Badass both on & off screen

MANILA, Philippines — A word to the wise ­— you don’t mess with Katheryn Winnick. The Canadian star, who plays Lagertha in History Channel’s period drama series Vikings, is badass both on and off screen.

An interview with Katheryn, at least for this writer, will leave you feeling empowered as a woman. The STAR learned that when she isn’t busy with film work, she definitely isn’t sitting pretty. A taekwondo black belter since she was 13, she runs a self-defense company with her brother.

But let’s talk Vikings, the reason Katheryn came to the Philippines recently. With the airing of the second half of the current Season 5 just two months away, fans would be happy to know some interesting developments, especially about her character, the legendary female warrior-ruler in the Viking age. These include her being alive and well and kicking butts, despite a midseason trailer that left a big question mark over her fate in the series.

Another development worth noting is that Katheryn has gone behind the scenes by directing an episode. “That should be coming out in the sixth season. I’m very excited of the chance to go behind the camera, see everybody perform and give them notes.”

Here’s the rest of The STAR interview with the Vikings star:

On the fate of Lagertha in the series: 

“Lagertha is still part of Season 6. She doesn’t die yet. Well, I know everyone wants to know. It is history and I think at the end of my last take — I can’t even say that (laughs). The series eventually I think I’m in my 60s. Having to go through a few hours of prosthetics, of making me look older and adding wrinkles, it’s very intense, but I think it’s important as an artist to be able go there and tell the story.”

Canadian actress Katheryn Winnick as the warrior-queen Lagertha in History Channel’s Vikings.

On playing Lagertha since 2013:

“My biggest worry is how do I stay creatively inspired playing one character for six years. Michael Hirst (showrunner) is the answer. He doesn’t ever let you feel comfortable, ever! Just when you think you got it, you’re on top of the world, he’ll find a way to put you in the slumps as a character and you have to struggle. And it’s the struggle that, I think, is why people relate to Lagertha so much. She is a human that has to overcome so many challenges in her life. And also changing my look, you know, I went from 20s to 60s in six years. That’s really interesting — to learn how Lagertha would walk at the age of 60. You won’t even see that for another year, so you might have to postpone this interview (laughs). But it’s an incredible gift to play Lagertha in Vikings.”   

On her character’s transformation:

“One of the things I bother most is how television sometimes portray women as only to be young and beautiful but that’s not the reality of it. Having a chance to tell the full story of Lagertha through six seasons and seeing her from her 20s all the way up to her 60s, I think it’s important to embrace that change. I will be honest with you, it wasn’t easy because it’s not flattering. But it’s important for her character to have that wisdom and allow herself to be able to be wise and not worry about hair and make-up and embrace every wrinkle because this is life! And it’s her way of embracing this chapter of her life. That was very freeing as an actress and as a human being.

“I think everyone should get their make-up done in their 60s and 70s so they can be able to embrace what’s to come. First time I saw it, I actually cried. It was so shocking to see me fully gray-haired and wrinkles all over. I also cried because I know what I can expect. There’s something very freeing and beautiful in that. I feel that there’s a lot of power in not having to rely your career on your looks and having your wisdom and experience and beauty, which is true beauty of your soul, to come into play more than necessarily just your skin. So, those tears were not tears of sadness, but tears of joy and embracing what’s gonna come.”

On thoughts about aging and media standards of beauty:

An accomplished martial artist, Katheryn (center) runs the Win Kai Women’s Self-Defense company. — Photo from website

“I hope I can (embrace aging). I think it’s important especially now when media focuses on beauty as the young thing and photo-shopping anything and making everything look so perfect. I think there’s a part that’s missing.

“I look at my mother, who’s turning 70 this year. She’s the most beautiful person inside and out and she’s so full of love and life, and I can’t wait to look like her at 70. It’s something that I feel should change in our culture and in the media, specifically, to show that it’s okay to be older. I think there’s a lot of strength in embracing the fact that hey, we’re all getting older, and that’s something I discovered in Lagertha, getting into her 60s. It’s been an incredible transformation.”

On how she fought to be part of Vikings:

“Originally, they did not want to hire me because they thought, truthfully, I was ‘too pretty,’ which is funny. They didn’t believe I could hold the sword but I came from a taekwondo background. I started doing taekwondo at seven years old. I got my first black belt when I was 13. I started my first taekwondo school at 16. I had three taekwondo schools by the time I was 21. For me, I’m like, wait a second, I can do this. I had to convince the producers that I can hold the shield, I can fight this, and I won’t do a stunt double. I refuse to this day. Every time you see Lagertha fighting, it’s me. I’ve never had a stunt double, ever!

“For me, it’s important to tell her story. She grew up fighting. I grew up fighting as Katheryn. This is the message I want to tell everybody, especially the women: I think every woman needs to have the key skills to defend themselves. That’s why I teach self-defense to women. I want to bring that to the world. Win-Kai Self Defense is gonna be the name of my company. I want to be able to enable women all over the world to have the knowledge they need to protect themselves against anybody.

“It doesn’t matter how big or strong their opponent is, but it’s knowledge, knowing the pressure points and your joint manipulations, and having that power above them not necessarily pound by pound, fist by fist, but it’s to do with the power of the mind to outsmart your attacker. I think every woman around the world should have that. I would love to offer that service to everyone. So, I’ll come back to the Philippines and I’ll teach you.”

On using her martial arts background in real life:

“Of course, I have. I have been attacked a few times, unfortunately. But you know the statistics in the States, one in every four is gonna get sexually assaulted. One in every two is going to be pursued and be in sticky situations. That’s only what’s being reported. That was a few years ago when I knew the stats. But now, I think every woman is gonna have some kind of (sexual) advances if they don’t have that knowledge. You need to inform your daughters, aunts and sisters, every woman. Husbands, you should teach your wives and daughters. I think it’s important that every woman has that knowledge.”