died. Sue had to become a mother to Johnny. They were orphans. They had to fight for themselves. What I loved about her was that she chose a path that was inherently a positive one. She chose to keep her heart open and to stay warm. The Future Foundation, for me, wasn’t a noble political act, but it seemed to me that it’s Sue’s nature.

There was a line within a scene that isn’t in it anymore with Mole Man – who I absolutely love. I’m so excited that we might get to do more with him if we get to do any more of this, because Paul [Walter Hauser] is amazing. But in it, she said something like, “I could give you an aneurysm if I wanted to in two seconds.” In the comics, Sue uses that threat quite a lot: “I could put a force field in your brain and give you an aneurysm. I could put an air bubble inside of you and kill you in an instant.” These powers are also really lethal and really dangerous. But these four have chosen to unite the global community and be a force for good. But they could also choose to be a force for bad. I love the concept of choice, not just, “Oh, we’re superheroes, that’s who we are.”

She’s made this decision, but at her fingertips, she could be lethal. It felt so real to me that somebody that’s trying to be a force for good also has the capacity, like we all do, for the light and the dark.

(Laughs) I’m sorry, I’m such a Sue nerd. There was something so allegorical about her. She was called Invisible Girl. Then Psycho-Man comes and disrupts everything, and she has a meeting with her own dark side in Malice. She comes back, and she renames herself Invisible Woman. So she transforms from a girl to a woman. There’s something about meeting the hardest parts of yourself in Malice that felt extremely poignant to me. I’m really hopeful I might be allowed to be Malice at some point for her.

This interview has been edited and condensed.