In Masters of the Universe's post-credits scenes, the Princess of Power, She-Ra, makes her live-action debut. Played by actress and model Lauren Saliu, Adora is decked out in a cartoon-accurate costume in a stinger clearly meant to tee up an eventual sequel.
This week, we spoke with Lauren about bringing She-Ra to life in Masters of the Universe. During our conversation, she revealed all about what it was like to don the character's iconic costume and wield the Sword of Protection.
Lauren also explains the level of secrecy surrounding the project, how she prepared to inhabit such an iconic character, her dream roles, and the overall experience of stepping onto the set of a major Hollywood production.
The response to Lauren's She-Ra has been extremely positive on social media, with many fans already campaigning for her to reprise the role if Masters of the Universe 2 happens. The actress, who has also appeared in short films The Choice and Joggers—which have over 350,000 views on YouTube—has also started booking convention appearances in the UK and Germany.
You can find Lauren on Instagram @laurensaliu. Her book, The Model's Guidebook: All You Need to Know to Become a Model and Work in the Industry, is available on Amazon. Check out our full interview below.
How did the opportunity to play She-Ra come about? And what was your first reaction to learning that you'd be playing this hugely iconic character in such a massive franchise?
So I had the casting process. I'm not sure how many people they were choosing between, but I kind of went for a photo shoot. And I think because they kind of put us in a sporty kind of outfit so you can see the body, because I think they were looking for who had the closest physique to the She-Ra they had in mind, and just the whole look and vibe. And then I can't remember how long it was until my agent contacted me to say I got it, but I don't think it was too long. But yeah, I was so excited. And of course, I did not expect it to blow up like this. And I didn't realise how many fans She-Ra has.
When you got the role and got on set to put the full costume on for the first time, how did that feel? And was it quite a long process, a lot of costume fittings and design work to get that right?
Well, first of all, it felt amazing being in the costume. I felt like a superhero. The whole process was amazing to see as well because I was going back and forth a few times for fittings, and I had some 3D scans so they could get it to my measurements. It was really amazing seeing the process of the costume being made because every time I went back, it was kind of transforming slowly into the She-Ra costume. And the costume makers were incredibly talented. It was super nice as well. And then to finally see the final product and to wear it was surreal. I didn't want to take it off.
At the same time, you're holding that very iconic Sword of Protection, She-Ra's sword. It's an amazing prop. What was it like to carry that and do those scenes?
It was like the cherry on the cake, that sword. It was heavy. Like it was a heavy sword. It was a proper sword. And as you can see in the scene, I start holding it up, so I was holding it up quite a bit. In between takes, the armourer would come and take the sword away every single time. I was like, “No, I can hold it, it's fine,” but it was a very precious sword. He was like, 'I'll take that.'
There must have been a lot of secrecy. Was it a closed set when you shot those scenes? Did you have to sign an NDA to keep all this under wraps?
We all have to sign an NDA. But then of course, as soon as the movie comes out, everyone who had any role in the film just starts posting their BTS. I didn't really see any of the cast much. I met Nicholas Galitzine briefly and Travis Knight, but I was kept by myself for the makeup and to get my hair or the wig on. I wasn't surrounded by a lot of people, but then when it came to filming, obviously there's a big crew on set. It's amazing how much goes into behind the scenes that people don't see. It was just like finally being on set and seeing the whole set was a bit surreal. It was like a dream. I still feel like that because I was filming this a year ago, so now I think about it, it's like a dream. There was a lot of crew, but I would say it was kind of a small set. They were very secretive about She-Ra.
We're watching in the cinema or at home, and we see this amazing kind of alien world, the Fear Zone, in the distance. Obviously that's not there for you, so was it a lot of green screens? Did you have any kind of props around you where you're standing?
A lot of the set was there. It was quite big, but I'd say they've used some CGI as well to mix that with. I've been asked this as well: was there a green screen? And I actually can't remember. I don't think I did. But I guess for this kind of scene there needs to be that CGI element to make it look how it looks; otherwise it's a bit impossible unless we have magical powers to just make the scene so ethereal.
We hear She-Ra speak. Is that your voice that they use in the scene? I'm guessing you had to do the line on set either way.
Yeah, so that wasn't my voice. It was a voiceover, but I did have to say the line on set, which was cool anyway.
She-Ra is a character with a very long history, with a tonne of cartoons going back to the 1980s. When you knew you were playing her, did you go back and look at any of those, or was there anything in particular that inspired you?
Yeah, for sure. I never actually grew up watching the whole universe and the whole mythology because it wasn't my generation. So as soon as I discovered her when I was cast as her, I did my research then. I watched the original animation, the movie, and a few episodes as well. There are so many remakes over the years, so I was dabbling in a bit of this, a bit of that, watching a few YouTube videos and just kind of getting an idea. But yeah, she's just such an iconic character, and I fell in love with her straight away, and I resonated with her straight away. So I'm really grateful I got to portray this powerful, strong, empowering character.
Have you had any particularly special fan interactions, or has the overall feedback just been something you've really been excited to see from people who have been thrilled to see you play the character?
