Minx star Ophelia Lovibond on how 1970s-set comedy's message applies today: 'Feminism isn't one-size-fits-all'

Ophelia Lovibond has learned a lot as the star of Minx, but one lesson stands out: There's nothing like a penis montage to soften the mood.

On her new show about the creation of the first women's erotic magazine, Lovibond plays Joyce, an endearingly straight-laced 1970s feminist desperate to create her own magazine. When she meets porn publisher Doug (Jake Johnson), she reevaluates what that magazine could be. "The thing that ultimately convinces her," explains Lovibond, "is when Doug says, 'There's no porn for women. How is that feminist?'"

Minx was an opportunity Lovibond (who Marvel fans know as Carina, the pink-skinned servant of Benicio Del Toro's The Collector in The Guardians of the Galaxy) knew she had to take. After falling in love with dance at a young age, she made the transition to acting at age 12 with the comedy The Wilsons. Her love for the craft hasn't wavered since. Then, about two years ago, she happened to be in Los Angeles for pilot season, and was handed the script for Minx.

"I'd never read anything like it," Lovibond says. "I am a feminist, I love the seventies, so in terms of the aesthetic and the message, it was on point. But I'd never read that kind of character. She's quite flawed. She can be abrasive. I just thought it was a fantastic character. And so funny."

Despite the show being set half a century ago, much of its message still applies today. "It's a period piece, it's not a historical piece," Lovibond says. "The things that we are talking about are still present 50 years later. We're still having those conversations, still having to argue for women's right to choose. We're still learning that feminism isn't one-size-fits-all."

Audiences will watch Joyce grapple with important lessons on the comedy. And as serious as Joyce is about her ambitions, Lovibond was just as serious about her research, buying old copies of Playgirl and Ms. magazines. Holding them up during a Zoom chat, she reveals where she found them: "eBay," she says with a laugh.

Minx airs Thursdays on HBO Max.

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