Emily Bett Rickards sees all passion as a positive.
WrestleZone spoke with Rickards to promote the digital release of Queen of the Ring. Rickards headlines the film as Mildred Burke, the three-time women’s champion who broke barriers as a female wrestler in the early 20th century. Rickards (Arrow, Calamity Jane) highlighted what drew her to the project and the powerful message behind telling Burke’s story.
In the past, Rickards has talked about dealing with passionate fan bases related to her work on Arrow. Rickards told TV Insider that she viewed criticism as passion, and passion is a good thing. Pro wrestling also has a very dedicated fan base, although it can range from passion to tribalism. Does she think she’d make a good heel wrestler, considering her experience dealing with fans on such a dedicated level?
“When you’re a wrestler and you’re a heel, I would imagine your responsibility is to be disliked. Your responsibility is to churn up whatever that is so that, people can release that. And maybe you’re the projection for that. If someone on that other end of that line takes it too far, maybe actually takes it seriously that your persona is who you are, that’s I think a mistake on that other person’s part,” Rickards explained.
Rickards compared it to being a release like someone in therapy might get, but noted that it’s all about striking a balance.
“I don’t know, I think I would like to be a heel. I think it would be very fun, I think it would be releasing in a way. It would be sort of like kind of like a therapy. But I can imagine it gets to you like — it’s sort of a balance, right?” she noted. “I can play into the heel and really, really like it. And then one day I’m like, ‘Oh man, this doesn’t feel so good anymore. Do I need to change, or has something in my boundaries happened?’ It’s really about being sensitive to the sort of interworkings of your own sort of honest nervous system.”
Emily Bett Rickards reacts to Naomi’s recent work in WWE
Naomi (finally) turned heel in WWE earlier this year, which set up a match with Jade Cargill at WrestleMania. This is a contrast from her past gimmicks, which saw her in a babyface role. Naomi also played a babyface as Ethel Johnson in Queen of the Ring, opposite Rickards’ Mildred Burke.
Naomi’s turn has been successful from a character standpoint, but she’s also still winning people over with her dramatic shift in character. Normally heels want to be universally hated, but fans have continued to praise Naomi’s skills. Rickards still sees this as a positive, noting that getting a vocal reaction is still a good trait, no matter what side you’re on.
“I have [stayed up to date with her work], I follow her on Instagram. I guess what I would say is that like, the boos are a turn of applause. But applause can also just be applause. But we’d also have to be like, if you’re a heel and you’re getting booed, you’re probably like… I would imagine that makes you happy. I’m doing my job. You know what I mean? But the applause is still just as equal to the boo applause of a heel.”
Queen of the Ring is now available to buy or rent on digital video on demand services, including Amazon Prime. Watch our full interview with Emily Bett Rickards below:
