In the highly anticipated high-tech adventure sequel Tron: Legacy, actress Olivia Wilde plays Quorra, a fearless warrior who helps Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) reunite with his father, Kevin (Jeff Bridges). She is a unique program, much like a surrogate daughter, that acts as Kevin Flynn’s confidante, and has been helping him survive his life in exile. He has taught her of the outside world, so she now longs to experience what lies far beyond the realm of possibility.

When select press was invited to Digital Domain in Venice, Calif. this past Saturday, Olivia Wilde did this interview with Collider and one other online outlet, to discuss how Tron: Legacy has already exceeded all of her expectations, what her take is on the humanity in the film, doing physical stunts in heels and how Joan of Arc influenced the look of her character.

She also explained that being involved with something this massive has made her feel like she can do anything, and it definitely gave her the confidence to work with Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Sam Rockwell in her next feature, Cowboys & Aliens. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

Question: Is there anything, from the footage you’ve seen so far, that has exceeded your expectations, based on what you dealt with on set?

Olivia: Oh, yeah. I knew it would be visually stunning, and I knew Joe’s plans for it. I knew what they were planning on doing, but it’s even more stunning than I imagined. But, there’s certain elements I hadn’t taken into account when we were shooting, like the way they altered the voices. I think that’s really interesting. When Sam is on the Recognizer and you hear the Black Guard program speaking to the captured programs, their voices are warped. And, the Sirens’ voices are warped. That element of changing the sound to differentiate programs from users was really interesting, and that was something new for me. But, it’s even more beautiful than I had imagined. The texture of it is not complete yet, but every time I see a little section of it, they’ve painted in more and more, and it’s just becoming more and more intricate. I’m still just blown away by the Clu head. Clu, to me, is the most fascinating character in the movie.

What is your impression of Clu and how he represents technology coming in between humanity? Is that your take on it?

Olivia: Yes, but only because it’s our fault. Clu is like the abused stepchild. He’s been created out of this beautiful program that Flynn designed, in order to be a partner to Flynn, but he’s not his real son. He’s an avatar, and he’ll only ever be that because there’s a limit to what programs can be, and that is what frustrates and enrages Clu. The philosophy of Tron, for me, really is summed up by the question of monkey versus robot, and that’s what a lot of these movies are about, like Terminator. Any sci-fi film of the last 20 years is really about monkey versus robot, but Tron is, in a way that none of the rest of them are.

The question of the first Tron movie was, “What would happen if technology overtook our lives and this new thing became more powerful than us?” That was the premise. Now, 30 years later, the film is not asking that question. It’s saying, “Technology has taken over and we are slaves to technology, so now what? Can we escape this? Can we recapture what it is to be human and appreciate that, and harness the technology we have created for good?” I think that’s what Kevin Flynn has dreamt of doing, but he became swallowed up by his own creation, and Clu is just a symptom of that. But, I don’t think it’s irreversible. I’m optimistic about what technology can do.

Did you enjoy the physicality of this role? How much more challenging was it to do these stunts in heels?

Olivia: It was much more challenging. I enjoy the physicality because it was a tool with which to unlock who Quorra was. I was doing a tremendous amount of research on Joan of Arc and Buddhist warriors, and all sorts of things that informed who she was, but it wasn’t until I had physically transformed through the martial arts training and cross-training, and everything else we were doing, that I was like, “Oh, this is how she feels. This is how she walks.” She’s the kind of person who could protect herself, if she were jumped on a dark street. That’s not who I am. I’m not a physically powerful person. So, without that training and the physical element of the transformation, I wouldn’t have been able to capture who she really is. It was really challenging, but useful as another tool.

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