After watching Zach Cregger’s Weapons, a lot of things may run through your mind. There are the characters, the reveals, and the scares. Additionally, there’s a lot of actual running that could be running through your mind. Kids running through the streets. Kids running through the woods. Kids running through… other things on the hunt for… someone. We won’t spoil it here, but in her first interview about her role in the film, actress Amy Madigan talks about filming her character’s unforgettable scene at the end of the film.
Madigan plays Aunt Gladys in the film, the eccentric witch aunt of Alex, the last remaining child in the class where everyone else disappeared. We soon learn that Gladys is the one responsible for the kids in Alex’s class disappearing, but near the end of the film, Alex turns the tables. He uses her magic against her and sends all the kids from the class after her at the exact same time. They barrel through houses, walls, everything, in a hilarious, exciting, and ultimately gory turn of events.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Madigan revealed she was actually the one person running from the kids. “I said, ‘Oh no, I’m going to be doing this running,’ except when I get tackled at the very end,” the Field of Dreams star said. “Thank goodness this stunt woman came in and was tackled. Then I had to roll over and get eviscerated. Zach would say ‘you’re panicked’ and all that, but ‘just have your body be out there, flail around.’ That’s all I need to hear because I like being a physical actor.”
So that wacky running? That was Madigan. The screaming and flailing on the ground? Madigan. But the being tackled was not.
In terms of talking more about Gladys, like where she came from or what her deal was, Madigan was less open. “I used a lot of different bits of information, but I wouldn’t say it’s one or the other. I think it’s a combination of a lot of things,” Madigan said. “People ask that question, ‘Is she real or is it this or that?’ I said, ‘Good, you guys figure it out ’cause I can’t answer that.’”
She also commented on the potential of an Aunt Gladys prequel, which she doesn’t quite believe in yet but is seemingly interested in. “It’s not that I discount it, but in this business, nothing’s real till it’s real,” she said. “I just had such a great time working with Zach and being inside that brain of his. That’s really the gift of how the movie came out. The other stuff has to do with all sorts of conversations that I would never be privy in and business things like that. But, you know, I love Gladys, so I’ll leave it at that.”
Hopefully, we don’t all have to leave it at that, and we learn more about Gladys in the future. Weapons is now in theaters.
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