Thanks to Alex Forrest for the heads up. I've included small sections of various other Marvel interviews with the cast as well for everyone to enjoy, the full interviews are available via the links.
What opportunities will Peggy have now that she’s gained the respect of the SSR?
Hayley Atwell: I think she’s in a very different place emotionally because she’s let go of the grief that she’s had about Captain America. So her heart is a bit more open to possible romance and so she finds herself in a love triangle out here. And there’s the visual aspect of it being shot in L.A.--everything’s a lot lighter, so her clothes are slightly different, her hair is a bit longer. She’s embraced the glamour of Hollywood, a little bit, and I think that also affects how she is emotionally.
She went through a period of struggling to find her feet in the SSR, of fighting in very subtle ways the sexism she found in the male-dominated [organization]. In the end, she doesn’t necessarily win everyone’s respect. Jack Thompson, for example, takes the credit that she probably deserves. But as she says, she knows her value so she doesn’t need that praise. I think the first season is not so much that she’s able to establish herself to everyone as an equal, but yet, for herself, she uses it as a source of strength for her own worth. In that respect, she’s a lot more confident. She’s coming out into this new world of Hollywood, met at the airport by Jarvis, her dear friend, and she can embark on something a little lighter…but of course, given the nature of this genre, it’s going to go dark very quickly. But she’s a little more quick to deal with it this season with an open heart.
Which new character are you most excited about in terms of their interaction with Peggy?
Hayley Atwell: It’s kind of a new character, but kind of isn’t: Dottie, actually. I just thought the [Season 1] reveal of who Dottie was in the women’s hotel was so brilliant and I think that Bridget [Regan] is such a fantastic actress. But I didn’t get much to do with her, really. This is a different relationship [this season]. In some ways, without spoiling anything, I need her, and also, I get to have scenes with her that are like a chess game. As an actor, that’s incredibly exhilarating because a lot of the scenes between us are filled with subtext. On the surface, [Dottie] has got this very elegant, very soft-spoken voice and yet you know she’s an assassin and it’s a very potent mix. As an actor, I’m loving my scenes with Bridget.
Hayley Atwell: I think she’s in a very different place emotionally because she’s let go of the grief that she’s had about Captain America. So her heart is a bit more open to possible romance and so she finds herself in a love triangle out here. And there’s the visual aspect of it being shot in L.A.--everything’s a lot lighter, so her clothes are slightly different, her hair is a bit longer. She’s embraced the glamour of Hollywood, a little bit, and I think that also affects how she is emotionally.
She went through a period of struggling to find her feet in the SSR, of fighting in very subtle ways the sexism she found in the male-dominated [organization]. In the end, she doesn’t necessarily win everyone’s respect. Jack Thompson, for example, takes the credit that she probably deserves. But as she says, she knows her value so she doesn’t need that praise. I think the first season is not so much that she’s able to establish herself to everyone as an equal, but yet, for herself, she uses it as a source of strength for her own worth. In that respect, she’s a lot more confident. She’s coming out into this new world of Hollywood, met at the airport by Jarvis, her dear friend, and she can embark on something a little lighter…but of course, given the nature of this genre, it’s going to go dark very quickly. But she’s a little more quick to deal with it this season with an open heart.
Which new character are you most excited about in terms of their interaction with Peggy?
Hayley Atwell: It’s kind of a new character, but kind of isn’t: Dottie, actually. I just thought the [Season 1] reveal of who Dottie was in the women’s hotel was so brilliant and I think that Bridget [Regan] is such a fantastic actress. But I didn’t get much to do with her, really. This is a different relationship [this season]. In some ways, without spoiling anything, I need her, and also, I get to have scenes with her that are like a chess game. As an actor, that’s incredibly exhilarating because a lot of the scenes between us are filled with subtext. On the surface, [Dottie] has got this very elegant, very soft-spoken voice and yet you know she’s an assassin and it’s a very potent mix. As an actor, I’m loving my scenes with Bridget.
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We already know a bit of Ana’s backstory from Season 1, such as how she and Jarvis met and that she’s from Hungary. Verbeek revealed that Ana will be bringing a bit of international flair to this season.
Verbeek explains, “Ana Jarvis is Hungarian and I spent a lot of time in Budapest, so that was exciting to me to play someone from a country that I really love – which isn’t mine, but for some reason I always end up playing characters that aren’t Dutch. [laughs] But there is a bit of an accent. I think that’s also a strong thing about the show, that it takes place in America, but Hayley is British and so is James, so you have the Brits, and then there’s just a nice mix of all these characters.”
Verbeek thinks fans will really respond to getting to see the dynamic between Jarvis and Ana play out on screen for the first time, especially as they’ll get a chance to see a completely new side of Jarvis.
Verbeek explains, “Ana Jarvis is Hungarian and I spent a lot of time in Budapest, so that was exciting to me to play someone from a country that I really love – which isn’t mine, but for some reason I always end up playing characters that aren’t Dutch. [laughs] But there is a bit of an accent. I think that’s also a strong thing about the show, that it takes place in America, but Hayley is British and so is James, so you have the Brits, and then there’s just a nice mix of all these characters.”
Verbeek thinks fans will really respond to getting to see the dynamic between Jarvis and Ana play out on screen for the first time, especially as they’ll get a chance to see a completely new side of Jarvis.
