Good Guys vs. Bad Guys? Interview with the Cast of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #AgentsofSHIELD #AvengersEvent

One of my favorite show is ABC Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I was excited to find out that during my Avengers: Age of Ultron Press Trip, we were going to be able to interview the cast of the show including Clark Gregg (“Phil Coulson”), Ming-Na Wen (“Melinda May”), Iain De Caestecker (“Leo Fitz”), Elizabeth Henstridge (“Jemma Simmons”), Brett Dalton (“Grant Ward”), Henry Simmons (“Alphonso ‘Mack’ Mackenzie”) and Adrianne Palicki (“Bobbi Morse”) plus Co-Creator & Executive Producer Jed Whedon and Executive Producer Jeff Bell. Whew that is quite the list! 

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Cast Interview

A television series like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a very intense working situation with the cast working 10-12 hours a day for months to make 22 episodes. That is intense. So what struck me instantly as the stars of the show came in for their interview was the tell-tale camaraderie  they have and the easy-going nature of their relationships. And certainly it played out during the interview with lots of laughs and kidding around with each other. That is not something you can not easily fake. It just seemed that even after the long hours, the cast has bonded. It’s these types of interviews that make listening to them chat about their characters and colleagues much more interesting that boring and dry answers of press events I have been to in the past.

So who is the bad guy on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

I could not help notice the sitting arrangement of the cast, with the good guys sitting on the right and the bad guys sitting on left.  I had to make a reference to it when asking about their good vs. bad guy status. Actually I referred them as good vs. evil which Brett and Henry did take exception to.

Brett commented that he did not think his character was evil. “He’s doing what he thinks is best for the real S.H.I.E.L.D. He added that he thought that his character had made some bad choices over the years, has had a hard life and is doing the best he can to move his life forward.

 

Adrianne Palicki (“Bobbi Morse”) made the same comment. This is what makes the show so engaging is that the characters don’t think of themselves as evil or the bad guy. Her character is very conflicted, and has been part of the other S.H.I.E.L.D having saved Robert Gonzales’  (Edward James Olmos) life. She cares about her S.H.I.E.L.D counterparts and doesn’t think  Coulson is a bad person but is bit concerned about his “alien” blood and where is loyalties stand.

Definitely there is a lot of grey as the show’s storyline evolves and we find out more about the two different S.H.I.E.L.D organizations. Will Phil Coulson or Robert Gonzales’  S.H.I.E.L.D end up the winner?

And ever wonder if these highly fit actors do their own stunts?

Brett Dalton (“Grant Ward”), Henry Simmons (“Alphonso ‘Mack’ Mackenzie”) and Adrianne Palicki (“Bobbi Morse”) characters are very much in the field agents so their S.H.I.E.L.D.  training would make it so that they are able to defend themselves which means the actors have to look realistic in their fight scenes. So yes, they do many of their stunts.

According to Adrianne Palicki, “I do the majority of my own stunts. There’s stuff I can’t do like jumping through a plate glass window, or leaping through a door.”

Henry Simmons (“Alphonso ‘Mack’ Mackenzie”) may do many of his stunts but is not fond of heights and admitted that there is a lot of choreography that has to be done with the fight scenes.

Is joining the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. like being the new kid in High School?

What I always find interesting is the references back to high school for new cast members I remember being the new kid in school and how hard it was to make connections.  You would think that being the new kid on the block would be the same case on the set of successful series where everyone started together. Wrong.

Adrianne noted that she was very nervous about coming onto the set of with an established cast, where everybody is already friends. “Honestly, from day one, it was the most giving, loving cast.” From the first table read, everyone was so genuine and sweet and have me on the show. It’s nice to hear that working on a successful television show is not like high school.

 

About the Show

Don’t miss tonight’s episode (“The Frenemy of My Enemy) “of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Here’s a sneak peek: “Fitz Is on the Run”

 Visit abc.go.com/marvel-agents of shield and stay connected on Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

 

Disclosure: NYC Single Mom is being provided a trip to the Los Angeles for the Avengers: Age of Ultron, Disneynature Monkey Kingdom and  Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. press events. Opinions are 100% my own.