Ambitious, determined, and won’t take no for an answer: Lois Lane and Rachel Brosnahan have that in common, as the frontwoman for James Gunn’s Superman film is busy platforming McCain’s commitment to 100% regenerative farming.

As far as Summers go, it’s a safe bet to assume Rachel Brosnahan’s is off to a pretty Super start, so to speak. Be it that her face might seem a familiar one right now, if you haven’t already spotted her on the side of a red bus, billboard, or sharing the big screen with a certain superhero-turned-castmate, (turned Wonderland Summer 25 cover star), David Corenswet. Stepping into the shoes – or cape, if you’re David – of the formidable Lois Lane and Superman, Brosnahan and Corenswet made for a fiercely enigmatic duo in the face of James Gunn’s much anticipated take on Superman, which hit theatres 11th July.

Lois Lane is an award-winning journalist (giving us a run for our money), for the Metropolis newspaper, The Daily Planet, “she is highly ambitious, courageous, hungry, determined, and she’ll do just about anything to get a great story”, Brosnahan remarks on a Zoom call. With a can-do attitude towards her career, the actress’ ascent into the industry echoes the same air of Lois’ unabashed persistence – the Wisconsin-born thespian landed her first role as “Call Girl”, in the 2013 thriller, House of Cards. With just five lines to make her mark in the TV series, that same “Call Girl” quickly flipped on its head – enter Rachel Posner, a character who was entirely written into the show due to Brosnahan’s ability to win over the director with her acting skills. Oh, and did we mention that the actress secured the role whilst studying at drama school in New York? 

After three seasons of posing as a former prostitute, Brosnahan swapped her House of Cards skivvies for a spotty tea dress, as she had her turn as a ‘50s housewife. Falling into the hands of Amazon Prime’s period comedy series, directed by Amy Sherman-Palladino – The Marvelous Ms. Maisel – Rachel plays Miriam “Midge” Maisel, an aspiring stand up comedian. Since wrapping in 2023, the trajectory of Rachel’s career has been nothing short of upwards, and she’s in no business of looking down anytime soon. In fact, she’s soaring sky high, along with her Superman cast mates, as moviegoers can’t stop raving about Gunn’s take on the iconic DC comic book story. 

Adding another string to her bow, she’s also a self-professed skinny fries lover: “I like ‘em a little crispier”, Brosnahan confesses, as she chats to me moments before jet-setting to Milan for fashion week, casual. “When they’re a little skinnier they get more crispy, what do you think?”, she asks me. Understandably, our conversation divulges into a debate on the skinny fry versus the chunky chip – thrilling, I know. But Brosnahan’s love for a potato goes beyond her requirements for the perfect french fry, as she’s partnered with McCain Foods to platform its Taste Good. Feel Good. campaign. Digging into the underbelly of the climate crisis, McCain has committed to implementing regenerative agriculture practices across 100% of the land used to grow its potatoes by 2030. In other words, the company will focus its agricultural production practices on restoring and enhancing the surrounding ecosystem: rebuilding soil, increasing biodiversity, and maintaining living roots being just some of the ways it can adopt a forward-thinking attitude to farming. 

Still spinning in the midst of the Superman frenzy, Rachel took a pit stop to sit down with Wonderland and discuss all things Lois Lane, McCain, and sustainability in fashion. Scroll down for more…

Thank you Rachel for making the time to speak with me! How are you doing? Where are you speaking to me from? What are you up to at the moment?

So I’m speaking to you from New York – hello! I’m in a car on my way to the airport to head to Milan for fashion week.

A massive congratulations on your role as Lois Lane for James Gunn’s Superman, can you tell us about Lois, who she is and how she fits into the Superman world?

Lois Lane is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who works for The Daily Planet. She is highly ambitious, courageous, hungry, determined and she’ll do just about anything to get a great story. She works with Clark Kent at the Daily Planet, and you’ll have to check out the film to see if or how she knows Superman! 

Obviously with Lois being such an iconic role, how did it feel for you to step into the feet of a character which has been reprised so many times previously. What did you want to bring to the role to make Lois your own?

It was both intimidating and exciting to step into a role that’s been played by so many other fantastic actresses, and I don’t know if I had any specific goals going into it about how to make it my own but obviously James Gunn who wrote and directed the film, had his own vision but also is a great lover of the comics and Superman’s origin story. So definitely wanted to pay homage to the fans, so I think each of us who step into a role like this, even without trying to put your own stamp on things, we all bring a tiny bit of ourselves to every role that we play so I’m excited to see what people think of these versions of Superman and Lois and Clark and Lex and all the other characters.

