Photo Credit: ABC Television
Disclaimer: I was invited by Disney motion pictures to attend a press event for Avengers: Age of Ultron, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Disnenature’s Monkey Kingdom. While I was a guest of Disney, all opinions and experiences are my own. #AvengersEvent #AgentsofSHIELD #MonkeyKingdom
Photo Credit: ABC Television
During my press trip to California for the #AvengersEvent, 26 online influencers and I were able to visit the live set of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and interview cast members! Yes, we not only got to see filming, but we had the chance to sit down with Brett Dalton (Agent Ward), Henry Simmons (Mack), Iain De Casstecker (Agent Fitz), Elizabeth Henstridge (Agent Simmons), and Adrianne Palicki (Bobbi Morse).
With Agent Ward’s big reveal in season 1, we had quite a few questions for Brett in terms of his character development. When asked if he knew ahead of time about Ward’s Hydra ties, he said:
“No, I didn’t know before. They let me know an episode before, so there wasn’t a lot of heads up on that. …It was a big change, but I think it rounded out the character in a way. Prior to that, he had a mask that he was showing to the rest of the team.”
Photo Credit: ABC Television
It was great to interview all 4 of these actors, simultaneously. The relationships that their characters have with one another ignited a great conversation. When asked which of the 3 relationships Iain could see Fitz repairing in the future, he had an awesome answer:
“Out of these three characters (next to me)? I think probably Simmons, right? Anything can be solved with a cup of tea, right? (They’ve) got the most history, I think. I can’t see them ever being out of each other’s live, really.”
Photo Credit: ABC Television
Elizabeth chimed in about their relationship as well:
” You just can’t wipe away history with someone, and these two have been together for years.”
When asked about his stunt work, Henry told us that some scenes are easier because of the amount of choreography that has to be done in terms of fight scenes.
“When we do stunts, it moves fast and (it could be) 1 o’clock (A.M.). We gotta get things done. It’s fun.”
Photo Credit: ABC Television
We were also able to interview Adrianne Palicki, who plays Bobbi Morse. It was great to delve into her character, and learn a little more about her acting process. When we asked Adrianne about Bobbi’s distrust of Agent Coulson, she said:
“She doesn’t think Coulson is a bad person, she’s just concerned with where some of his loyalties stand.”
When asked about her intricate stunt work, she replied:
“I do the majority of my own stunts. I mean, there’s stuff I obviously can’t do because of insurance problems, like jumping through a plate glass window, leaping through a door, and whatnot. But the fight stuff is definitely what I like to do.”
Adrianne learned Jujitsu for the film John Wick, and continues to learn even more for the show.
“I take Muay Thai and box, myself. I’ve been doing a lot of action shows, movies, for a very long time, so I’ve been very lucky to be trained by Navy SEALS, gun training and now it’s the batons. I had never worked with those before, so that was my new form of training for this.”
When I asked Adrianne what personality traits she shared with her character Bobbi Morse, I was delighted with her answer:
“The thing I love about Bobbi is that she’s a real human being and she has real feelings. She’s a soldier — she wants to do everything right. She’s a strong female, but she’s still vulnerable. Any of those elements I definitely understand. She’s just trying to find, as we all do as humans, the right path and navigate it.”
Are you excited to see episode 18 tonight? We got a sneak peek, and no spoilers but you DON’T want to miss the first 10 minutes! Here’s a synopsis of tonight’s episode:
GRANT WARD MAY BE COULSON’S LAST HOPE, ON “MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.” ON ABC
“The Frenemy of My Enemy” – A dangerous new alliance is formed as Coulson and Hunter turn to the last person anyone would expect – Grant Ward! As the war between S.H.I.E.L.D. factions continues, Skye and Lincoln will find themselves drawn into this conflict, on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” TUESDAY, APRIL 21 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.
“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” stars Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Grant Ward, Chloe Bennet as Skye, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons, Nick Blood as Lance Hunter, and Adrianne Palicki as Bobbi Morse.
Guest starring are Henry Simmons as Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie, Henry Goodman as Dr. List, Kyle MacLachlan as Cal, Jamie Harris as Gordon, Maya Stojan as Kara, Dichen Lachman as Jiaying, Luke Mitchell as Lincoln Campbell, Kris Lemche as Ethan, Staci Roberts as Paula, and Trenton Rostedt as Hoodie Guy.
”The Frenemy of My Enemy” was written by Monica Owusu-Breen and directed by Karen Gaviola.
Stay tuned for a future post dedicated to our interview with Actors Ming-Na Wen and Clark Gregg, as well as Co-Creator and Producer Jed Whedon and Executive Producer Jeff Bell.
Disclaimer: I attended a media event as a guest of Disney Motion Pictures. All experiences and opinions are my own.