Why Michelle Williams Thinks Venom Movies Are Important For Her Career

Michelle Williams, known for playing emotionally troubled characters in indie films, explains how her Marvel role in Venom helps her grow as an actor.

Michelle Williams explains why she thinks the Venom movies are important for her career. The actress first achieved major recognition for her leading role in The WB teen drama Dawson’s Creek from 1998 to 2003. Williams then ventured into feature film and her big breakthrough, Brokeback Mountain, came in 2005. One of her most memorable performances in recent years was Manchester by the Sea in which she provided a beautiful and heartrending portrait of a grief-stricken mother coping with the loss of her three young children.

While Williams has primarily starred in independent films with dark or tragic themes throughout her career, she is also known for her role in the Venom movies as Anne Weying, an attorney and the former fiancée of investigative journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy). As Eddie’s estranged girlfriend, Anne frequently assists him and Venom, even briefly hosting the alien symbiote at one point. This is a nod to Anne’s future in the comics, as the character eventually becomes She-Venom, though there doesn’t appear to be any plans for a standalone She-Venom movie in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.

In a recent profile by Variety, Williams reflected on many of her past roles, including recent franchise fare like Venom. During the interview, Williams offered her view on how her role as Anne Weying (a significant deviation from many of her emotionally troubled characters) still challenges her as a performer and urges her to grow, specifically the scene in Venom: Let There Be Carnage in which she is possessed by the symbiote. Read what Williams said below:

Pretending that a monster is getting into your body and then taking over and leaving your body, that’s hard. I want to keep growing, and Venom is an important step in my growth.

Academy Award-caliber actors like Williams who accept roles in franchises or other big-budget entertainment have commonly been accused of taking easy paydays in between their more “serious” performances. Thus, it’s refreshing to hear an actual perspective from an accomplished actor like Williams. Based on her comments, it appears she takes her role in Venom just as seriously as any other and views it as a valuable opportunity to grow as an actor, despite the Venom movies being maligned by critics.

As Williams mentions, pretending an alien symbiote is taking over your body in Venom can be just as difficult for an actor as portraying a grieving mother in Manchester by the Sea, for instance, calling into question if the dichotomy between the two types of performances should even exist at all. While nothing has been confirmed yet, Williams will likely be returning as Anne Weying for the recently announced Venom 3, in which she could potentially take on the She-Venom mantle on a more permanent basis, allowing Williams to grow even more as an actor.