Kaya Scodelario has said she is thrilled her Maze Runner character is “a bad ass” because she could not get excited about playing a woman who was just a girlfriend or a wife.
The former Skins star, 25, said it should be the norm for female characters to be as complicated and diverse as women in real life.
She said: “I’ve never met a person that isn’t complicated, we’ve all got our stuff and our issues and we have differing opinions and that’s kind of what is so beautiful about the fabric of society.
“I think in movies, we want to to see more and more of that, we don’t want to see everyone that looks the same, that has the same idea and is going on the same journey. That’s boring.”
Scodelario said she loves that her Maze Runner alter ego, Teresa, “kind of sticks out and stands up for herself and believes in something different”.
She continued: “I’ve never met a woman who isn’t a bad ass. We’re cool. And I think that’s how we should be seen on screen.
“I’ve never been excited about playing just a girlfriend or a wife, because I’ve never met someone that is just a girlfriend or a wife. It just doesn’t exist, in my opinion.
“And so yes, for me it’s important, and it should just be normal.”
Scodelario has said in the past that she would like to produce and work with female crews.
“(I’m) really avidly searching for female voices within the industry, that want to create and feel like they haven’t had that platform before,” she said.
“At the moment I meet with a bunch of women that are writers every couple of weeks and we exchange ideas and help each other out with our work and kind of see where that leads us.”
She said it has always been important to get female voices heard.
“I think it’s wonderful that we’re talking about it now, but this isn’t a new thing, this is something that we’ve been working towards for a really long time,” she said.
“It’s exciting to have the momentum behind us now, but we just need to keep the momentum going.”
Maze Runner: The Death Cure is in cinemas on January 26.