She impressed audiences with heartfelt performances in “W.E,” “Sucker Punch” and “A Good Year.” Now, Australian actress Abbie Cornish steps out of the shadows in Columbia Pictures’ new action thriller “RoboCop” as she plays the strong-willed Clara Murphy, the wife of police officer Alex Murphy who becomes the film’s titular character.
In “RoboCop,” the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years, but have been forbidden for law enforcement in America. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured, OmniCorp sees their chance to build a part-man, part-robot police officer.
“Clara’s a very grounded, strong and intelligent woman – a loving wife and mother,” says Cornish of her role. “Her family epitomizes a happy working middle class family, whose lives are then torn apart by the events that unfold in the film. However, the bond and connection between the Murphy’s holds strong, and provides a very human and emotional through line to Alex’s journey after he becomes RoboCop.”
Cornish says that Clara is placed in the position of a particularly grim choice. “Sellars and Norton are looking for the most likely candidate to be transformed into RoboCop, and when they select Alex, it’s Clara who has to make the ultimate decision and sign the documentation,” she explains. “How do you make that choice? When you’re told that your husband will die without it, but if he goes forward with the procedure he will change entirely? What would you do?”
“I feel Clara Murphy is strong, caring and compassionate,” contnues Cornish. “She is grounded as a woman and very much within herself, embodying a lot of the things I believe women are in this day and age. I was very drawn to her from the beginning, and there was no doubt in my mind about who she was.”
Abbie Cornish, a native Australian, is an acclaimed young actress best known for her starring roles in the independent films “Candy” (2006) opposite Heath Ledger and “Somersault” (2004) with Sam Worthington, both Australian productions that garnered her Best Lead Actress awards from the Film Critics Circle of Australia. She was also awarded Best Lead Actress from the Australian Film Institute for “Somersault” and received a nomination for “Candy.” It was these two roles that earned her great notice in the U.S.
Now playing across the Philippines, “RoboCop” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.