Uncharted’s Chloe Frazer might not think twice before jumping off a giant urn, but her real-life counterpart, actress Sophia Ali, admits it was a little “intimidating” taking on such a physical role while sharing the screen with actors like Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg and Antonio Banderas. Ali opened up to PopCulture.com about filming the adventure film with such an all-star cast ahead of Uncharted‘s Feb. 18 theatrical release, even revealing one unforgettable moment she shared with Banderas.
Working with a cast of lauded actors was a little daunting, Ali admitted. “[It’s] just intimidating and they’re so veteran in it,” she said, “and it feels like, for them, especially Mark, he’s just going through the motions. I honestly, like I love Mark’s approach. He just doesn’t really give a f—. Not trying to impress anyone or anything like that. He just knows he’s Mark Wahlberg and he’s there.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Banderas had a similar gravitas but was a little different. “He was way more eager to have conversations and he’s just a really nice guy, really nice guy,” Ali said. “Mark Wahlberg doesn’t really make very much effort towards changing what you might think about him, you know what I mean? He doesn’t really care, and I respect that. But Antonio Banderas gives me hope that we’re not all destined to be jaded … and he seems really grateful for everything, which is cool.”
Having expressed to Banderas how much of a massive Zorro fan she was growing up, Ali couldn’t believe it when the actor came up behind her one day and whispered a line from the movie. “And then that just became even more so- I was like, ‘Wow, this is definitely something that I’m never going to forget and I didn’t know I needed until it happened,” she recalled.
Playing opposite Holland as his character’s love interest was another surreal experience. “He’s such a professional,” Ali said of the Spider-Man actor. “He just is so good at this job. So good. Knows exactly what he’s doing. Great person to learn from.” She continued to call Holland a “really good diplomat” when working on set. “He’s very diplomatic, and I know that that’s an important part of the job, but I think to see him do it so effortlessly, it was like a nice, okay, yeah, it’s not so hard.”
Taking on such a physical role in Uncharted was a whole new experience for the Grey’s Anatomy alum, who admitted there were “so many times” she thought she wouldn’t be “strong enough” for the role. “I thought, especially when I was playing the games, [she’s] so badass in the games and she’s so capable and it intimidated me a little bit. It was like, ‘Huh? Am I going to be able to do this accurately?’”
“But working out helps so much for me,” she continued. “We did some strength training and endurance training and fighting training and stuff like that and the stronger I got, the more capable I felt. Yeah, it built my confidence up a bit.” Uncharted opens in theaters Friday, Feb. 18.
