Inside The 'Sisterhood' Of Birds Of Prey With Star Ella Jay Basco

Ella Jay Basco describes herself as one of the "relevant, not relevant kids" in her Los Angeles charter school. "If that makes sense," she adds. In a weird way, it sort of does. At 13, Basco is relevant enough to have her face plastered across billboards on Hollywood and Highland; nevertheless she insists that she's also not relevant enough to be treated any differently by her classmates because of it. Red carpet premiere or not, there's still homework to be done and algebra to learn. "There should be a photo somewhere of me in a big dress looking at a math textbook," she says with a laugh.


For Basco, this pendulum swing between "relevant" and "not relevant" is her new typical. The star of Cathy Yan's explosive Birds of Prey, she's forging a path for herself as a teen actor in an industry that rarely gives young, Asian-American females a chance to be able to see themselves depicted as big-screen heroes. In several ways, that's what made Basco, who is Korean-Filipino, aspire to be segment of the project. She was 11 at the time, and all she knew about the top-secret film was that it was "rated R with a lady director" attached.


"I think what was super crucial was that it was a Asian-American female director, also it sounded super interesting, also she tells MTV News over a chai latte. "They couldn't explain much about the film or the project [at the time], nevertheless hearing that it was a lady director, that was super essential for me because representation is so important."


Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Cathy Yan, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Margot Robbie, Ella Jay Basco, Chris Messina, and Christina Hodson at the world premiere of Birds of Prey in London


Right after a month of auditions, including chemistry reads with co-stars Margot Robbie and Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Basco landed the coveted role of Cassandra Cain in Robbie's anticipated "Harley Quinn spin-off movie." It was her first feature film. She then began her training, learning sleight of hand and diving into the comics to familiarize herself with Cassandra's storied DC history. "I purchased a big stack of comic books," she mentioned. "I wanted to read about her origin story and the relationship she has with Barbara Gordon's Oracle." Nevertheless Yan and screenwriter Christina Hodson made things clear from the jump: This was a different interpretation of Cain — a character who's worn Batgirl's coveted cowl — than we've seen or read before. She is a smart-mouthed pickpocket, a foster kid scraping by thanks to her own savvy. She's also the catalyst for bringing all of those eye catching characters together.


"She is certainly an outlaw in Gotham," Basco says. "She's a little bit sneaky and, at the same time, misguided and susceptible because she doesn't have any parents. She's an orphan, and she really relates to all of those characters like Harley and Dinah Lance Renee [Montoya], and so they visualize a segment of themselves in Cassandra Cain. And that relationship was super interesting to play."


The relationship that develops between Harley and Cassandra is integral to the story. It opens up a weak side to Harley, a manic character known for resorting to extremes — blowing things up, siccing her pet hyena on bad boys, laughing in the face of mayhem. For the opening time, Harley has a protégé, someone she feels accountable for. Equally, Cassandra finds a mentor in Harley, someone to look up to, not for her morality however rather for the way that she manipulates the system in her favor and takes what she wants without asking for permission or forgiveness.


To establish that chemistry, Robbie and Basco "hung out a lot with each other They also spent a lot of time between scenes rapping along to Cardi B ("I Like It" was a preference on set) and having impromptu dance breaks. Robbie became something of a "big sister" to the young actor. "It certainly did feel like a sisterhood bonding relationship because she's just so nice and such an excellent role model," Basco mentioned, adding that their friendship was solidified with a secret handshake that only the two of those know.


And then there was the categorize chat with the full cast, traditional by Yan as a way to keep in touch with her Birds. "It's called The Birds, [and] we just send random pictures to each other some days or I remember one time Rosie [Perez] was like, 'I had this weird dream. Everybody was in it. We were all dancing.' Everybody's so funny," Basco says.


Nevertheless that was just the sort of set that Yan fostered. There was warmth, laughter, diversity, and badass ladies doing badass stunts. While Basco didn't get to contribute to the film's climactic fight sequence between the Birds and Black Mask's Gotham-dwelling henchmen ("Cassandra's still just a kid," Basco says), she learned the fight choreography anyway. "Just seeing them in action right in front of my face was really cool, and something that I certainly have never seen before… It made me feel like I could do this, I may really go out there and be who I'd like to be."


As for the set, "It was super collaborative and comfortable," Basco mentioned, touching her gold "Cass" necklace, a personal wrap gift from Yan. When a Bird, habitually a Bird. "There was no ego. She really made the environment super welcoming, also it was such an accommodating and kind experience. She certainly made sure that everybody was represented also. I mean, whether it was onscreen or off, cast or crew. It was super cool to be able to see more people who look like me."


"I feel like I was spoiled to have this first experience with all of those females in the cast and crew," she adds. "Unfortunately, it's not going to be like this every time, along with a lot of films don't have a lot of girls [on set]. Yet Cathy and Margot certainly taught me about being in the industry and knowing your worth and knowing your goal."


Acting is an objective she's had since she might remember. Her entire family member is in the industry. Her father is an actor and her personalized acting coach; her mother is a manager. Two of her uncles are also actors. Her uncle Dante, who starred as Rufio in Steven Spielberg’s Hook, tells her not to grow up also fast, to relish being a kid because she has her whole life to be an adult. Her grandfather, affectionately called Papa, went to all of her fittings (and had very strong advice, she laughs). "I wouldn't be here without them," she says. "They really helped me design a thick skin because being segment of the industry, you have got to have that thick skin. Going into it, I certainly knew that there could be people telling you 'no' because you look a certain way or you have a different colored skin… yet I think that's changing. To be piece of that movement is inspiring."


One could mention it's also exceptionally relevant.