Sure, winning an Oscar is huge for an actor—but making your Marvel Cinematic Universe debut is also kind of a biggie. While we were thrilled when Olivia Colman was cast in Disney+ series Secret Invasion, we did sort of wonder why she wanted to sign on. Now we know: she’s a fan, too.
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“I’ve been asking if I can join [the MCU] for ages,” Colman told the Hollywood Reporter in a joint interview with co-star Samuel L. Jackson, who stars as Nick Fury on the series. “I’ve been phoning my agent. I have loved watching all these films, particularly since having children. My two oldest are now teenagers, and we’ve watched them all together. So I would’ve said yes to anything they’d given me in this, actually.”
Fortunately for Colman, the role she was tapped for was a juicy one: MI6 agent Sonya Falsworth, who nabs a recently-back-on-Earth Fury and lets him know in no uncertain terms she thinks he’s getting too old for his line of work. You can see why Marvel wanted a formidable actor in the role, capable of going toe-to-toe with Jackson’s Fury. However, the actors agree the tension between their characters comes from a good place. “I think [Falsworth is telling Fury he’s washed up], in a weird way, out of a sort of love,” Colman said. “‘Please be careful.’ (Laughs.) Her sort of love is a funny old thing, but I think she genuinely does mean it.”
According to Jackson, the dynamic between Falsworth and Fury was shaped by Colman’s choices in her performance. “There’s a way where [Falsworth] could have been contentious. She could have been a very nasty person about who he is and what his inabilities are at this time, but she chose to go cozy and fuzzy. ‘Okay, I like you, Fury. It’s good to see you,’ and all those things changed the dynamic. It allowed us to work together in a harmony that’s more satisfying to the story and our backstory than any other way. They could have been just enemies and not frenemies.”
Needless to say, the actors are big fans of each other in real life; definitely head to the Hollywood Reporter to read the full interview, which reveals Jackson’s favorite Colman project to date—and, even more delightfully, Colman’s most-quoted line of Jackson’s from Pulp Fiction.
Secret Invasion’s first episode is now streaming on Disney+.
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