How <em>Peacemaker</em> Star Jennifer Holland Became the Show's Secret Weapon

For most actors, wielding superpowers in a hit TV series is a childhood dream come true. But when Jennifer Holland signed on to star in Peacemaker, she had a bit more in mind that simply fighting supervillains and saving the day. As the 37-year-old actress tells Esquire, "I wanted to do a lift like in Dirty Dancing."

It's a late August afternoon in New York City, the day before the red carpet premiere for Peacemaker season 2. Holland is kicking it back at Esquire's midtown office bar, recalling the shoot for the dance number that serves as Peacemaker's popular opening titles. In an era of TV when title sequences are often reduced to abstract graphics, the DC superhero show opens with a bang: a two-minute dance number in which the cast stomps and shimmies to the glam rock bombast of Foxy Shazam's "Oh Lord."

The comically stiff choreography of Peacemaker is a far cry from the ballroom salsa Patrick Swayze used to seduce Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing, but it still provided Holland a stage to get hoisted in the air like Baby. "I must have been maybe eight or nine years old," Holland says of the first time she watched the 1987 classic. "I had no idea what was going on half the time. There's a lot of adult subject matter I ignored. I wanted to watch the dancing. Flashdance and Footloose and Dirty Dancing, those movies made me want to get up and dance. There was so much sentimental, joyful abandon."

There's good reason for Holland and her Peacemaker cohort to cut loose (and kick off their Sunday shoes). Since its August 21 premiere on HBO Max, Peacemaker season 2 has been another hit for DC Studios head James Gunn (who is also Holland's husband of three years). Locked and loaded with another round of career-best performances from Holland and John Cena, the show masterfully avoids superhero multiverse fatigue in its story about personal unfulfillment and seeking solace in the what-ifs of our lives.

Spun from his 2021 film The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker continues the rocky life of soldier of fortune Peacemaker, played by Cena. In season 2, Peacemaker struggles after being rejected for membership in the Justice Gang (recently seen in the summer hit Superman). After stumbling into a parallel universe where Peacemaker is the world's most beloved superhero, he prepares to leave his friends behind while accidentally opening their world to the chaos of the multiverse. Holland returns as Emilia Harcourt, a take-no-shit field officer with jagged edges and a temper problem. This season, she does double duty as a second Emilia from a mirror reality who has a romantic history with Peacemaker.

Below, Holland unloads the inner workings of both versions of Emilia Harcourt, her physical transformation into a true bar brawler, and some details about Emilia's background that remain confidential—for now.

Jennifer Holland returns in Peacemaker season 2 as tough-as-nails Emilia Harcourt, while also playing a new, gentler Emilia from a mirror universe.

ESQUIRE: How many takes did it take to pull off the iconic lift from Dirty Dancing?

JENNIFER HOLLAND: Gosh, I don't remember. However many takes we had to do wasn't because of [the dancing]. It was really about getting the camera movement right, catching the moments at the right time. James is very particular about what he's capturing and how. Especially with action. I would consider [the dance number] action, the cameras are moving and everything's alive. John was amazing. He's been doing that sort of thing with wrestling, picking people up and slamming them down. It was really about him training me how to help him get me up there.

I didn't even know we were going to do that, honestly. I remember saying to myself, Gosh, I want to do a lift. I knew John and I would be dancing together, but I wanted a lift like in Dirty Dancing. When I saw the pre-vis, where our choreographer had other dancers doing the dance, I was like, "My dream has come true!" I didn't even believe in mood boards before. But it's like I manifested this. And then I was like, "Is John going to be OK?" I weigh more than I look. [Laughs].

When we catch up with Emilia Harcourt in season 2, it's deemed that she suffers from acute toxic masculinity. Why do you think Emilia is so hard in that way?

It's complicated to talk about. We haven't explored Emilia's background. But James and I have talked about her upbringing. Who her father was, what brought her to this type of career. Toxic masculinity is something that's shaped her life, it's how she stays afloat. She doesn't really know who she is, because she is her work, and hides everything from everyone. She's pushing people away. Anger is a secondary emotion. She isn't dealing with a lot of her emotions, stuffing them down. And when you stuff all that down, it bubbles back with anger and aggression.

A former high school athlete in gymnastics and pole vaulting, Jennifer Holland now enjoys a Hollywood career that includes a place in the widening DC Universe, overseen by her husband, the filmmaker James Gunn.

Emilia is certainly in a rougher place than she was in the season 1 finale.

Emilia almost dies. She's put in about as vulnerable of a situation a human being can be, and that changes a person. Whether it's for the better or for the worse depends on how well-adjusted they are. What we find out is that Emilia is not well-adjusted. In season 1, we think she is this put-together professional, the person people can rely on. But that unravels after she almost dies. She starts to let her guard down through finding this family, the 11th Street Kids. She's not looking for that, if anything she's pushing that sort of thing away. But she finds it with them, and starts to be more vulnerable.

We find out later in the season, she maybe got too far with letting that guard down. We don't know what that is yet, but at the beginning of the season she is trying to button back up. I've let it gone too far. What was I thinking? She's hardened herself. She's dealing with her emotions by being what I describe as a cutter. She purposefully goes out and gets into fights to be hurt because she can't feel anything. It's a semblance of control she can have in her life. She's the least well-adjusted person on the whole team.

