'Monster Hunter' star Milla Jovovich: Seeing Sigourney Weaver in 'Aliens' was an 'aha' moment for female heroes (exclusive)

Watch: Milla Jovovich talks to Yahoo about Monster Hunter

Over her illustrious career, Ukrainian-born actor Milla Jovovich has cemented herself as an accomplished action hero.

Now fronting a new big-budget property in the form of video game adaptation Monster Hunter — another collaboration with director and husband Paul WS Anderson — she told Yahoo that she felt women are under-represented in roles of this nature.

“As a kid I felt strong,” she began.

“I was an only child, my dad was a very macho Eastern European man and raised me like a boy, so when I would see these movies like Die Hard and Rambo, I definitely felt under-represented.

“When I saw Aliens for the first time with Sigourney Weaver, it was this ‘aha’ moment. Yes!

"Finally there was a woman on screen doing what I feel like I could do. Battle aliens, or battling killer robots in Terminator like Linda Hamilton.”

Read more: Karen Allen looks back at 40 years of Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Based on Capcom's hugely popular video game series which has been entertaining the masses since 2004, Monster Hunter sees Jovovich at the top of her game, going beyond being a dependable action hero to being a downright badass.

But most importantly, she seems to be having a lot of fun.

“When I did The Fifth Element, it really solidified something in myself," Jovovich said.

"I’ve always been into escapism, into sci-fi and fantasy growing up, reading the Dune series, or Lord Of The Rings.

"So to be able to be in movies like this and immerse myself into these crazy alternative universes and get to kick butt and battle, and do things that normally a person in everyday life you can’t do, it makes my job really fun.”

“I feel like a superhero for a few seconds. Doing these extraordinary things, challenging myself physically. It’s so much fun and also very empowering too.”

This interview was conducted in 2020.

Monster Hunter arrives in UK cinemas and IMAX on Friday 18 June. Watch a trailer below.