LOS ANGELES – In the 2019 superhero film Shazam!, 14-year-old Billy Batson (Asher Angel) lives out many a young boy’s dream when he discovers he can turn into an adult superhero, Shazam (Zachary Levi), just by yelling his name.

And Levi, 42, feels like he is living out his own version of that dream – even though the American actor says he had to overcome crippling anxiety, depression and self-doubt to get there.

Speaking at the Los Angeles premiere for the sequel Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, which is now showing in cinemas in Singapore, the American actor says starring in the film franchise has been a dream come true.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I dreamt about being an actor – and I am. I dreamt about being a superhero – and I am,” says Levi, who is perhaps best known for starring in the television spy comedy Chuck (2007 to 2012).

“I basically get paid to be a child superhero, and it’s the best job ever. I highly recommend it.”

And as a fan of the superhero genre, Levi was over the moon that Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) from the DC Extended Universe makes a cameo in Fury Of The Gods, which co-stars Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu.

“I’ve been a comic reader for many years and I love how all the comic-book characters guest star in one another’s comic books and it connects the whole universe – that is what’s so delightful about it. So the fact that Gal was down to do a little bit with us in the film, and connect all that, was really lovely,” he says of Gadot, the 37-year-old Israeli actress who starred in Justice League (2017) and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020).

Another highlight for Levi was his “incredible, insane, knock-down, drag-out fight” with Oscar-winning British actress Mirren (The Queen, 2006), who plays Greek goddess Hespera, one of the antagonists in the story.

“We’re basically suplexing each other into concrete,” he says, referring to an offensive wrestling move. “It felt illegal at points, it was so crazy.”

The sequel – which sees Billy and his foster-care siblings face a host of new monsters and characters from Greek mythology – also had US$125 million (S$167 million) to play with.

This is more than the US$100 million budget for the first film – modest by superhero standards – which ended up being a hit with fans and critics, earning US$366 million at the global box office.

However, Fury Of The Gods opened at the North American box office with US$30.5 million, a sharp drop-off from the original, which enjoyed a US$53.5 million opening.

“We had more money and time, so now we have dragons,” says Levi, who earned a Tony Award nomination for the 2016 Broadway musical She Loves Me. He also sang on Grammy-winning song I See The Light from the Disney animated film Tangled (2010), in which he voiced Rapunzel’s love interest Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert.

And he promises Shazam! fans “all the same stuff they loved about the first (film) and then some – it’s got the fun, the family, the adventure, the heart, the humour, the charm and the spookiness”.

But while he often plays comedic parts, Levi has taken to discussing more serious subjects in recent years.

In 2022, he released his memoir Radical Love: Learning To Accept Yourself And Others, in which he describes being raised in an abusive home and his lifelong struggles with depression, anxiety and low self-worth.

This led to a mental breakdown at age 37 and thoughts of suicide that led to him seeking professional treatment.

Levi, who has been speaking out to raise awareness of mental health issues, says he continues to struggle with self-worth, including “impostor syndrome”, the difficulty in believing one’s success is deserved.

“You just have to battle it on your own time and really love yourself – that’s how you fix it. Impostor syndrome is basically you telling yourself you’re not worthy of being where you are,” he says.

“But if you love yourself, you recognise that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be, and you are worthy of living the life that you’re living and receiving the love you receive. And so I try to work on that as much as I can.”

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods is now showing in cinemas.