Uma Thurman has long been an action icon, from her sword-wielding feats in ‘Kill Bill’ to her fierce roles in recent thrillers. At the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival premiere of ‘Pretty Lethal’ on March 13 in Austin, Texas, the 55-year-old actress gushed and opened up about her young costars’ jaw-dropping stunt work. While her own role as villainous innkeeper Devora Kasimer demanded less physical intensity, Thurman marveled at the ballet-trained stars who pulled off their own daring sequences. The action thriller blends dance, survival horror, and hyper-violent empowerment, proving Thurman’s enduring thrill for bold female-led stories.
‘Pretty Lethal’ SXSW premiere buzz
‘Pretty Lethal’ follows a talented ballet troupe, including Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Avantika, Millicent Simmonds, and Iris Apatow, whose bus breaks down en route to a competition, thrusting them into deadly chaos at Thurman’s eerie roadside inn. Thurman told People, “My part wasn’t as stunt-heavy as the other actresses in the movie, so it wasn’t hard for me in that way.” She praised their “mind-blowing” efforts, adding, “They did all their own dancing and stunts, and they were working together with a stunt team to create this incredible action sequence.”
Uma Thurman costars stunt dedication
The cast’s commitment floored Thurman, who drew from her ‘Kill Bill’ training for past projects like 2025’s ‘The Old Guard 2.’ In a prior Times interview, she recalled, “Thank God for that, because I signed on quite late for this project, so I didn’t have time to do proper training. Fortunately, I had put in hundreds of hours learning how to hold a sword.” Her Pretty Lethal costars echoed the inspiration: Ziegler, 23, told People at SXSW, “Kill Bill was a huge inspiration for us. Her action fight scenes, her being just a badass woman, we looked to her for inspiration. When [director] Vicky [Jewson] had told me that Uma wanted to do it and responded to it, I was beside myself.”
Director Vicky Jewson Villan and his praise for Uma Thurman
Jewson raved about Thurman’s villainy, saying, “‘Uma is obviously an icon, and she can play a villain like nobody else can.’ She has a wicked sense of humor, and she also brings empathy to the character that allows you to stay with the character when the most absurd stuff happens. I don’t think anyone but someone of Uma’s talent could do that,” according to People.Thurman herself told Screen Rant of the script’s appeal: “This is an incredible mashup of ballet and a battle for survival. And then when I met with Vicky on Zoom, I kind of got an understanding that she was going to break this thing out, and make this like, intense female empowerment, pop art, hyper-violent action, I was like, ‘Whoa, this could be something special.’” Uma Thurman’s rich legacy and its impact Thurman’s history adds weight to Pretty Lethal’s stunt focus, from Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin to Discord in The Old Guard 2. At SXSW, she highlighted the film’s over-the-top vibe to InStyle: “Not your typical streaming Amazon premiere. I looked at it and thought, ‘How are we going to do this?’ It’s feminine, yet wild. It’s gruesome, humorous, and powerful, so over the top, it’s beyond the top.” Ziegler and the cast shared stories of Thurman’s on-set knitting habit, blending her cool demeanor with intense action prep.
