Going to the mat with 'Haywire' star Gina Carano

So a self-defense tip from girl to girl. If there's one thing you could teach me. I you look like you have pretty sharp elbows. Put that tip right there. Okay. On somebody's uh nose or Look at how sharp that is though. Is that a good thing?

Yeah.

What's up guys? Nikki Novak here in the Young Hollywood studio with Haywire star, Gina Carano. Hey. Hi. I'm a little bit afraid to be sitting next to you. I watched the movie last night. Seriously kick ass job. How was fighting with Michael Fassbender? Channing Tatum? Ewan McGregor?

It was uh it was incredible. Um they all wanted to do every little bit of the stunts that they could. There was no there was no stopping them for them.

Ewan was here and he said that when he hit you in the head by accident, his hand was more hurt than your head.

Well, and I know what that feels like to hit somebody with your hand so I'm sure that you know, I'm sure it did hurt.

And I heard that Steven Soderbergh, the director, was watching an MMA fight and that's how he got the inspiration to do the movie. He saw you and he thought, okay, I love this girl. I love the way she fights, but we could take it up a notch and have her beat up Hollywood actors. What could be better than that?

Yeah.

So who throws the hardest punch?

I don't know. I think that they all brought their own um different dynamics to the fights. Like Channing's so athletic and um we had that in common. So it was really cool cuz he he's a dancer and he's also just an athlete. And so that was a fun fight scene. Ewan is smart and he's constantly thinking and and constantly, you know, being funny. And so that was a really unique fight scene because it's on sand and it's, you know, so many different elements go into it. And then Fassbender's just tricky. Steven Soderbergh surrounded me with the most beautiful people in the world that were so open to working with somebody who had never done it before. And um they all showed up just rearing to go.

You can tell me right now why you sold me out. Or you can tell me in 10 minutes when I have my hands around your throat.

So your background is in MMA. And I actually took one Muay Thai class in my life. Yeah. And got hit in the face. We were sparring, you know, and I was sparring with a friend. We went in together. We were wimps together and then all of a sudden the teacher said, switch up partners and this girl came at me and just went boom.

I have a kind of I have a theory, you know. Okay. Everybody should probably be getting hit in the head every once in a while throughout their life just to wake them up. Just to knock some sense into them.

Yeah. Or knock sense out of them. Regardless of how it felt that day, it might have been good for you in a way. Some some way it might have been. I mean not in a bad way but in some way.

Well, I remember it. And now I have you here to tell the story too.

Well, yeah. Exactly. And then uh I've got my ass handed to me. I've I've walked out of gyms just like tears on my face just, damn, that sucked. Bloody and everything.

Well I heard with your a lot of your training, you fought men more than you fought women actually.

Yeah. Because I when I first started, I started sparring girls and they wouldn't let me spar girls anymore cuz I was one of those girls that didn't know how to control herself at first. And so then I was only allowed to So I I mean I'm sure that girl didn't have bad intention.

You hit the girl in the jaw that day? It's weird. I was like This is fun. That's why I remember it. So when you say control yourself, like when you were actually in a fight, does it help to have a lot of adrenaline going or is it better to sort of keep the control?

I think that's different with with each person. Um I wish I could control my adrenaline more because if I could be more um a little less emotional and a little more uh together. I mean I think that things would go a lot different in my fights uh as well as they they've gone. I want to have more control. You know, even when I was walking the red carpet the other night with the premiere. My whole body's just shaking. And there's

From nerves.

Yeah. Yeah. And there's just no controlling it.

Right. And then there's people that are just so natural like you on film. Oh gosh, Gina. It's just so comfortable. I'm just shaking in my boots right now. So how is it with guys? Cuz I would think when you're dating guys and you can kick their ass. I I would love to be able to do that because nobody could mentally mess with me.

Well, I don't know if you'd love it so much because there's there's something really beautiful about being a woman and vulnerable sometimes and having a man be a man. Um and then it gets really weird with my background. I'm a fighter and they always want to test their strength to make sure.

Did you just let them win?

Uh occasionally I have, yeah.

To save the relationship?

Well, just to save the person's ego.

So a self-defense tip from girl to girl. If there was one thing you could teach me for if like, you know, like a punch or a move or something. I don't you look like you have pretty sharp elbows. So Okay. Yeah. So what would I do just?

Um I'll have a leather jacket on but definitely you want to bring that in as far as you can and put that tip right there. Okay. On somebody's uh nose or anything that you could connect with.

My chest just This shows you what bad shape I'm actually in. Look at how sharp that is though. Is that a good thing?

Yeah. Really? I'm sure that cuts.

Well, I'm going to take this elbow tip with me. Thank you so much for coming in. It was a pleasure to talk to you.

You're welcome.