The Fast & Furious actress Michelle Rodriguez has admitted that her character Letty Ortiz had a complete transformation after she was cast because she would not take the role as it had been conceived.
Twenty years after the release of the first film, the actress remarked during an interview with an online portal that she didn’t want her role to be reduced to just being Dominic Toretto’s girlfriend (Vin Diesel).
Jordana Brewster, who plays Mia Toretto, Letty’s sister-in-law in the movie, said that Rodriguez “totally” rewrote her character after reading the script for the original film.
Michelle was like, “No, I’m not playing that,” after reading her character. She then made a significant adjustment to it, she said. It transformed from a trophy girlfriend to a character with a lot of depth.
Rodriguez added that she advised the filmmakers that changes needed to be made because she wanted the film to be as realistic as possible and that Letty being a “trophy girlfriend” would have been absurd.
It served as a wake-up call for them to the fact that life on the streets is not like that, she said. “You don’t date a person just because he’s attractive. There is an order there. Can the person you’re dating beat up that hot guy? If he can, you shouldn’t date him since you wouldn’t want to maintain the status quo.
‘I know you guys adore Hollywood and all that, but if you want it to be actual, this is how it really works, and I’m not going to be a slut in front of millions of people, so you’re going to lose me if you don’t fix this,’ I had to remind them in order to keep it real. They discovered the solution.
Producer Neal H. Moritz continued, “Obviously, the characters were written by men, so it was good to have that female perspective and really try and dive deep. The team was happy to have other opinions on the screenplay.
No matter your race—White, Black, Hispanic, male, or female—we wanted everyone to be empowered.
Additionally, Rodriguez admitted that she pushed for Letty to have her own fight in the film because she didn’t want Letty to be left out of the action.
She recalled, “I remember trying to have a scene where Letty gets into a fight herself, because I felt like you don’t just sit around and let your lads throw down without getting your hands filthy. If not, are you merely there to serve as a role model? I’m from a place where that doesn’t work.
“So I fought for that, and then I realised I had accidentally punched the man in the face! It was a complete disaster. In Girlfight and Avatar, I behaved in a same manner. I’m just incredibly awful at it; I didn’t plan to do it.
In this summer’s F9, the franchise’s upcoming instalment, Letty and the gang will be back. Vin Diesel has vowed that the new film would be a truly special experience for devoted viewers.
“If you can recall the first movie, you will now go back and comprehend the first movie even more if you can. I like that,” he remarked.
The cinematic debut of Fast & Furious 9 will take place on June 25 in the US and on July 8 in the UK.
