Canadian-born stunt performer Monique Ganderton has an action-packed résumé, from doubling as Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde to most recently serving as Marvel's first-ever female stunt coordinator for Avengers: Endgame. Her credits also include work on Captain Marvel, Avengers: Infinity War, Thor: Ragnarok, Suicide Squad and three Hunger Games films.

For the second-to-last film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's phase three, Ganderton wore two hats by doubling on set for Proxima Midnight (who is voiced by Carrie Coon) as well as overseeing all stunt action for the film. When considering the responsibilities of a stunt coordinator — choreographing action while ensuring creative storytelling and safety for all stunt performers — it's no surprise that Ganderton describes the task as "a really complex brain game."

Add to the mix the impact of being the beloved franchise's first female stunt coordinator, who orchestrated the MCU's battle of all battles featuring the most superheroes ever onscreen — Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Captain Marvel and Black Panther, to name a few — and it's possible that anyone up to that task is a superhero themselves.

Ganderton, 39, spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the "chess game" that was coordinating Avengers: Endgame's stunts while also reflecting on her progression into a momentous leadership role in her industry.

What initially drew you to stunts?

When I finished high school, I moved to Toronto to model. A lot of the models in my agency were taking acting classes on the side. While doing a fashion show on La Femme Nikita, I saw this girl roll down some stairs and shoot this gun and kick a guy in the nuts. And I was like, what the hell is that? What job is this? I ended up learning the stunt coordinator was Mic Jones. I wrote him this three-page, handwritten letter about how inspired I was watching the whole thing. He called me back and was like, "Well, this is the weirdest letter anybody has ever sent me." But he was so generous. He broke stuff down and told me to take gymnastics and some martial arts classes, and go outside to a park and run and fall down a thousand times. When I was able to make a little bit of money, I'd take a class here and there. After a couple of years, I eventually booked a job and was able to work

Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/