"I got my dream role" — When Serinda Swan shared her experience of getting the role of Medusa, queen of the Inhumans
Serinda Swan, a Canadian actress, played Medusa in Marvel's 2017 TV series Inhumans. In an interview with Build Series NYC on August 31, 2017, she shared that it was almost a month after her audition before she got the call from executive producer Jeph Loeb.
She described playing Medusa as a dream role. Serinda also shared that the deadline for her role was Friday, with the cast needing to be in Hawaii by Sunday. On that Friday, she got the call confirming she had the role, and she expressed being emotional while praising Medusa's character.
"To hear that it that I got it like I got my dream role and I got the opportunity to play this character."
Serinda shared that during that time, she signed for her role as Chloe Day, in HBO's sports comedy Ballers. She shared that having to negotiate between the two roles, with two major productions.
"It's just you don't get to do two shows and you don't get to do an HBO show in a Marvel show, that's just like doesn't happen."
Swan stated that there is a lot of competition in the industry, with more people waiting to play one single role.
"It's usually there's four of you behind, you know, right behind you, so next, so there's usually it just moves and you know, nobody ever fights for you, you're the only one fighting for yourself."
Serinda Swan said that she broke down into tears after the call, being grateful to play a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Serinda Swan opens about her experience of playing Medusa on the set of Marvel's Inhumans
In Marvel's Inhumans Medusa is the Queen of Attilan, and the wife of Black Bolt. Serinda Swan, in a Screen Rant article, published on July 17, 2017, talked about the extra care she had to take of her wig on the set. Swan said,
"It’s a hairy situation. I think I’m going to say that several times. One of the cool things with Medusa obviously is her hair and learning how to use it through the wig, but then also through the CGI. So there are moments where you are in fights or intense situations and you have to know how to use your face at the same time that you are using your hair,"
Serinda Swan further added,
"So there has been a lot of really amazing scenes where I have to sit down and go, “Okay. If it was my arm, how would I do it if it was my arm? What would my face do?” And then have the duality between the two because it’s sort of another appendage for her."
In a CBR article, published on September 28, 2017, Serinda Swan talked about her appreciation for the character of Medusa. Swan said that Medusa has different layers and volumes of herself.
"She's a villain one day, and a hero the next, and I think that's what makes it be timeless. You get to see all the sides of these perfectly flawed Inhumans.”
Serinda Swan has recently received popularity for her role as Katla Dixon in Amazon Prime's Reacher season 2. Some of her other major screen credits include Smallville (2001), Breakout Kings (2011), Graceland (2013), Feud (2017), Ballers (2017), Coroner (2019), and Devotion (2022).
About Inhumans, in brief
Inhumans had its theatrical release on September 1, 2017, produced by ABC Studios, Marvel Television, and Devilina Production. It became the first ever live television series, which was screened theatrically on the IMAX screens. The series is based on the Inhumans Royal Family, first created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. The characters first appeared in Fantastic Four No. 45 in December 1965.
The character of Medusa is described as having the power to control her hair, and use it as a weapon. The role of Medusa was challenging for Serinda, as she had to wear a wig on the set. After its initial run from September 29 to November 10 in 2017, Inhumans was cancelled by ABC the following year.
Check out our other articles to know more details about other series from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
