![Sofia Boutella on being the intergalactic star of Zack Snyder’s latest sci-fi epic – HERO Sofia Boutella on being the intergalactic star of Zack Snyder’s latest sci-fi epic – HERO](https://trangangolf.storage.googleapis.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/23150242/412962084_779100577563268_3371857793184435682_n.jpg)
EJ: It definitely adds to the rising tension. I read that the story has been in Zack Snyder’s mind for a good few decades, what was it like working with him and seeing that vision come to life? SB: I remember him saying that one of his teachers in film school asked him if he was to do a movie what would it be and he said exactly this, which is super cool. Zack taught me some of the most valuable lessons ever. He’s someone who shows up on set extremely prepared, works really hard and is always on time, but it doesn’t feel like work, he comes with so much love and fun for the craft. He can’t wait to get to work and start a project, he draws, he creates and he writes, so by the time he comes to set he has created so much and is so well prepared that he’s fully able to let it go and have fun because everything is in his back pocket – it’s muscle memory. He surrounds himself with a group of people who are not only incredible people he loves spending time with but are also talented.
I remember coming to the set extremely nervous, I’m always terrified on the first day of filming and before each crucial scene, I was always nervous, but then I’d get to set and Zack would be having a blast, his enthusiasm was infectious. I absolutely love working with him, I feel so grateful.
EJ: The production itself is vast, how was it navigating working between real-life sets and visual effects? SB: We were in Santa Clarita in Los Angeles and Gower Studios. All the crop fields are real and I think you can see with the naked eye what would be CGI and what isn’t, Zack grew everything and it was nice to have it there for real. They taught us how to farm and it was nice to be on sets where we had an actual world built, it gives you the atmosphere and the feel. I personally also love working with a green screen, I enjoy it because I love using my imagination, I love walking on set and asking Zack, “What am I looking at? What is going on around me?” He’d then draw a scene and it was just like when you’re a child, imagining a whole world.