I’d love to hear about your creative upbringing, was it an easy route for you? Did you have any heroes or heroines growing up?

It’s a great question, I grew up doing school plays, and I’m not sure that I really ever intended on being an actress, I just loved stories, I loved to read and I liked to imagine what the characters were doing between the chapters in the books and so started acting in little plays in school, I had an exhilarating turn as tree number four in my Kindergarten’s play of The Little Red Riding Hood, and it was all up from there! But I don’t know that I ever realised that acting could be a career I just knew that I liked doing it, so I’m not sure that I had any particular heroes or heroines, but I loved watching everything from Disney Channel, to Jim Carey’s movies, and so I just knew that I loved it. Also watching kids my age on the screen, I wondered how I might be able to do the same thing, so I went to drama school, and learned a little bit more.

I like what you said about watching kids your age, it’s like you have a little piece of gold that you can watch and relate to when you’re growing up at the same time as them, it makes you feel like it’s something that could be achievable for you, and clearly it is

Yeah exactly that, and it’s really powerful to be able to see yourself represented on the screen, and watch your experience in some way.

Alongside acting you’re also committed to raising awareness on some relevant issues like climate change and reducing carbon emissions. How do you try and use your platform as an actress to try and shed light on these issues?

I’ve been involved in a handful of organisations like Global Citizen, and Covenant house for nearly a decade now, they’re organisations that I feel really lucky to have been introduced to early on in my career and it felt good focusing in different ways on making the world a little bit of a better and brighter for all of us to live in. Global Citizen works to end extreme poverty, they work closely with the UN and other organisations that are more on the ground, and Covenant House is an organisation that supports young people overcoming homelessness and it has a presence in over 35 cities across the US, Canada and Latin America. I feel really grateful to have been introduced to these particular organisations early on in my career, but I think it’s important if you have any kind of platform to really consider what’s important to you and figure out a way to take action, and that can be in big and small ways. But we’re living in a moment where so many of the issues that we’re facing feel really overwhelming so I think a big part of what I try to use my platform to do is break down some of these issues and find small ways that people at home can take action that don’t feel intimidating but make the world, and the planet a little bit better for all of us living in it.

Especially when it can feel intimidating to do your own research as an onlooker, when there’s already so much out there. You’ve got an audience where some people might not necessarily have the time or resources to dedicate time to making themselves aware.

No that’s it completely, I agree.

Can you tell me a little bit about your project with McCain, what it means to you to be able to shine a light on this growing relationship, and what are the benefits of regenerative agriculture?

So i’m actually half British, I grew up eating McCain’s potato smiley’s in my grandparent’s house in the UK, so it was really exciting to me to hear that a company that I have such a long relationship with has made this really bold commitment to partner with farmers to implement regenerative agriculture practices across 100% of their potato acreage used to made McCain potatoes – can’t say that 5 times fast! Aiming to achieve this worldwide by 2030, which is just 5 years from now, and this Taste Good Feel Good campaign that were working on together helps raise awareness not only about regenerative agriculture and regenerative farming practices but it also, as we’ve just talked about, can encourage consumers to realise the ways in which small changes in product choice can actually be a part of making an impact for the future of our planet. So I’ve really loved working with them and getting to experience the event at Chelsea market in New York that’s helped bring people in and learn a little bit about how their French fries are made.

Random yet necessary question, would you say you’re more of a chunky chip or a skinny fries type of girl?

You know, I feel like I’m kind of a skinny fries type of girl, I like ‘em a little crispier, and so I feel like when they’re a little skinnier they get more crispy, what about you?

Yeah I think I’m also a skinny fries girl, I have to be in the right type of mood to enjoy a chunky chip.

Definitely! I feel like it depends on the type of weather, so in that case I might prefer a chunky chip.

Exactly! Nonetheless, we digress, talk me through how your relationship and affinity to climate change influence how you approach your interactions with fashion?

I’m a big re-wearer of fashion, especially in my own life and I think what a lot of people don’t realise about big red carpet events is that most of those clothes are borrowed and re-worn. But I always like to purchase things second hand wherever possible, whether that’s at thrift stores, or on websites like The RealReal. I get excited when I hear that companies, especially companies of a certain size, are making commitments towards sustainability, and I’ll try to give them my business where I can.

Finally, looking ahead, what are some of your goals for the future?

Well I run a production company called Scrap Paper Pictures, and we have a lot of exciting stuff coming down the pipeline. I’m excited for the world to get to see this version of Superman this year. I can’t talk about it in a lot of detail but I’m also directing my first project right now. So there’s a lot to be hopeful about!

Words – Freya Goodchild-Bridge