TOKYO, JAPAN – Noomi Rapace was given just eight weeks to totally get into the badass elf character she plays on Netflix’s “Bright.” But looking at her fight scenes with Will Smith, you’d think she’s been practicing all her life to beat him up, yes, Ma’am. “It’s an honor working with him and he’s such a good human being, so supportive, so kind, very respectful,” she said. “Will makes you feel special, he makes you feel good and he takes care of you – that’ very unique in our business.” Despite that when cameras were rolling, they have to give each other hell? Noomi smiled. “He’s very generous. He’s, like, ‘Noomi, you’re so awesome, you’re great so keep doing that, keep kicking my ass,’” she recalled with a laugh. “Will was very playful, he made it very easy.” In “Bright,” Noomi is lethal renegade Elf Leilah in hot pursuit of officers Daryl Ward (played by Will) and Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton), who happens to be an Orc. The two have in their custody Elf Tikka (Lucy Fry) who possesses a rare magic wand with nearly limitless power. Only a Bright, a specially trained expert with supernatural abilities, may wield it safely. In the wrong hands, say, Leilah’s, well, you know how grim it can be. Surprisingly, a big part of Noomi’s preparation for the role – aside from doing Martial Arts and all that – was listening to Celtic music. “I was listening to a lot of, kinda old Celtic music and kinda went back to my roots in a sense,” she said. “In my memory, I was revisiting places from my childhood when I lived in Iceland.” She explained that country “has a lot of myths, a lot of stories about elves” being “a people, a country, a culture that is very close to nature.” If you’ve not seen “Bright,” know that the feature film is set in an alternate version of present day Los Angeles in which supernatural beings live side-by-side with humans. It’s a premise that really intrigued Will, says a release. And Noomi too. Listening to her talk about Leilah, she’s really committed to her, as if she’s real. “Leila, she comes from, you know, it’s very old ways. They used to be... she believes in the dark Lord, that’s her religion. And thousands of years back, the dark Lord was in charge and he created a world that was beautiful for elves. That was like where the elves were in harmony with nature and the orcs were working for the elves. “That was something I went back to a lot in my thoughts. I was talking to my grandmother in Iceland, like, asking her about her beliefs about elves...” But make no mistake about it: Noomi, for “Bright,” did train fighting with knives and guns “in high heels and suit.” If only looks could kill, her ensemble would’ve been a weapon of mass destruction. • • • Midway through the interview, Noomi was asked what draws her to playing strong women. In the past, the actress starred in such flicks as “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest” – hardly the “Sound Of Music” types, surely. “Friction is more interesting than peace for me as actress,” she said. “I think what they have in common is they’re all like kinda struggling. There’s this some kind of conflict inside and that’s interesting,” she said. “If the character is too clear, too set in stone – like, ‘Oh this is the good girl, oh this is the sexy neighbor’ – that is not for me.” Noomi added she likes it when a character “feels like something is cracked inside.” “I like a lot of layers for me to discover and you could dig deeper and find out more.” Well, it’s the second time Noomi has worked on a Netflix project and even the previous one, “What Happened To Monday/Seven Sisters” put her mettle to the test. In that one, she played seven characters. How does she feel about making movies made for theaters and those made for Netflix, we asked to that effect. Without so much as missing a heartbeat, Noomi gave a sensible response. “I think some films can work good on both formats, and some have their best life on Netflix, and some should be seen on the big screen,” she said. “I just feel very honored and very lucky to be a part of this change because it’s something... “I love the fact that now, when ‘Bright’ opens, people in 109 countries can see it at the same time. That’s really powerful, and it’s very unique. “Because normally, films come out and then six months later in a new country and then it pops up somewhere else. In Sweden where I grew up, we were waiting for the film. It’s out in US and a year later it came to us. We were so behind.” With Netflix, that’s a thing of the past. “And also filmmakers,” she added. “I can discover filmmakers from Taiwan or from Thailand or from Japan or from Indonesia. I can discover different film cultures (through Netflix). There’s a platform here that makes our, you know, the whole global industry meld together more, which I really embrace.” • • • Back to “Bright,” the movie is directed by David Ayer (“Suicide Squad”) with screenplay by Max Landis (“Chronicle”). It’s said that once the screenplay found its way to David, the filmmaker felt an affinity for the wildly imaginative buddy cop tale, and was fascinated by the idea of bringing otherworldly beings into present day. Noomi noted: “I think it can be a beginning of a new cinematic universe because it’s a whole library. It’a whole world of creatures, you could do films about. It’s so rich, it’s so real, it’s so unique, and I think what’s magic about it is we really translate it into our everyday life.” For the world of the Orcs, production designer Andrew Menzies even developed a specific alphabet. “We tried to work out, what is the Orc-ish impression that’s imprinted on LA?” he was quoted to have said in a release. “We developed a language for the movie that’s a real language for Orcs, and then added that Orc layer with advertising posters and writing so that you really feel like they have been integrated into this world for centuries.” As for the set, it’s full of litter to make it feel that the society is on the brink of breaking. “Everything’s a little worn, a little tired. The police cars are beat up. There’s a lot of conflict among species, and everything is just frayed around the edges.” Given the painstaking work they’ve put into the details, Noomi’s thoughts about the creation of a new cinematic universe in “Bright” was right on the money. A few days later, Netflix would announce that they will make a sequel to “Bright.” There’s a smart girl. • • • As our interview drew to a close, we asked her to reflect on her strength as a woman. “Strong is not something you are constantly,” she mused. “(Being) strong is more of a decision. And, you know, it’s something you struggle with and you fight for. “I decided when I was quite young that I don’t wanna be a victim. I grew up where I’m far from my friends, we don’t have money... I didn’t come from a family that has a strong position in the society. So, I decided ‘Okay, what do I wanna be and who do I wanna be?’ – and then I fought for it. “When you choose that path, you would find your strength, I think, and you will grow into it. And then you will start to master it and then that will eventually come a part of you. But it’s more something that you fight for, not something I was born with.” The actress is ever cognizant of moments she needs to rise above it all, even to rise above herself. “There’s a feeling of satisfaction when you overcome your fears. For example, let’s say there’s a scene where me and Will Smith are fighting in the film. Right before we go, you know it feels dangerous, your heart beats like it’s your hardest pounding in you. You’re kinda wide awake and scared because you don’t know what might happen, something could go wrong, someone could get injured really bad, you know nothing is safe. “And you have this extreme concentration but then I’m like ‘Just do it.’” Noomi said in finding the courage within, a release of energy happens. “It’s a feeling of satisfaction and almost peace because I overcame some kind of fear and I climb the mountain like in emotional or psychological madness. And there’s something you can do – it doesn’t matter if you’re an actress or not. “Wherever you are in life or wherever you are in the world, there’s always a wall for you to climb. And that’s something I’m trying to do.” And that’s how to be Noomi. (“Bright” is available for streaming to Netflix viewers in over 190 countries around the world. It is the the highest viewed Netflix film ever on the service in its first week of release and one of the biggest originals Netflix has ever launched. The movie is number one on Netflix in every country since its release with more people viewing the film internationally than domestically.)