The second season of Netflix's Daredevil marks the arrival of two new characters: Elektra and The Punisher, both of whom complicate the life of our hero, Matt Murdock. The casting of Elektra was particularly important, because she needed to capture a certain sense of sociopathic behavior to offset Daredevil's righteousness. The producers found that in French actress Elodie Yung, who has previously appeared in G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Gods of Egypt. Elektra doesn't come onscreen until a few episodes into the new season, which begins streaming in full on March 18, but Yung certainly makes the entrance memorable. We spoke with the actress about earning the part, her history with fighting, and what it's like to play a crazy person.

ESQ:Daredevil is really beloved for its dark sensibility. Was there something about that you appreciated working on the show?

Elodie Yung: It's very enjoyable because, as an actor, you get to reach parts of yourself that you don't necessarily let out in your real life. It's fun to do because you don't always get to be that dark or that bad in real life, depending on who you are. To me, it's quite liberating. It's enjoyable to reach these emotions.

Did you read the comics once you were cast?

Yeah, I did because I wanted to see the roots of the character. The show takes the essence of the comics and the characters and takes them on a different path. We had to adapt it for the series, so we had lengthy conversations with the writers,the showrunner, and the people from Marvel. We discussed who they thought Elektra was in the adaptation.

Does the introduction of her character shift the show at all?

The writers wanted to introduce two new characters who would force Matt to evolve. So I don't think it changes the initial series—I think it fits perfectly. It's a good addition, these two characters, because they're going to force Matt to question his behavior. He'll have to figure out what it means to be a hero.

Did you have to do any sort of physical preparation?

It's not like on a movie where you have months where you can train. You really have to do everything on the spot. I'm lucky because I trained before and I have a background—I'm a black belt of karate. That lasts with you forever so I know how to throw punches and kick.

How old were you when you got the black belt?

I was sixteen or seventeen. It was very cool.

Does that kind of training help you get roles?

For G.I. Joe, yes, it helped. For this one I know it wasn't something they needed for the part. They were not looking for that. All the characters in this series have layers and that's what they wanted to see. They wanted to see if I could handle playing a sociopath, you know? That was more the question. And then after I got they part they said, "Okay can you show us what you can do physically?" I showed them and they were very happy. I think it was the cherry on top.

Eric Sullivan Eric Sullivan is a senior editor for Esquire.

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