M3GAN 2.0’s Ivanna Sakhno on Embracing Her Inner Automoton

Even before the original M3GAN landed in theaters, the brief glimpses audiences got of the titular doll earned her a large following, thanks to her blend of sarcasm, dance moves, and proclivities for violence. The movie and doll’s popularity resulted in the sequel M3GAN 2.0, which introduced Ivanna Sakhno’s killer doll AMELIA. While M3GAN had just as many quips in the sequel as the original, AMELIA was a different type of robot altogether, whose stoicism was both more frightening and more tragic than what fans got with M3GAN, though she managed to be just as engaging as the titular figure. Fans can purchase M3GAN 2.0 Unrated now.

The sequel is described, “The original creative team, including producer James Wan for Atomic Monster, Jason Blum for Blumhouse, and director Gerard Johnstone, reunites to reboot M3GAN for a new mission. When an autonomous android engineered to be the ultimate weapon threatens M3GAN’s beloved Cady, M3GAN convinces her creator, Gemma, to give her a glow-up that makes the original AI diva even deadlier. Armed with wild new upgrades and her same iconic attitude, M3GAN claps back against the wannabe techno-terror in a fierce faceoff to crown the baddest bot built for maximum mayhem.”

ComicBook caught up with Sakhno to talk jumping into the beloved franchise, what about AMELIA resonated with her, and more.

ComicBook: You’ve said that there were things about AMELIA that were healing for you personally and things about her that you took away from the experience. As far as developing AMELIA, what parts of Ivanna do you think you brought to her that weren’t there on the page?

Ivanna Sakhno: I think fundamentally, AMELIA is also Ivanna, because I’m the vessel for the character, so I don’t think that I would be able to give you a precise answer on what makes AMELIA more Ivanna-like, but I guess just bringing myself into the work and then allowing myself to experience AMELIA through my own body would be that.

That helps answer another thing I was curious about in how you’re playing something that lacks humanity and I’m sure it’s a challenge of finding that line in between bringing her humanity so that she can appeal to the audience, while not making her too human and humanizing her too much to maintain that disconnect with the audience and with other characters.

I absolutely agree with you, and I think the primary objective was not to make her likable to the audience, but rather to understand her, and in doing so, you hope that the audience will be able to do the same and maybe see parts of themselves [in her] that are quite human about her.

Through the nature of this film, your performance, you have to maintain a neutral expression. You have to express emotions just through your voice and just through your cadence. Did you find that to be challenging to be so emotionally, visually neutral or was it freeing that you don’t have to inject the humanity that you might have to do with some other characters you’ve played?

It was a good and interesting challenge. It was one of the reasons, main reasons why I wanted to explore playing her. It’s the ability to develop a character physically that is quite different from what I had done before, and also getting the chance to work with a movement coach was incredibly exciting to me. Definitely a challenge in a way that you just hope to have that freedom and stillness, but to me, it was one of my favorite aspects of playing her.

You, Ivanna, are a human playing — well, actually that’s my question. There should be a question mark. You’re human, right?

Likely. High probability.

You’re a human playing a robot who wants to pass as a human. Are you thinking of all these layers of performance when you’re in each scene or is that just something you just train your body to do so it reacts instinctively and you focus on just the material?

You definitely want to try and get all of the physical understanding of her prior to filming. Of course, depending on the time given to prepare and all of the things like doing research and watching films and working with Luke [Hawker], the movement coach. All of those things are the fundamentals of creating the character and you just hope that you prepare yourself enough that on the day you’re able to be free with it, despite how limiting the physicality can be. You just hope that whatever comes your way, you’re able to move fluidly through it.

Something really interesting about AMELIA specifically is you have the majority of the earlier phases of AMELIA, but then there are times where she has the M3GAN operating system, and then there are times when she’s completely autonomous. Did you approach those as three slightly different characters or were they all just part of a spectrum of the core of AMELIA?

They’re all part of the spectrum of the core of her but those are definitely different states. I took them as entirely different modes of being, especially with what they call the “bombshell,” what the team has called her when she was in the gold dress. That’s an entirely different mode of being, because her focus is different from, for example, when she is interacting with M3GAN, which is when they’re in the tunnel together. It’s based on emotionality and the hope to connect and manipulate through the emotional aspect rather than just like appealing to a tech guy by being a hot-looking chick.

You have lots of really exciting stunt sequences and performances. Are you the type of performer who says, “I want to take on every single stunt imaginable and push myself as far as can be” or are you more like, “You know what? I’m fine sitting this one out and letting the double hop in to do the more dangerous, challenging stuff,”?

I’m known in general of just wanting to get myself as deep in it as possible, but it takes a team in order to be able to do those stunts and, understandably, I had a wonderful stunt team and my stunt double was just amazing. I was able to learn from her and, AMELIA, as a character, I very much I share her with the team, be it the costume or makeup or movement or stunts — they’re all part of AMELIA. So, definitely, I was trying to fight as much as possible by myself. Some of the tricks they wouldn’t allow me to do, just, as an actor, you’re insured and all that stuff, but I tried to do … there’s some sequences that I did solely, mostly, just by myself, all of it. Some of them needed some help from the team.

The opening sequence, for example, where they brought in a contortionist to rise from the seeming-dead, I’m sure they said, “Ivanna, this requires years and years of training to do this, so you’re fine.” But is there a scene that you thought, “I really wish they would have let me do this one,”?

I really do think that I did as much as I could. There were two units going at the same time, so there were pickups. I wish I was there in pickups, as well. Some of the stuff that we had to film additionally, we were doing at the same time with the first unit, but no, actually I feel quite firm on the amount of stuff I’ve done. I really prepped for quite a while in order to be able to do those things. I don’t have any regrets.

An interesting thing about M3GAN going from the first movie to the second movie, is how being a “villain” is all just a matter of perspective. AMELIA doesn’t see herself as a villain, while M3GAN had a little bit more of a redemption in the second movie, where she realized the error of her ways. Looking to the future, if AMELIA has survived, do you see her thinking of having to change her behavior or, in the future, do you think she would maintain, “No, I was doing the right thing in what I was doing,”?

You would hope that there is a certain amplitude to her development and to her character. I see her as continuing, a being who continues to reflect on existence and what it means to bring, really, consciousness in the way that she did. So, definitely, I see her growing.

You joined M3GAN, you’ve joined Pacific Rim, you’re doing Star Wars; you’re doing these incredible franchises that have huge, passionate followings, and I know you’ve talked about enjoying doing a rom-com or an indie film or something like that in the future, but you, as a fan, is there a particular favorite franchise that you’ve thought, “That’s the next one that I’m going after,” the next one that I’d really love to put your own stamp on?”

The franchises that I’ve been a part of really are some of the ones that would be my answer. Do I have a franchise in mind? No, honestly. I feel quite grateful to be a part of those ones. I’m more so seeking, actually, finding projects that are independent and some of the like directors that I admire and have admired for my entire life, those people I would love to work with. So I would love to focus on some auteur cinema, if you will.

It sounds like if the Terminator, The Matrix, if Marvel comes calling, I’ll tell everyone, “No, no, no, save your time. Unless you’re doing a Terminator rom-com, Ivanna’s busy.”

No, I mean, I’m not against those things, but my heart keeps being open, whatever comes my way. If it’s meant to be, I’ll be a part of it.

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Fans can purchase M3GAN 2.0 Unrated now.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You can contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or Instagram.