“We put a lot of effort into that scene,” Bae tells the Post. “The fights in Rebel Moon are incredibly important. That spider scene took a month to rehearse.”
Bae began training as soon as she arrived in Los Angeles for the production.
“Endurance training, weight training, stunt training, at least two hours a day,” she says. “The props team gave me a sword I could practise with at home, just to get used to holding it, being around it.”
Bae Doona’s 12 best movies: Air Doll, Cloud Atlas, and more
Bae Doona’s 12 best movies: Air Doll, Cloud Atlas, and more
Bae also worked closely with costume designer Stephanie Portnoy Porter to develop a distinctive look for Nemesis, from the references to kumdo to the gat, a Korean headpiece traditionally worn by men.
“The problem with that hat is that it would fall off very easily while fighting,” Bae laughs. “We had to make up this routine where Nemesis gives her hat to someone standing next to her before she fights.
“So if you see her take her hat off, you can tell she’s going to get to work.”
Adding to the mystique surrounding Nemesis is her make-up, which Bae helped put together with make-up artists Aurora Bergere and Michelle Audrina Kim.
“In part one of Rebel Moon, you see Nemesis only as a fierce swordswoman,” Bae says. “We wanted her look to reflect her coldness and sadness. That’s why we gave her that unique eyeliner.”
“Zack explained Nemesis to me as a guardian of children,” Bae says. “He also told me about her weapons and how they worked. Her family history, her warm heart, they were the elements that enticed me to take this role.
“I really enjoy expressing characters who are multilayered like her. I believe everybody has layers that might not be apparent to those around them.”
Bae’s best roles often leave viewers with questions. Why does her character force a kidnapping in Park Chan-wook’s Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance? What is the doctor she played in the hit series Kingdom hiding? Will Nemesis help her colleagues in Rebel Moon, or does she have an ulterior motive?
“I know a mother’s pain,” Nemesis says after dispatching a foe. She cautions her partners not to celebrate an enemy’s death.
What may strike viewers most is how terrified people are around her. It’s not just that her robotic hands can turn swords into molten lances – it’s the children she has slaughtered, the assassinations she has masterminded.
“For the most part, Zack let me express Nemesis in the way I felt was natural,” Bae says. “He let me make a lot of decisions about the character, because on set he is also the cinematographer. So the process was, he let me act and then captured what I was doing.”
Bae laughs when asked about working with special effects.
“In certain scenes, I could see everything that would be in the film,” she explains. “The village on the Veldt moon was actually built, so I could see all the details of the buildings and be completely immersed in the location.
“But some scenes, like the final fight, were completely green screen. I was surrounded by green. What I learned was that in order to create realistic computer graphics, you need to actually build pieces of the sets.
“The art team put a lot of effort into creating them, whether it’s the wheat growing in fields or specific buildings. That meant when the computer effects came in, they would mesh perfectly.”
Bae promises that the second part of Rebel Moon, set to begin streaming in April 2024, will spend more time on Nemesis’ background. Snyder has planned longer, R-rated versions of both parts. They may give viewers a better chance to see just how complicated Bae’s character can be.
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is streaming on Netflix.
