Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot on the 'secret audition' that changed her life

Gal Gadot. Photo / Getty

Gal Gadot has opened up about landing the role of Wonder Woman - the movie that's just smashed box office records and broken the glass ceiling for female superheroes and directors.

The Israeli actress, who plays Diana Prince in the new DC Comics blockbuster, was struggling to get a foothold in Hollywood and was considering giving up on the industry when the life-changing offer came along.

"This industry - the rejection can be tough," she told Jimmy Kimmel on his late-night talk show.

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"I had so many 'almost' [auditions], and I told my husband 'I don't know how long I can take it', always dragging my family to Los Angeles."

It was on one of those trips that she got a call from Zack Snyder, who produced and co-wrote the movie.

"He wanted to audition me for a 'secret role' - it's where you get the lines, but you have no idea what the story is about, what the character is, nothing."

After the audition, Gadot had headed back to Israel to contemplate whether or not to continue acting, when she got another phone call about the mysterious movie role.

"They wanted to do a camera test and I thought, 'Again? Another almost, almost, almost [job]?'" she said.

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It was then she got another phone call from DC Extended Universe 'godfather' Snyder.

"He said, 'I don't know if you have this character in Israel, if she's big or not ... but did you ever hear about Wonder Woman?'"

Of course she had - and as Gadot explained, she flew straight back over for the second audition.

The rest, as they say, is movie history.

Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman audition