Joss Whedon and all the writers of 'Iron Man' and 'Thor' found a way to keep Coulson saying something that keeps you guessing. I'm really lucky because a lot of people play agents and don't get nearly as much fun stuff to do.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
One of the great things about the 'Iron Man' franchise is that they employ fascinating actors who don't necessarily do action movies. Before 'Iron Man' you didn't associate Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow with those kinds of films. There's an emphasis on repartee and wit.
There were only a couple of Marvel characters I read. I read 'Iron Man.' I have a lot of those. And this was the time they tried X-Factor out. I was never an X-Men person, but I was like, 'Let me check out X-Factor.' I was more of a DC guy in general.
In the acting game, you spend a long time fighting against what the director perceives you to be. And half the time the directors don't know.
I personally take cues directly from the script, then I like to surprise the other actors. But you must maintain control on a level and see how far you can go up, down or out emotionally. You have to balance the craft with spontaneity.
The reason actors, artists, writers have agents is because we'll do it for nothing. That's a basic fact - you gotta do it.
There was a time when all the actors were saying, 'We should get residuals on videogames.' I just kept going, 'You don't have any idea what goes into making a game, do you?'
I have no idea how people think of literary agents. Truthfully, I don't think they think of them very often.
In terms of the characters I think are really fun to play, a lot of times it's someone in my head saying 'I know that woman.'
If the characters are acting true to themselves, then that chemistry and suspense will flow.
When I take on a role, all I tend to do is get to know the script and ask millions of questions, and keep fine tuning what I think the character is trying to say.