The Suicide Squad Ratcatcher 2 Actress Was Originally Rejected For Role

The Suicide Squad’s Daniela Melchior, who plays Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher II in James Gunn’s reimagining of/pseudo-sequel to David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad, has revealed that she was almost rejected from the role. Melchior plays one of the new members of Task Force X in the film alongside returning faces Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag), Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), and Viola Davis (Amanda Waller). In the comics, Ratcatcher is a supervillain who uses his power to control rats to destablize Gotham City and also run various smuggling rings, with The Suicide Squad’s version presented as a fresh take on the character as the daughter of the original.

The Suicide Squad represents Melchior’s first English-language role, having risen to fame in Portugal after first appearing in Mulheres at 17, before starring in several other telenovelas and films including Parque Mayer and The Black Book. She also provided the voice of Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen in the Portuguese language version of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Since her appearance in the latter, the actress’ popularity has increased significantly, especially in Brazil. It’s more than likely this will only increase thanks to her role in The Suicide Squad, where her character very much serves as the emotional heart of the film through her connections with Idris Elba’s Bloodsport and Sylvester Stallone’s King Shark.

However, Melchior very nearly missed out on her role in The Suicide Squad. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress revealed that after travelling across the Atlantic for her audition, her manager convinced her to dress up for her pre-audition meeting with Gunn and producer Peter Safran, despite it being out of her comfort zone as actors don’t wear make-up to audition in Portugal. Unfortunately, that level of glamour wasn’t what the pair were apparently looking for in the sullen, loner Ratcatcher. Melchior said that “after that meeting, they looked at each other and said ‘no.’” 

However, Melchior’s chances were restored after her audition, which included a screen-test with an actual rat. The actress claimed to transform into “that weirdo, creepy girl” for the audition that the role required. That, coupled with her acting skills and chemistry with the rat that they used, apparently helped to change Gunn’s mind on the matter. The actress’ comfort with the film’s rats has extended well beyond the auditions, too, with Melchior frequently being enthusiastic about using real rats in scenes even if they wouldn’t sit still.

Melchior is one of the breakouts of The Suicide Squad, with Ratcatcher II bringing a great deal of depth and emotion to a film that otherwise revels in its irreverent humour and gory violence. Her loneliness combined with her earnestness is a significant part of what brings the other members of the Suicide Squad together as a team and it’s hard to imagine what the film would have been like if Ratcatcher II was in the hands of anyone else but Melchior. It’s understandable, then, why Gunn would take a second chance on her during the audition once her talents really began to shine through. Hopefully, with Gunn returning for more films in the DCEU, there will be room for Melchior to return as Ratcatcher II, but with the success of The Suicide Squad, it’s also likely that we will see more of her elsewhere too.

Source: THR

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