It's amazing, and especially there have been so many positive and supportive comments, which makes me hopeful that social media can still be a kind place. So let's hopefully keep it that way. But I was not expecting that at all. I didn't realise how big of a fan base She-Ra had. She-Ra fans are amazing, by the way. I love She-Ra fans. And yeah, I was not expecting that. When I first posted, I was expecting just a few, because I've never had that much engagement on my posts. I was expecting maybe my friends and family to see it and be like, “Oh, cool. Great job.” I was not expecting it to blow up as it did at all. So I'm just kind of rolling with it and taking the opportunities that are coming from it. It's been amazing so far, and just rolling with it at the moment.
I know you're doing some convention appearances as well in the UK and Germany. I think this Saturday is your first one.
This Saturday I'm doing Bury St Edmunds, and then in September Castle Con in Germany. So that's going to be amazing. I'm really looking forward to meeting the fans, and after seeing all the positive comments, I'm even more excited to meet the fans. I'm looking forward to it, and I hope I can do more as well. Hopefully more come up, and then I can get around and meet more people, because I've seen some comments being like, “Oh, can she come here? Can she come to Mexico?” and I'm like, that'll be cool.
Travis Knight obviously has talked about wanting She-Ra front and centre in a sequel, and fans have responded so well to the film. So if he were to come calling and give you that opportunity to take on the role more fully—I saw on your Instagram you've done some wire work, some stunt work—how would you feel about maybe taking it forward?
I mean, I'd be absolutely open to it. To play a character like that would be an amazing opportunity. I would be super grateful. And to be able to use my skills as well that I've worked hard to develop would also be amazing to incorporate into a role. So yeah, if he comes calling, let's talk. If he thinks there's someone else he has in mind that would be more suited for the role, then fine. But I'm a big believer in whatever is meant to be will be.
And you will always be the first actor to have played a live-action She-Ra. So that's got to be a pretty special feeling.
I'm realising that, and that's pretty iconic. People keep saying 'the first live-action She-Ra—you've made history.' And I'm like, yeah, I'm just taking it all in. I didn't even think of it like that before, but yeah, I'm so grateful for this opportunity.
With Travis, did you work a lot with him on the scene? Because I know he's talked a lot about this character. He's clearly a big fan himself. So did he have any specific direction for you while you were working together, or was it very much a case of you going and filming that scene and them tinkering with it afterwards?
Even the end credits—it was so... I think they knew what they wanted. They had the vision in mind. So they were kind of giving me direction of what to do with the sword, and I was helping to bring that to life. I think we tried a couple of different things, as you do, but from the get-go their vision was pretty clear of what they kind of wanted.
You mentioned before the costume made you feel like a superhero, but to be standing there wearing that—it's like a cartoon come to life really. Did that help you a lot with what you needed to do with the performance? You said about lifting the sword and just striking that kind of heroic pose.
Oh yeah, for sure. And I think actually the weight of the sword helped as well because it just felt more real. Definitely helped me feel more powerful and strong. And I hope that kind of came across on screen.
Definitely. Just one final question for you, Lauren. I've seen on your Instagram that you've talked about characters like Harley Quinn and Lara Croft you'd like to play, and you've now made this debut as She-Ra. Any dream roles moving forward you've got your eye on now that this is kind of paving the way?
I always thought that being Lara Croft, playing Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, would be probably my most ideal role, because it mixes the action with acting, and it's such a badass, powerful woman—also like Wonder Woman, those kind of roles. So that would definitely be a goal. And Harley Quinn would just be such a fun role to play. That would be another role I'd love to play because there's something fun about playing a completely mad, crazy but fun character, and there's the action in that as well. You can really let loose with those kinds of characters. So that sounds really fun to me. I also would love... I heard they're making a new Call of Duty movie, which I'm excited about and I think everyone is waiting for. I would love to be in that, actually. That would be a fun movie. That would be really cool because I used to play COD a lot, so that would kind of be very nostalgic. And I don't know why, but Twilight—I am a big fan of Twilight. I just like the whole moodiness of the films and the soundtrack and everything. I would love to be Bella. I don't know why; I just always have. And Jurassic Park is my last one, because just running away from dinosaurs sounds fun to me.
That's awesome. Well, you've done one iconic character, so I don't see the doors closed on any of those. And just before I let you go, was there anything you wanted to mention—your socials or your book or anything you'd like our readers to seek out after watching this?
I created The Model's Guidebook because it's something I wish I had when I first started modelling. There was no guidebook when I started and I was very much figuring everything out by myself, and it's a very lonely industry as well. So I kind of used all my years of experience to create this Guidebook for other aspiring models to help guide them through this crazy and tough industry. If I can use what I went through to help other people then I will do my best. But yeah, as I said, it's just something I wish I had, so at least I can pass that on to other aspiring models. All my links, if you want to watch my short films as well, are in my bio on my Instagram, which is just Lauren Saliu, my name. So in the bio you can basically find anything there is to find.
Masters of the Universe is now streaming on Prime Video.