Gal Gadot on Working With Jon Hamm, Her Friendship With Chris Pine, and Keeping Up With the Joneses
Gal Gadot is thinking of changing careers. “I want to come and work for Glamour,” the Wonder Woman star says during our interview for her latest film, Keeping Up With the Joneses. “Honestly, I do!” Why the sudden interest in the media world? It turns out our April cover star might have an ulterior motive: burgers. Yep. As soon as Gadot learns that our Los Angeles office plans to have In-N-Out for lunch, she’s quick to offer up her services. “For sure, I’ll transcribe,” she jokes. “For In-N-Out burger? Definitely.”
As much as we’d love to have Gadot join the team, the Israeli-born actress is doing just fine in her chosen field. “It was so much fun and light and happy making [Keeping Up With the Joneses]—even sophisticated because making people laugh is a hard thing,” says Gadot, who’s resume includes more dramas and action films than comedies. “It was a lot of fun.”
Just like Gadot herself. Listen in!
Glamour: Keeping Up With the Joneses is a light-hearted comedy, but there’s definitely a message here.
Gal Gadot: Never judge a book by its cover. I think we all make the mistake of judging people by the way they look. Jon [Hamm] and my character are being judged by Isla [Fisher] and Zach [Galifianakis]’s character just because we look stylish and sophisticated and we’re always “happy.” They think our lives are perfect and immediately suspect something [must] be wrong with us. Of course, they’re right. [Laughs] They think everything is great with our relationship and we look so in love and so happy, whereas we have our own issues and our own problems.
Glamour: I think it’s a good analogy for being a celebrity, too. People think their lives are made just because they are rich, famous, and good looking, but we don’t know the full picture.
Gal: Exactly. Their life is so easy, they don’t have to work a lot—but looks may be deceiving.
Glamour: Have you seen this photo (see above)? Hello, movie stars!
Gal: Aww, thank you!
Glamour: My first instinct was to say, “You look gorgeous!” But just last night, someone came up to me and said, “You look gorgeous, but wait, maybe I shouldn’t say that anymore!” I wasn’t offended by it, but it made me stop and think. It can be such a loaded thing versus a compliment like, “You’re so talented” or “You’re smart…”
Gal: We do live in tricky times. On the one hand, you have men who are misbehaving toward women because they don’t know where the line is. On the other hand, because we’re voicing it out so much, you have men who are afraid they’re going to be misread. It’s tricky because the balance needs to be found. It can be a beautiful thing for a man to come and say to a woman that she looks gorgeous—if it’s harmless. There’s a difference between [giving somebody a welcome compliment] and saying that you can grab a girl by her whatever.
Glamour: In the press notes for the film, it says you intimidated people on set. Did you know that?
Gal: I just heard that as well! Isla was like, “They’re really scared of you!” I didn’t notice that! I’m harmless! I’m all about peace and love and hugs and free hugs.
Glamour: What are your rules then for owning a room?
Gal: Making others feel comfortable. I’m very interested in other people. I smile. I just try to always speak eye-level. I’m a person that is all about harmony. When there is no harmony, I’m miserable. It’s really important to me to feel comfortable.
Glamour: Your name means “wave”—as in the ocean—in Hebrew. Do you feel like it’s a good representation of you?
Gal: I’m a very calm person. It’s hard to get me out of control, like big waves. But I love water and the ocean, so yeah, I guess it does. [Laughs]
Glamour: What are some fun things you learned from working with Jon Hamm?
Gal: He’s really good at playing backgammon. And his favorite food is fried chicken!
Glamour: You’ve worked with Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Costner, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Tom Cruise, Mark Wahlberg, Jon Hamm, and others. Who would you say is the female version of you?
Gal: I would say Chris Pine!
Glamour: I left him out, apparently.
Gal: Yeah, Chris Pine! Chris is metrosexual, and he would agree. We can talk about beauty and fashion. He would be interested in my clothes that I wear if it’s pretty, and I would love his new jacket and vintage clothes. We have a very similar sense of humor and can laugh easily together.
Glamour: Who would you most trust to babysit your daughter? Who would get her to bed on time?
Gal: A lot of them are good with kids; a lot of them have kids and are good fathers. But my daughter doesn’t like to go to sleep. She’s the best negotiator.
Glamour: Who could best negotiate with her?
Gal: Maybe Jon Hamm. He was a teacher many years ago. He’s really, really good with kids. [My daughter] Alma likes him a lot. I think that he might be able to find his way with her. He’ll do it with fried chicken and M&M’s. [Laughs]
Glamour: You post so many inspiring quotes on your Instagram. Which one speaks most to you right now?
Gal: I like the one, “Darling, just fucking own it.” It’s as simple as that. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Just focus on your own path and just fucking own it and be it and do it the best way you can.
