WORDS BY PHIL LIMPRASERTWONG

British actress, MAISIE RICHARDSON-SELLERS isn’t just a pretty face who plays a badass superhero on television. She’s also pretty incredible in real life as a fierce advocate and activist of women and LGBTQ+ causes.

Check out her scoop in our exclusive interview with the LEGENDS OF TOMORROW star as she talks about acting, her new role on the show, and the organization, SHETHORITY that the DCTV Arrowverse women have created to help empower women!

What’s your most memorable audition story?

There are so many! Auditioning can be a very strange experience. I had one audition when I was starting out where there was nothing to prepare, I just had to turn up. So I did and I was told I would be questioned as the character, except they wouldn’t tell me anything about the character. So I just invented a wacky weird alter ego and had some fun! Unfortunately, she wasn’t mystery woman they were looking for.

What is your favorite part about being an actress?

The diversity of experiences and roles. In the past 4 years I have filmed/ lived in London, Toronto, Los Angeles, Cape Town and Vancouver. Each place has enabled me to dive into deeply contrasting cultures. For me submerging myself and engaging with different places and people feeds me and enables me to continue to grow as an artist and an individual. Equally, I love playing completely contrasting characters, it keeps me challenged and fueled.  

Enlighten us a bit about your Legends of Tomorrow characters Amaya/Vixen compared to your new character Charlie. How are they related/different from each other? Do you relate in any way to any of them?

In many ways they are the antithesis of each other! All the traits that Amaya embodied with such pride, Charlie would scorn at. Amaya believes in duty before self and has a crystal clear sense of right and wrong. Charlie is a rebel wild child trickster who is completely against any form of establishment and order. She is out for herself and any other misfits. Charlie is so much fun to play with.

What kind of training and preparation do you usually do for the show?

I dive as deep as I can into the psyche of the character. I explore and build their inner world, their needs, fears and desires and all their shades of grey. I also research the world they come from, what their environment and upbringing would have been like to place them in the context of their experiences.

Are you a big superhero fan yourself?

The superhero world wasn’t a part of my life growing up, so Im a late comer to the party! But I love it now. Many of the comics were ahead of their time in terms of representation and visibility, and the DC TV universe is doing a great job of continuing that on screen.

What’s your take on the emergence of female superheroes in film and TV?

FINALLY. We are beginning to see an increasing number of powerful female superheroes, and this is brilliant and so important for women AND men to see and be inspired by. However, there is still a long way to go. We don’t want to tokenise our female superheroes or our minority superheroes, we want them to be as complex, as textured and as real as their male counterparts, because they deserve to be.

Tell us more about “Shethority” and your future plans with it.

Shethority is a global online community for female identifying and non binary people to share and become empowered by their own and each other’s experiences. We just launched our website and we will be growing it into a diverse resource and a visual art space, also we will soon be launching our in-person events, so watch this space!

How would you describe your style?

Free. I wear what feels good, rather than following any trends. 

If you are not filming and acting what keeps you busy?

Travel, reading, creating. Im working on directing my first project and creating a mini documentary series at the moment, for me being an artist takes on so many different forms, so I try to follow the impulses wherever they take me.

Maisie’s transformation scenes as Vixen:

What is your dream project?

Right now I am craving doing a gritty film, playing a wonderfully wild rouge. I love working with artists who are truly passionate about their work, so a script, crew and cast full of passion and fire is calling to me. 

If you’re a book, what type of book would you be and why?

A mad fantasy adventure novel. Adventure is what keeps me curious and growing, and the delicate line between reality and fantasy is one that I love dancing over. I love to leave ‘thats impossible’ at the door.

If you had the chance and opportunity to help a specific charity, what would it be and why? 

Baobab is a fantastic charity that helps child and young adult asylum seekers and refugees find their feet. Once granted permission to stay, there is next to no support for these individuals who have often survived deeply traumatic events, and are completely alone in a new, sometimes unwelcoming country. Baobab provides support in a wide variety of forms, such as therapy, community building and multidisciplinary classes. It has been deeply inspiring to see the work they do and to meet the people that have been transformed as a result.  

Visit the website to learn more about how you can help! https://baobabsurvivors.org 

See Maisie as Charlie in Legends of Tomorrow Season 4!