Robin Wright talks about her role in 'Damsel': This was 'Claire Underwood's sister'

Robin Wright doesn't mind playing cruel characters. In fact, she enjoys it.

“I think it’s just more layers, more fun, more challenge,” says Wright in a sit-down interview with TODAY.com.

That's good news, given her latest role as Queen Isabelle in the Netflix fantasy thriller "Damsel," is pretty dark. In fact, she's downright sinister.

The character is the complete opposite of pure-hearted Princess Buttercup, Wright's breakout role in the 1987 movie "The Princess Bride." Directed by Rob Reiner, the classic comedy stars Wright and Cary Elwes as a pair of star-crossed lovers who embark on a swashbuckling adventure to the altar, and is considered by many to be among the top movies of all time.

It's a film that not only made Wright a household name, but launched a career that has spanned more than four decades. Among her notable roles are movies like "Forrest Gump," "Unbreakable" and "Wonder Woman."

Wright also nabbed six Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Claire Underwood, the wife of cunning politician, Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) on the Netflix series "House of Cards."

Like "The Princess Bride," Wright's latest project, "Damsel" once again casts her as a monarch, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Instead of resembling Princess Buttercup, Wright says Queen Isabelle shares much more in common with Claire Underwood.

"I kind of tapped into it on 'House of Cards,'" Wright explains. 'This was kind of Claire Underwood's sister."

How are they similar, you ask?

"They're both venal characters in their actions, but it's all for a good cause. It's a very Machiavellian way to look at both of them," she says.

Much like Claire Underwood, Wright says, "This evil queen is doing something to preserve her kingdom."

The new movie, "Damsel," stars Millie Bobby Brown as Elodie, a young bride who agrees to marry a handsome prince (Nick Robinson) sight unseen. The plot that ensues is a modern twist on the "damsel-in-distress" trope, portrays women in peril and needing to be rescued from men.

Far from being helpless, the female-led cast, which also includes Angela Bassett as Lady Bayford (Elodie's stepmother), is fierce, especially Wright, who plays Elodie's ruthless new mother-in-law. Their relationship gets off to a rocky start – both figuratively and literally.

And, according to Wright, it ends fittingly. "Revenge is revenge and justice is justice," she says.

It's a role that Wright says she embraced. While she enjoyed her turn as "good queen" in Buttercup, the role of Isabelle was "more fun, more juicy."

Looking back on her career: 'I grew up'

With dozens of TV and film credits to her name, Wright says she's a different person than the one who appeared in "The Princess Bride" and "Forrest Gump," more than three decades ago.

"I grew up," says Wright. "I'm a hell of a lot older now. Just life, you know, you learn the hard way from those mistakes that you make."

But it's also been an "incredible journey," according to Wright, who says that the nearly 40 years she's spent in Hollywood have shaped her into the person she is now.

"The journey of this industry, there's no security. Trying to remain steady for almost a 40-year career, it's tricky, because you do grow and change and evolve, as we all do," she explains.

Looking back, Wright says that if she could offer her younger self any advice, it would be to have more confidence.

"Be bold. When you're 18, you don't know," says Wright. "You learn, sometimes, from the mistakes and it's hard. And you get smacked up the side of your head and then go, 'Whoa, can't do that anymore.'"

Though she's come a long way, there's still a ways to go.

"I'm completely scared of things, still," she says. Things like directing, for starters, which the actor says she loved doing on "House of Cards," but was daunting nonetheless. She also directed her first feature film, "Land," in 2021.

"To be able to jump to the other side of the camera scares me to death, because it's new, it's fresh. Playing roles? I'm sure there are going to be projects that come through this door and I'll be like, 'I can't do that. Kate Winslet would be so great doing that. That's normal."

But that fear also leads to growth, she says. "Always growing. Always learning. Always something to learn. Otherwise, why get up in the morning?"

This article was originally published on TODAY.com