Role Play: Connie Nielsen Confirms Sword Fights Are More Fun Than You Think

Connie Nielsen is no stranger to stage combat, having appeared in movies like Wonder Woman and Nobody. The star, about to appear in the upcoming Kaley Cuoco vehicle Role Play, got her hands on some firearms this time around, but in a chat about the movie with ComicBook.com, she admitted that she prefers swordplay to gunplay. Looking back on her time in the DC Extended Universe, Nielsen admitted that the choreography -- and the fitness you have to maintain to swing a sword around -- made it a more fulfilling experience as an actor.

Nielsen will have plenty of opportunity to see (and discuss) some swordplay in the weeks and months to come; she's currently reprising her role as Lucilla in the long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott's Gladiator, which stars Paul Mescal in the lead role as her son Lucius. In the original Gladiator, both Lucilla and Lucius were saved by Maximus before his sacrifice at the end of the movie.

"I do like myself a good sword, I have to say," Nielsen told ComicBook.com. "There's something really gorgeous about almost like the balletic experience of that. You also have to be really strong for that, and that also gives a lot of joy, just even in the preparation for it. It's a really great experience and super interesting to do it as well. I remember once when we were preparing for, I think it was Justice League, and I was doing sword training here on the lawn, and there was a guy up on the electric pole...and he quite literally almost fell out of the basket when he saw me doing sword fighting on my lawn together with my trainer. It's super fun. You have guns, sure, but it's not as cool as the sword, if I have to be honest."

In Role Play, per its official synopsis, Emma has a wonderful husband and two kids in the suburbs of New Jersey-she also has a secret life as an assassin for hire, a secret that her husband David discovers when the couple decide to spice up their marriage with a little role play.

The movie stars Kuoco and Nielsen as well as David Oyelowo and Bill Nighy. Directed by Thomas Vincent, the movie comes from a screenplay by Andrew Baldwin and Seth W. Owen.

Role Play Premieres Exclusively on Amazon Prime on January 12, 2024.