“The Princess” Joey King Explains Why She Took The Part
The Princess is a not-your-typical princess movie coming to Hulu on July 1st. It is jam-packed with action, right from the start. In this interview with cast members Joey King, Veronica Ngo, and Director Le-Van Kiet talk about training for all the fighting, their favorite and most challenging scenes, and what they hope viewers take away after watching.
The Princess Action Sequences & Training
This film is very action heavy, which scared Joey when she first read the script. Funny enough, that is actually what also drew her to the film. She felt like it was about time she get some stunt work under her belt. She also likes the idea that the character she plays, the princess, is nameless. This allows the focus to really be on her fighting skills and her strength.
Both Veronica, who plays the princess’ mentor, and the Director, Kiet, were impressed by her on set, and in the movie. Veronica says that this is the first time you will se a princess story like this, and that Joey was so great in the movie. She knew she was awesome at fighting on set, but seeing it all come together in the final project she was very happy. “It’s gonna blow your mind. I’ve never seen a girl fight like that.”
Kiet explains that they planned for stunt doubles to do the majority of Joey’s fight scenes, but she continued to show up ready and willing to do them. “She came prepared. And did it even better than the stunt person.”
King attributes this to the crew always lifting her up, and making her feel like she could do it all. They believed in her. She had never done anything like this before, so there were nerves, but the stunt crew became a family to her, and helped her find her confidence.
The Most Challenging Scene To Film
When it comes to the most challenging scene to shoot, Joey and Veronica completely agree. The scene is a flashback sequence that takes place in the woods. It is just the two of them fighting, and it so challenging because they continued to fight for nearly twelve hours straight. Joey recalls that because of the camera set up, something they wouldn’t cut at all, they would just go right into another take. She adds, “I was wearing leather pants and I think I lost five pounds of water weight. That was a hard day. It was the hardest, but it was also the best. I love our choreography. It was a joy to do it.”
Veronica explains that any time she is filming opposite an actress and not a stunt person in a fighting scene, she gets stressed and concerned. “It’s better and easier for me to fight with a stunt person because they can take a lot and I can unleash on them. Fighting with another actress gives me stress, but Joey came in ready to go. I’m super proud of how we pulled it out. The scene is amazing.” She loves that because of the wide shots, this scene showcases the two actresses fighting together on screen.
Joey admits that she still feels guilty about something that happened in that scene. During the sword fighting she accidentally hit Veronica’s finger too hard and hurt it badly. She remembers it bleeding, but Veronica was professional and ready to keep shooting through the pain. Kiet confirms that yes, it was really bad. It looked like Veronica had been brawling. “I told Joey don’t worry. These things happen, it’s an action movie. It speaks to these two stepping up. Our camera set-up was special for this. We couldn’t shoot with any stunt doubles because it was a wide shot.”
Favorite Scene Of The Film
Kiet says that shooting-wise, he had a great time with the kitchen scene. They had a lot of fund with it. “By that time you are tired with the fighting and have already seen it all, so we added a dramatic element to that scene.” But when it comes to his favorite scene in the final film, it has to be the staircase sequence. “The scene in the stairway became something very different than what I thought. There is humor and attitude. That’s the fighting center of the film.”
Joey King agrees, saying that is her favorite scene as well. And that shooting it was heavily anticipated before it was ever shot. “Every day there was a little bit of staircase training because it was such a huge sequence. There was a separate set that was a replica of the staircase so we could train in it.”
What Do You Want Viewers To Takeaway?
Joey King wants viewers to know that this is a tale of an underdog. “She has confidence, but she does not know that she can pull it off. She’s taking it one step at a time. She’s overwhelmed and she’s tired.” She wants viewers to takeaway that no matter how strong or loud your self doubt is, you can come out on top.
Kiet agrees, saying “If you trust yourself and bet on yourself, you will be alright in the end.”
About The Princess
When a beautiful, strong-willed princess refuses to wed the cruel sociopath to whom she is betrothed, she is kidnapped and locked in a remote tower of her father’s castle. With her scorned, vindictive suitor intent on taking her father’s throne, the princess must protect her family and save the kingdom.
Tune in for some massive action sequences when The Princess hits Hulu on July 1st.