Watchmen: Malin Akerman says she felt ‘out of her league’ and ‘the weak link’ in Zack Snyder adaptation
Akerman's performance in film bore brunt of cast criticism at the time
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Malin Akerman has revealed she felt like “the weak link” in Zack Snyder’s controversial adaptation of Alan Moore’s comic book Watchmen.
The Swedish actor played Silk Spectre II in the 2009 movie, which has developed a cult following in the years since, but earned mixed reviews upon release. Akerman’s performance bore the brunt of cast criticism, and she has now confessed to feeling insecure on set.
“I felt way out of my league on that one,” Akerman told Collider. “I really struggled because it was such a big film and I really felt like I had no idea what I was doing. I had no training and I was working with these fabulous theatre actors who had all the training in the world. I definitely didn’t feel worthy of being there.”
Prior to Watchmen, Akerman was best known for her roles in romcoms 27 Dresses and The Heartbreak Kid, as well as the Lisa Kudrow black comedy The Comeback.
The Watchmen cast included Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley and classically-trained actors including Patrick Wilson, Billy Crudup and Matthew Goode.
Akerman continued: “I just said, ‘Alright, I can’t just follow now anymore. I have to start making decisions of what it is that I want to learn. I don’t want to feel like I’m in that position where I feel like I’m the weakest link in a production’ … I realised that I didn’t know how to prepare for a role and they did, and that was really getting to me. I was disappointed in myself that I hadn’t taken more time before going into [it].”
After Watchmen, Snyder further developed a cult fandom as a result of his work in the DC Universe, directing films including Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Watchmen was adapted for television in 2019, with Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof lifting characters and concepts from Moore’s original books. It was widely heralded as one of the best TV events of the year.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments