EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: ‘Warrior Nun’s Toya Turner Talks Playing Shotgun Mary

Warrior Nun‘s Shotgun Mary, played by Toya Turner, is a badass from the very first moment you see her. With a roughed up looking jacket on and shotguns in hand, she represents the OCS (Order of the Cruciform Sword) throughout the series. We got to speak with Toya Turner about what it took to play Shotgun Mary and how much of a softie she is at heart when it really comes down to it!

Shotgun Mary was the biggest badass on Warrior Nun. How was it stepping into those shoes?

It was all of my dreams coming true. I could just remember watching anything and everything action related like Game of Thrones and being like, “I want to do that.” To me this is a little bit of that dream coming true for me. I still feel like I’m dreaming sometimes. I have to really realize that this is reality. It’s representing everything that I’ve wanted for me and for other black girls in particular. Shotgun Mary is really special and I’m really happy this is my first series regular role. This is the first time that I’ve had this much and given the opportunity to do so, so I’m really grateful, excited, and thankful. It was just a really great time.

What kind of training did you have to go through? Because when speaking to showrunner Simon Barry, he said that everyone kind of really wanted to do their own stunts.

As soon as I arrived they threw me in the ring with a fight coordinator and we went through boxing. So we did that maybe 2 hours a day. And I didn’t have any boxing experience. I have 6 brothers though. There’s that type of boxing and wrestling but never like the training I went through. And then we did tactical team building with the rest of the crew. We did that for like an hour a day. And then I had to do weapons training an hour a day. And weight lifting so I could work on actually holding a gun with one hand. Oh and motorcycle training. 

One of the biggest fight sequences for Shotgun Mary was her continued battle with Lilith to get to Ava. How was it working with Lorena Andrea on that?

She’s a dream to work with. She’s just so sweet and she’s so giving as a scene partner. And we just had a really really great time. I love her. She’s like a sister to me. We ended up moving to LA at the same time and with each other. She’s like a sister to my soul. I definitely needed family and I’m grateful that Lorena was there. And we connected the way we did because everyone else’s family was pretty close when it came to their timezone and mine wasn’t. So it was hard to stay connected. So Lorena was a godsend and I appreciate her.

I feel like contrary to popular belief, Shotgun Mary has the biggest heart on Warrior Nun. What in your opinion makes her like that?

I don’t want to put her on blast but I do think that she’s a big softie at the end of the day. And I think what makes her that way is that she doesn’t have ego there. And she really is about putting her family first, especially because she knows what the loss of family is in a big way. She refuses to let anything else get in the way of that, in the way of her sisters and the family she created with everyone. Shotgun Mary is a bit softie. She is.

Besides your character, who are you most excited for fans to get to know?

I would have to say Sister Lilith because that transformation was woah. She has a lot going on and I want to be her for Halloween. She’s something else. Like with the claws, the hair. I’m just like ok, Sister Lilith.

We got to see Shotgun Mary talk a little bit about her past and how it changed her. But as an actor, what more do you want to see when it comes to that storyline?

I would like them to, for me and for all Black girls, I want them to show how little Mary was. Like go back and see a little more of her upbringing or maybe when she was training with the OCS at the beginning. And I would like to see how she is when she’s not on mission. What is her person life like? Because she keeps saying she has one and she goes to these towns and everybody knows her. And I want to see what she looks like when she lets her hair down.

Warrior Nun is now available on Netflix.