I was raised on TV shows where there were very few female characters that I wanted to pretend to be," "My best friend, Lucyann, and I, every day after school, would play characters from The Rifleman. Because I was taller, I would be the father, Lucas, and she would be my son, Mark. It never occurred to us that there weren't female characters that we wanted to play.

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Thelma and Louise end up driving off a cliff, and still viewers felt exhilarated by their story. It made me realize how few opportunities we give women to come out of a movie feeling inspired and empowered by the female characters. It changed everything about how I chose roles moving forward.

I only realised well into it that that was one of the things that was incredibly appealing to me," Davis said, noting how she's also gotten into archery, horseback riding, ice skating and sword fighting for other film roles. "You get satisfaction from how well you did instantly, without anybody else's opinion having to come into it.