Mary J. Blige Did Her Own Stunts in Netflixs New Umbrella Academy: I Was Pulling G

Publish date: 2024-05-22

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Mary J. Blige kicks butt.

The singer-actress plays Cha-Cha, a villain in the new “The Umbrella Academy,” Netflix’s adaptation of the superhero comic book series of the same name.

“I went all the way for Cha-Cha,” Blige told Variety on Tuesday at the series’ red carpet premiere in Hollywood. “The stunt work was amazing. I did a lot of my own stunts. I did a lot of my own fights.”

“I was hanging from wires, for real,” she continued. “I was pulling glass out of my face. It was crazy.”

Blige even had to face off against Cameron Britton, who plays a fellow villain and is 6’5″ tall.

“We just did it,” Blige recalled. “I said, ‘Look, don’t be afraid. Throw me, punch me, whatever! Do it. Just do it.’ I’m strong like that.”

But, she admitted, “We were pretty sore and beaten up the next day.”

Britton was in awe of Blige’s work ethic. “She was up at six in the morning on Saturday to do martial arts while I was still midway through my sleep patterns,” he said.

Co-star Emmy Raver-Lampman added, “She’s a badass but she’s also like the sweetest human and she loves tequila.”

Raver-Lampman said karaoke was a fun past time while shooting in Toronto. However, she couldn’t recall Blige’s karaoke numbers because “I probably had too much tequila, too.”

“The Umbrella Academy” streams on Netflix on Feb. 15.

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