Emily Bett Rickards on How ‘Arrow’ Fame Prepared Her for ‘Queen of the Ring’

TV fans watched her light up the superhero world as Felicity Smoak on eight seasons of Arrow. Now, Emily Bett Rickards takes on an entirely new challenge: portraying legendary 1930s pro wrestler Mildred Burke in Queen of the Ring, a big-screen adaption of Jeff Leen’s biography of the same name that hits theaters on March 7.

As a groundbreaking figure for athletes, entertainers, and women in general, Burke’s story is inspirational, and Rickards has already received strong acclaim for her performance after the film premiered at the Buffalo Film Festival last year. TV Insider chatted with the Canadian-born star about being hooked by Mildred’s attitude, the real-life physical rigors of transforming into a pro wrestler, and why Arrow and pro wrestling fans may be more alike than you think.

We are inching closer to the official theatrical release of Queen of the Ring. How are you feeling about it?

Emily Bett Rickards: I’m excited to kick it off and have more audiences get to know Mildred’s story. We’ve already had a festival release, so if there was a graph of excitement, I’d say there was a peak and then it was a little down. Now we’re gearing up again. I think we’re just so honored that people are really responding to her story and are liking the film. We think Mildred would be very proud of this tale of her life, so getting her story out there really just tickles me.

You mentioned the film’s warm festival reception last year. What is it like to experience this very gradual rollout while moving towards the day when people can finally see it in their local theaters and at home?

It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. The first group of people really liked it and responded to Mildred’s story. And then it’s like, “Oh, the wrestling community really likes it. They’re really excited.” And then you get really excited. That’s why we made this movie, you know?

Mildred Burke is such a unique character in sports and entertainment history. How did you nab the role?

The script ended up in my inbox. [producer] Ash Alvildsen had sent it to my team. They read it and thought it was special, so I got a call from them saying, “Hey, we have this script, and you just have to read it because we can’t really explain it to you.” It piqued my interest, and as soon as I read it, I closed the script and looked at my partner, asking, “Have you heard of this woman?”

I got online and immediately started diving into who this woman was. I started looking at pictures of her, articles of her, found Jeff Leen’s book, ordered it immediately, had it like two days later, and was ripping through it. I talked to Ash, and I think I was already three-quarters of the way through the book and didn’t have the job yet, really. I was just kind of like, “I just like this woman. I feel connected to her already.” That snowballed into my fascination of wanting to know everything about her.

Mildred Burke was one of the most groundbreaking pro wrestling stars of all time. Beyond the ring, what captivated you about this woman?

For me, wrestling would probably always come second because I didn’t know anything about it. It’s obviously a big part of who she was, but it’s not something that I could relate to. What I did relate to right away was that she had this dream and a constant drive to do it no matter what. She was so inspiring. She was against all odds for everything — a single mother living in a town that was not for her. She was told “no” all the time, so standing up in the face of adversity was every second of every day. She just kept doing it, and I don’t think she woke up any day and was like, “Nah, not today.” She woke up every day being like, “Let’s do it. Here we go. Going after it again.”

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We’ve heard actors like Jeremy Allen White, Zac Efron, and Mickey Rourke talk about their struggles with the physical demands of playing pro wrestlers. What was your physical experience like, and how did you prepare for it?

Once again, I didn’t know much about wrestling, and I definitely didn’t have that type of muscle… so that came first, which was really just working out with my trainer here in Vancouver at T3 Athletics, as well as Diego Botticelli, who was my nutritionist. Both of them created an equation for me to get as jacked as possible in a healthy way that would maintain strength, muscle, and energy through a very intense shooting process. Then we went to Louisville, where we had three full weeks of wrestling training with Ohio Valley Wrestling compounded with the weight training. Dougie Basham and Al Snow were the head trainers there.

Watching their shows was a huge part of learning what wrestling was, as was talking to other wrestlers about their journey and how much wrestling enlightened and freed them. That was a big part of my learning and training into that world as well, so that continued through the shooting process.

All in all, it was about six or seven months of door-to-door work. The shooting was only three months of that, but it was a build.

Do you feel like this movie was made for wrestling fans, or does it have a broader audience in mind?

I think it’s equally appealable to all. I think it’s an inspiring story. I think it’s the underdog story. I think it’s the journey story. I think it’s the “believe in yourself” story. I think it’s the story about how you have the power to affect the change that you want in the world. And wrestling just happened to be the way she wanted to do it.

Queen of the Ring has an incredible cast. What was it like working with Josh Lucas on this film?

I’m so grateful to have been partnered with Josh for this. I feel like he’s a lifelong friend. From the moment I got his number, I was like, “Hey, can we get on a phone call?” Within 24 hours, we were talking about the script, and that was the start of a really great relationship.

He had a hard character to play. Billy Wolf was not a nice guy. He’s not a good guy. He’s got his own journey… it’s a gunky character. It’s not always gonna feel good. And I think Josh did such an amazing job with Billy. I think the story we told was an honest perspective, and I can’t even express how grateful I am for being with Josh Lucas in this film.

What was it like working with Walton Goggins?

Walton was just with us for a short period of time, but his power shines through. He also taught me a lot … not just from working with him on screen, but also just being in the green room together. He has an energy that is abundant. Just by being there, he taught me that the more you give out, the less you burn out… there’s always more to go around. I was grateful for that life lesson. I don’t think he even knows that.

How about Martin Kove, who many fans may primarily know as the evil John Kreese in The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai?

I just saw him on the weekend! I was brunette during filming, and I’m obviously blonde now. I went up and hugged him, like steamrolled him down. I didn’t give him a chance, which now in hindsight, maybe I shouldn’t have done that (laughs). I walked away after we hugged and we did the niceties. I was like, “I gotta catch up with you soon.” Then, later in the day, he goes, “I didn’t know who you were.” I was like, “Oh my gosh, I feel like such an idiot.” Oh man, he’s fun. He’s got stories forever, and it was so nice to work with him, too.

With Arrow, you spent years navigating feedback from passionate comic book fans. Now, you are preparing to face the same critical eye from pro wrestling fans. Are you ready for it?

I don’t know. [Laughs.] What’s the saying? “Skin like a rhino and then heart like a rose,” or something like that? There’s a toughness and a softness that you need. I think that criticism is passion, and all that passion is good. When I was on Arrow, I quickly realized how passionate comic book fans can be. At one point, I had to have a really long talk with my therapist, asking, “Okay, so what is all this energy? I don’t really understand it. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how special that is. Like, aren’t we allowed to get passionate about these things that we care about? So I hope our wrestling fans like it, but I also hope you feel it. I hope you feel something. So let us know what you feel.

Your role as Felicity on the CW’s Arrow was [a fan favorite]. Now, with Queen of the Ring, it feels like you are bringing us another character — albeit a real one — who the audience can embrace in the same way. What’s your secret for consistently pulling off performances that connect so powerfully with fans?

Well, thank you. Also, you know, it is a collaborative effort, and you have to let the honesty and truth come out in a way that is authentic to the character as well. Felicity was charming and relatable, and she learned as she went. That’s what she taught me. She just told me she’s constantly learning, you know?

I think Mildred has that as well. She has strength and drive, and I think those traits speak to us because we aspire to them. I became an actor because I wanted to learn more about humanity. I think that those two women specifically allowed me to do that, so I’d be very grateful if they allow other people to do that, too.

Queen of the Ring, in theaters, March 7