Original-Cin Q&A: Emily Bett Rickards on Nailing the Queen of the Ring
By Bonnie Laufer
The new drama Queen of the Ring is based on the fascinating and inspiring true story of Mildred Burke.
In a time when pro wrestling for women was illegal all over the United States, Burke — a small-town single mother — embraced the danger of a changing culture, dominating America's most masculine sport to become the first million-dollar female athlete in history.
Bonnie Laufer spoke to Canada’s Emily Bett Rickards who plays Burke about her the rigourous preparation ahead of filming. Queen of the Ring is now in theatres.
Click here to watch Bonnie’s interview with actor Gavin Casalegno (The Summer I Turned Pretty) who plays Mildred’s teenage son Joe Jr. in the film. And click here to read our review of the film.
ORIGINAL-CIN: Congratulations, Emily on a fantastic job. Watching the film, I wondered, ‘How do I not know about Mildred Burke?’ Had she been on your radar in any way before you were even approached to play her in the film?
EMILY BETT RICKARDS: I didn't know anything about her, and so when I ended up with the script, that was my first thought. I was reading it in the kitchen next to my partner, and I closed the laptop, and I said, ‘Do you know who this woman is?’ We didn't know who she was, so I started a deep dive into the internet, figuring out who she really was before I had signed on to be a part of her story. I became so fascinated with her life and her accomplishments I felt we needed to tell this story.
O-C: Are you a wrestling fan because you really don’t have to be captivated and impressed with Mildred’s life.
EBR: I didn't know anything about wrestling at the time, but now, since I've been indoctrinated into this world and the pros that taught me, I’m fascinated by it. I was blessed throughout the process to work with some amazing female wrestlers who were so open about their own journeys.
O-C: Your preparation was intense. Let's start off with preparing your body and getting in physical shape. Your muscles were unbelievable.
EBR: I didn't have the muscle that she had, nor do I have it anymore. I worked hard because I felt it was important to have that muscular body for believability. It became very apparent that to channel her energetically and find out who she was, that muscle was also very important, because she walked around the world so differently than I did. Her shoulders, because of her back muscles, were more rigid and her legs were so muscular. Changing your physicality really helped me find her spine.
My acting coach was a huge help early on when I was trying to figure out certain scenes and what the throughline was. I would get frustrated because I wasn’t getting it. He told me to just be patient. You don't have her muscles yet, you don't know how she navigates the world. It even affects our conversation.
To put on this type of muscle, in addition to the strict workouts, I ate lots of chicken breast, lots of protein, and did lots of weights and no cardio. I had a team of experts who helped me build this body. We had three months before we went to camera, which isn't very long.
O-C: Wow, that's for sure.
EBR: I highly recommend women lift weights. The muscle that you gain at any age is the muscle that keeps you upright in your 80s. Mildred didn't really know how inspiring she was. Women weren't in the gym. Women weren't muscular. She was just doing it because she wanted to use her body in this way, and I'm so inspired by that.
O-C: Then you get into the ring bouncing off the ropes… extremely painful?
EBR: You nailed it. The ropes are the excruciating part, because they cause annoying pain. I sort of describe it as taking a bump as meaningful pain, like that one kind of felt good. If it felt good and painful I knew I was doing it right!
O-C: After preparing for all that training, she was also a single mother trying to raise her son. She meets Billy Wolfe, her manager and then husband who treated her horrifically, abusing her mentally and physically. How did this woman stay so strong?
EBR. I know, she was truly incredible. There's just so much more to her life than we were able to show in the film. The script is based on the book, Sex, Muscles and Diamonds by Jeff Leen, so if you enjoyed her story in the film, I really encourage people to go and read the book.
She suffered a lot of tragedy in her life. Our film, I think, is saying that she would have been proud of and wanted, and at the end of the day is inspiring and a very uplifting story. But she suffered a lot of tragedy and violence, and to be who she was, to keep going speaks volumes. It’s power and strength and devotion to not only preserving herself but surviving in a way that she would still be proud of as surviving in a way where she doesn't lose a part of herself along the way.
She didn't let bruises take away a piece of her when they healed. She kind of wore them and grabbed onto them and was like, ‘OK, let's keep going.’ I honour her for that. I want to hold her for that and I am constantly inspired by her.
O-C: Mildred must be a true inspiration to every female wrestler who takes up the profession.
EBR: A lot of the women wrestlers that I have spoken to knew of her, but I think that this film reignites a real personal link to her story. I found that speaking to the women wrestlers there's like a reignition in the holding of the torch. A recognition that the privilege that they have on this platform that we as women get to stand on today is because of women like Mildred, especially in the wrestling community.
I think they've all carried that torch, and it's sort of a reminder that we're still carrying this. It’s been honourable to see, as well it reminds me to do the same thing, just be strong and be confident. This story can help remind us of that, and that's a special piece of Mildred’s legacy.