‘GLOW’ Star Alison Brie Says Wrestling Training Was Serious Business

GLOW, or Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, may be part comedy and part drama, but that doesn’t mean the series creator, Liz Flahive, or series stars take the wrestling end lightly. GLOW star Alison Brie reveals just how demanding her new role is as one of GLOW‘s fierce, fighting femme fatales.

GLOW Star Alison Brie Details The Challenges Of Her Wrestling Training Regiment

As New York Post shares, Netflix is set to debut GLOW on Friday, but arriving at that big day has taken more sweat, blood, and tears than audiences may realize in watching the rebooted wrestling comedy series. In the show, Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin play two ambitious but unemployed actresses who join Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling to earn a weekly paycheck, while waiting for their big break. This gives Brie and Gilpin something real to work with, as much like their character’s, they come to GLOW without the slightest bit of experience with wrestling.

Preparing for GLOW required some serious training, which was all performed right around the corner from the show’s sound stage. Training Alison and Betty were pro wrestler Chavo Guerrero Jr. and stunt coordinator Shauna Duggins. Ms. Duggins has worked on such shows as Ray Donovan, Supergirl, and Alias, so she knows a thing or two about performing intense action sequences.

Shauna says training Brie and Gilpin for GLOW required teaching them basic footwork, rolls, and stances, before teaching the actresses how to “dance” with each other. While professional wrestlers train throughout their careers, Duggins says they had just a brief time to teach Alison and Betty how to wrestle for GLOW, so they concentrated on teaching the women how to stay safe and still look good in the ring.

Alison Brie Loves A Good Challenge

For Ms. Brie, GLOW has given her a rare opportunity. As Metro reports, the actress looked at the challenges of the Netflix reboot as a chance to prove herself. Brie adds that her GLOW role gave her an opportunity to step into the role as a leader, letting her feel like a “team captain” on the show’s wrestling team.

Alison might have missed her chance, however. Initially, GLOW producers weren’t quite sure she was right for this role, but Ms. Brie says she never doubted that she was made to play GLOW‘s Ruth.

“You audition for certain things and you’re like, ‘Oh this would be a cool job, but I don’t know if I’m quite right for this part.’ And there are other things that I read and it’s immediately like, ‘This is my role!’ [GLOW was] one of those.”

Alison shares that the first big wrestling move she learned for GLOW was the headscissor. Her instructors told her the best way to position herself for the move was to hold her opponent between her legs, so their chin was pressed against her vagina. Brie says that little bit of advice helped her master the move in no time at all.

Ms. Brie also admitted that getting cast in GLOW has been a dream come true, so she hopes her hard work has paid off.

GLOW premieres on Friday, June 23, on Netflix.

[Featured Image by Noam Galai/Getty Images]