This year's superhero blockbuster films "The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight Rises" will have its fair share of action and fighting scenes.
Scarlett Johansson brought toughness into her role as a deadly assassin, Black Widow, for the upcoming Avengers movie. The actress worked through intense fight scenes with fellow costars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeremy Renner.
Anne Hathaway, who stars as Catwoman in the upcoming Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises," can empathize with the Avengers star as her role also required a mix of physical and mental toughness. Keeping up with their other male cast-stars was a physical challenge for both actresses.
"I came in knowing that that was going to be a challenge and I brought my A-game...Nobody took it easy on me," said Johansson in an interview with People magazine.
As the only female heroine within the male dominated superhero crew, Johansson dedicated months of rigorous workouts and stunt lessons in preparing for her Avengers role. One particular stunt involved a fight scene where Johansson was acting with her male attacker.
"[H]e was going all-out against me," said Johansson. "I was like, 'Will you hold it back? I'm trying to work it out here. I've got smaller muscles than you.'
"I feel like they did try to kill me for five or six months. But it's OK. I held my own," boasted the actress.
Hathaway's Catwoman role had her fair share of outtakes on the set of The Dark Knight Rises. It was reported that the actress gave a black eye to one of the stuntmen during a physical brawl scene.
Filming on IMAX cameras requires actors to get very physical. At times the acting can get quite aggressive. In Hathaway's case, her Catwoman suit ripped on several occasions.
"Anne was filming a very similar fight scene when her costume split right open right on her bottom. She's putting everything into this role both physically and emotionally and the wardrobe department is paying the price. She must have gone through a dozen costume changes due to throwing herself around, said an insider who worked on set."
The Avengers Black Widow costume shared a similar fate due to the multiple physical fighting scenes. There was so much action that Johansson's costume couldn't hold up. When all of the battle scenes were completed, the actress' Black Widow bodysuit was in shreds.
"I love it. I can't get enough of it," Scarlett gushed. "I think [the costume] was just shredded [at the end]. I don't think I even had enough to take home. There was like this much fabric left after all those fight sequences."
Fans hope that all the physical punishment Johansson and Hathaway endured for their superhero roles will pay off when The Dark Knight Rises hits screens on July 20 and The Avengers debut on May 4.
Check out photos of Johansson and Hathaway in their new Black Widow and Catwoman bodysuits. Click "START" to begin.
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