INTERVIEW: Maggie Grace Done With Helpless Female Roles

Maggie Grace may need some rescuing from a space prison by Guy Pearce LOCKOUT, but her character can handle her own in the Luc Besson-produced film.  After starring in Besson's Taken (Liam Neeson) as a helpless teen, the LOCKOUT star feels "empowered" to be playing a role where she  gets in on the action.

In LOCKOUT, Maggie Grace is Emilie Wornack, a humanitarian and daughter of the US president who travels to an experimental prison in space where hundreds of hardened criminals are kept in artificial sleep.  When her visit causes a violent criminal to take over the prison and release the insane prisoners, Guy Pearce's rogue agent Snow is sent in to rescue her.  Watch 5-minute preview of LOCKOUT.

While Grace's character requires help to escape, she proves a formidable ally to Snow. Grace recently told press she was attracted to the Luc Besson film because of the humor on the page and the fact that the film didn't take itself too seriously. 

"That's how I like my action movies served up."

Grace was more than "happy" to play a character unlike her Taken role in which she feels "empowered" as a female. Emilie is not the action hero Guy Pearce is yet her character is more than capable of taking caring of herself in the dangerous situation she finds herself in.  The trick to strong women roles in Hollywood, according to the "Lost" and Twilight Breaking Dawn actress, is finding the right balance.

"I think we're still finding the balance and how we communicate gender roles in the media. That you could still be feminine AND kick some butt."

After shooting LOCKOUT, Grace ventured into action territory once again with Luc Besson in the sequel to Taken where her character Kim is no longer the damsel in distress when she is forced into saving her parents.  Grace reveals Kim doesn't go ala La Femme Nikita in Taken 2, because it wouldn't make sense but she does become capable of it under the circumstances. She recently wrapped production on Taken 2.

While the wire work during the production proved painful for Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace admits being strapped to wires was her favorite part of the action sequences.  Not turned off by the physicality of the action genre, she would do it again.  However, she wouldn't mind a romantic comedy to balance out her roles.  Maggie will next be seen in the final installment of the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 this fall.

LOCKOUT is in movie theatres April 13, 2012.