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Did you guys always plan to include Anna in the second season or did this come along after the fan enthusiasm?
Michele: You know what? It was something we went back and forth on in the first season of whether or not to show her. But we thought if Peggy’s going to be moving to L.A. and staying [with Jarvis], you can’t not show her. It gave us a great opportunity to [find out], who does Jarvis marry? Who is that person? It was really fun to develop that relationship more.
Do you expand upon the dynamic between Daniel and Jack this season? We see that each have received a bit of a promotion, but there’s still that tension between them.
Michele: Well, Daniel’s out here running a very green crew, where Thompson seems to have a little bit more of a hierarchy as he’s been doing it a big longer. I think there’s a nice tension between them, between two people who are trying to mark their territory a bit.
Tara: I think they genuinely like each other. The problem with Thompson is, he’s such an opportunist, and he so wants to succeed above all other things, that he sometimes makes bad choices. I think he’s not a bad guy, he just gets blinded by ambition. And it’s going to trip him up and put him actually at odds with Peggy and Sousa for a lot of the season. He’s going to have to make some choices where it’s like, are you still going to be that person or are you going to be true to who you really are? Which is not a bad person. He has a really interesting arc.
Michele: You know what? It was something we went back and forth on in the first season of whether or not to show her. But we thought if Peggy’s going to be moving to L.A. and staying [with Jarvis], you can’t not show her. It gave us a great opportunity to [find out], who does Jarvis marry? Who is that person? It was really fun to develop that relationship more.
Do you expand upon the dynamic between Daniel and Jack this season? We see that each have received a bit of a promotion, but there’s still that tension between them.
Michele: Well, Daniel’s out here running a very green crew, where Thompson seems to have a little bit more of a hierarchy as he’s been doing it a big longer. I think there’s a nice tension between them, between two people who are trying to mark their territory a bit.
Tara: I think they genuinely like each other. The problem with Thompson is, he’s such an opportunist, and he so wants to succeed above all other things, that he sometimes makes bad choices. I think he’s not a bad guy, he just gets blinded by ambition. And it’s going to trip him up and put him actually at odds with Peggy and Sousa for a lot of the season. He’s going to have to make some choices where it’s like, are you still going to be that person or are you going to be true to who you really are? Which is not a bad person. He has a really interesting arc.
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Flamingos aren’t the only things Jarvis will be bonding with this season. We’re also getting our first look at Ana, Jarvis’ wife, who was only heard and not seen in Season 1.
“You know, people have been really interested in who she might be, it’s sort of caught people’s imagination. I was pleased for the audience in that regard, but actually, she’s very, very good dramatically for the story as well in Season 2. She’s not just introduced simply to satisfy the appetite of ‘What does she look like?’ and ‘What would she be like?’”
“You know, people have been really interested in who she might be, it’s sort of caught people’s imagination. I was pleased for the audience in that regard, but actually, she’s very, very good dramatically for the story as well in Season 2. She’s not just introduced simply to satisfy the appetite of ‘What does she look like?’ and ‘What would she be like?’”
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Everett and Graham are playing Whitney Frost and Calvin Chadwick, an alpha couple in the truest sense of the word. Whitney is a beautiful actress and brilliant scientist, while Calvin is a successful businessman and politician. "I think we are a power couple," Currie explained. "Think of Bill and Hilary. It’s that kind of thing; it’s that kind of relationship. I think that Chadwick was probably attracted to her because of her beauty, [but she’s] also a very smart woman, very successful, also probably a Type A. We really strive, both of us I think, as a very successful actress and with a very successful business. The world is our oyster. We’re going to make as many pearls as we can."
Everett expanded upon the idea of Whitney and Calvin having the sort of relationship that you don't normally see on-screen between couples set in the 1940s. "For Whitney, Calvin truly is her best friend. And like many friends and family, you end up [fighting], but he’s always there. You know he’s always there at the end of the day. He’s behind me; he’s got my back. He knows I can do what I say I can do, especially in the science world. So he’s really the only one who gets me."
Everett expanded upon the idea of Whitney and Calvin having the sort of relationship that you don't normally see on-screen between couples set in the 1940s. "For Whitney, Calvin truly is her best friend. And like many friends and family, you end up [fighting], but he’s always there. You know he’s always there at the end of the day. He’s behind me; he’s got my back. He knows I can do what I say I can do, especially in the science world. So he’s really the only one who gets me."
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Austin also opened up more about the topic of race and whether or not it plays a part in the storyline of this season.
“Oh yeah, it definitely does. The character, Jason Wilkes, is from the comics, but I don’t believe was black in the comics, so that’s a new thing for the show and it does play a factor. It can’t not, really. It’s Los Angeles—or [rather], America—in 1947. So race does play a factor, and you see that in different spots over the course of the show, which I think is handled really, really well when it’s addressed. I mean, it’s not everything, but it would be foolish to not address it.”
“Oh yeah, it definitely does. The character, Jason Wilkes, is from the comics, but I don’t believe was black in the comics, so that’s a new thing for the show and it does play a factor. It can’t not, really. It’s Los Angeles—or [rather], America—in 1947. So race does play a factor, and you see that in different spots over the course of the show, which I think is handled really, really well when it’s addressed. I mean, it’s not everything, but it would be foolish to not address it.”
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