Emilia has a big bar brawl in episode 1. It's cool at first, but then it's quite sad. I noticed Emilia smiles while lying on the sidewalk. How did you read that scene?

It was in the script. James wrote something like, "She looks up at the Moon, and we see this ever so slight smile across her face. Emilia Harcourt is at peace for the first time." It's the story of someone who is broken. She is putting herself into situations where she can re-experience trauma from her life. Part of that is because she can't experience love. She can't feel. She feels numb. This is the only way she can feel something. It's a semblance of control she can have in her life, opening an old wound and hurting herself on purpose.

For Peacemaker season 2, Jennifer Holland says she worked with fight choreographer Dave Macomber. "He is an amazing martial artist, so his background really informed Harcourt’s," Holland tells Esquire.

What kind of physical training did you take on for Peacemaker season 2?

I demand a lot from myself. I read the script and felt it was important for Harcourt to look like what this role demands. As an actress, it was important to sell that I was strong enough. It was important to me to make sure I looked like someone who might beat up a bunch of dudes. I hired Paolo Mascitti, he trained David Corenswet and some of the other actors from Superman. He was training them at the same time I was starting prep for Peacemaker. He met me and he's like, "What am I going to do with you? You're already fit!" He changed my body. He helped me put on muscle mass. Not just toned, but actually bigger. I wanted to look like she almost died and she made a decision to make herself stronger. It was physically demanding, but I appreciate the demands. I liked doing it.

I understand you were a gymnast in high school. How has all that experience helped you on Peacemaker?

Gymnastics shaped me in many ways as a human being. It definitely aided me in my ability to do the stunts. When you're a kid, if you do any sport, you create muscle memory. It just gets in your body. You never really lose those things. Like riding a bike or something. If I stretched enough, I could still do flips. The flexibility has gone because it takes so much discipline, but your body remembers all of that. Having a discipline like gymnastics, I recommend having something like that as a kid. It gave me an understanding of how much effort it takes to be really good at something.

How has weightlifting and packing on muscle changed how you feel about yourself and what you feel you're capable of?

It's this ever-evolving thing. I love finding new ways to stay fit and stay healthy. As you age, your needs change. I've learned how maintaining muscle mass as you age is really important–for bone density and bone health. I used to work out because I wanted to look a certain way. Now, it's become utilitarian. I've started to recognize how important it is as I age to continue being mobile. It's changed a lot [for me].

Holland plays two roles in Peacemaker season 2, also playing a softer Emilia from a parallel DCU. "She’s a little thirsty," Holland jokes about her "new" role. "She’s needy in love."

You're playing two roles this season. You're not just Emilia Harcourt, but also "Milia" from another reality. How is she different from the badass we know and love?

I didn't want Emilia from the other dimension to be a caricature. It's important that it stays grounded and that you buy into this love story with Peacemaker. I didn't want it to be funny how she's so different from the Emilia we know. I wanted it to be real. And I didn't want it to seem like Christopher was only interested in Emilia because of what she looks like.

I believe they are similar people. They share similarities in their trauma and trauma responses. They're both fucked up. So the way I approached it was that she would be the same person, if that person had a less traumatic upbringing. Sort of the nature versus nurture conversation. What kind of person would that create? She still has an edge. She's not the softest person you've ever met, but she is softer. She's quicker to smile, a little easier going. She's less self-assured in some ways. A little needy in love. She's so hurt. She was burned by her Peacemaker of the other dimension, but that's the thing. Emilia from our dimension would never let someone in that close and be hurt that way. If she was hurt, she'd be like, "Fuck you." But Emilia from this other dimension is like, "You really hurt me, but do you still want me?" It's different.

Which of the two Emilias do you feel is the one closest to your real self?

That's a funny question, because Peter Safran, our friend and one of the heads of DC Studios, asked me the same question as we were filming. He was like, "You're so good at both, which one is more you?" And I was like, "They're both me." They're both extremes of different sides of my personality. I love petting puppies in the park. I'm also a headstrong individual with lots of opinions. That's the interesting thing about getting to play them both, it offers me an opportunity to explore two different sides of my own personality.

Holland says there’s still more to learn about Harcourt’s personal history prior to working for Task Force X, but it informs her performances across both seasons of Peacemaker.

You have a really powerful moment in episode 4. You say to Rick Flag, "Accolades I can live without, I'd rather not do without my utilities."

It's the crux of who she is at this moment in time. She is defined by her career, that's all she knows about herself. She doesn't want to explore herself any further than that. She knows her purpose. That's what gives her life meaning. Without that purpose, she doesn't know who she is. She's totally naked. That is all [her] vulnerability coming to a head. She wants nothing more than her job back because she doesn't know anything else. She's afraid to know anything else.

At the end of episode 5, Harcourt rallies the 11th Street Kids to bring Peacemaker back. Why is Emilia determined to get Chris? Chris seems happy there, and Emilia has shut the door on any relationship together. Why the effort?

It's a really good question. You have to keep watching to find out.