Mainstream media has historically cried shy of portraying strong, self-reliant women on screen. No matter how robust their characters seem on the surface, further exploration always reveals a fundamental dependence on male peers in the storyline. But for actress Katheryn Winnick, portraying women in weighty roles is vital.
“The medium of television and film has such a strong impact in building our society and influencing young girls and boys of cultural norms. I truly believe in the responsibility (to) depict women in powerful roles,” she says. In a chat with Weekend , she talks of how women are represented in media, her acclaimed role in the television history-drama, Vikings, and her self-defence programme for women.
Beyond gender
According to Winnick, television shows and films with independent female characters are the need of the hour. “With all the Hollywood scandals of sexual harassment, I think it’s very important to have a strong role model and be able to show that (women) can fight for what they believe in,” she says. In fact, it isn’t just about the female demographic, the message needs to be universal, she insists.
In Vikings , Winnick plays warrior queen Lagertha. “I feel it’s a character people look up to; she stands up for herself and sticks up for what she believes in,” she says, sharing that her personal belief — of equality for men and women — finds resonance in the character. “I feel like I bring a lot of my own personal life to the role, and I care very deeply about who she is and how she’s portrayed. What I love about playing Lagertha is that I’m constantly getting challenged,” she adds.
The Canadian-born actor, who won a Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Vikings in 2015, is no stranger to tele-land. With a career spanning more than a decade, she has essayed notable characters in hit television shows like House , Bones , Law & Order and Person of Interest . Earlier this year, she starred alongside Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey in the science fantasy, The Dark Tower, and also lent her voice for the recently-released activisation game, Call of Duty - World War II .
Defence training
While the Vikings shoot is demanding, Winnick attributes the success of the show to the team’s collaborative effort. In the series, she also finally brings in her martial arts background. Laughing that though she may not look like she can hold her own in a fight, she reveals her martial arts — she started training in Taekwondo at the age of seven, and went on to earn her black belt by 13 and open her first martial arts school by the age of 16 — gave her confidence growing up.
And today, in a bid to help women stand up for themselves in dire circumstances, she runs a self-defence school called Win Kai Self Defense. “I strongly want, with a personal passion, to be able to arm every woman, every girl out there with the knowledge that they need to protect themselves,” affirms Winnick, who is also a trained bodyguard with a degree in kinesiology from York University.
Up next
Along with playing Lagertha, the actress is all geared to direct an episode of Vikings, in season six, thus realising her long standing dream to get behind the camera. “I’ve been on the same set for six years now. I’m excited about telling a story from a different medium — not just acting, but also directing,” she says. Ask her about how she sees her character evolving and she chooses to keep mum. However, she does drop a few hints that her character may be bowing out of the series soon, in a poignant but expected plot twist.
Vikingsa irs every Monday – Friday at 10 pm on AXN
