'Seduction and vulnerability not mutually exclusive'

Mumbai: For Hollywood actor Amber Heard, it was one of the greatest experiences to play a 'complex and nuanced' character like Nadine Cross in the latest screen adaptation of author Stephen King's book 'The Stand'.

Based on King's 1978 novel of the same name, the series follows a story of a group of survivors whose lives intersect after a deadly virus destroys most of the world's population. The destiny of humankind depends on the 108-year-old Mother Abagail (Whoopi Goldberg) and few survivors, who gather in Boulder, US, to fight and establish new social systems.

Their worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgard), the Dark Man while Nadine Cross has her allegiance to Flagg despite understanding the consequences of her actions.

Heard said that her character uses the tools to survive in a chaotic world.

"I would like to thank King and his genius in creating characters with real backstories that are complex, interesting and nuanced. Nadine is no more of a seducer than she is a survivor and she has been using the tools that she has to survive in a world," said Heard.

She added, "I think a seducer can also be vulnerable. Seduction and vulnerability are not mutually exclusive. I do not feel like a woman, so I have to apologise for one in order to justify the other or vice versa."

The 'Aquaman' star shared that for every character, she follows a different process. With Nadine Cross comes a lot of psychological baggage.

"For me, Nadine is a character coming with a lot of psychological baggage so a lot of preparation for how people behave when they have been groomed. Seeing Nadine across her journey was like understanding people who come out of cults or people who have committed horrendous crimes," admitted Amber.

Heard further said that to prepare for the character, she read interviews of people who had been 'either kidnapped, brainwashed or otherwise intoxicated into a culture cult mentality and brought on to participate in crimes, which is, unfortunately, a fairly common thing.'

'The Stand' also features James Marsden, Odessa Young, Greg Kinnear and others.