WandaVision is an unusual Marvel project and it also kicks off a new era of MCU television shows. What was your initial reaction to getting the phone call to be a
It is, as you say, an incredibly unique show. It’s unlike anything ever in the MCU. It’s filled with surprises, and no one was more surprised than I to get the call about it because it had been a long time since Darcy [first] appeared [in the Marvel universe]. I had no expectations because that’s how I live my life and it has served me well, so when I got the call, I was like, “Well, of course, I’ll do whatever you want.” When Marvel asks, you just say yes, no matter what it is. And when I heard it was this, I was so intrigued because Darcy Lewis has had pretty much no contact with anyone in the WandaVision sphere at all. It was a really interesting concept, and I didn’t really know what was going on until much later, until a meeting where I signed an NDA in the lobby, and then I signed another NDA in the office, and then on the way out, so I was like, “Wow. What is this?” I was just so excited to get into it. I’m really excited for people to see what happens.
Each episode references a sitcom style from a different decade. Do you have a favorite sitcom?
You know I’ve thought about this. It’s an interesting answer, but my favorite sitcom—because I was born in 1986 and grew up with the ’90s sitcoms—is Boy Meets World. It’s great! I’m sorry it’s one of the best sitcoms ever made. Don’t you think? Maybe it’s a memory of being whatever age I was when that came out, but it was such a touchstone for my young life and Eric Matthews, played by Will Friedle, may be the best comedic performance in all of sitcoms.
Your character Darcy Lewis appeared in earlier Thor films as Jane Foster’s (Natalie Portman) assistant. What, if anything, can you reveal about how she got to this point in WandaVision working with S.W.O.R.D.?
Well, it’s partially a mystery to me as well, so that’s a fun thing as an actor to fill in that back story. Obviously, Jane Foster and Dr. Eric Selvig from the Thor films had a huge impact on Darcy’s trajectory professionally because in the first Thor movie, the joke was that Darcy is interning for Jane Foster but is a political science major, not a science major. So that’s very funny for me to think about while I’m doing these lines. I’m guessing that Darcy has just been in school this whole time. For me, acting [out] these new things for her… it’s almost like I doubt she’s changed as a person very much because all that has changed is her learning a bunch of stuff. I’m trying to enjoy what makes Darcy fun, which is her Darcy-ness, but also balancing her very real expertise she now has in her field. So that’s been a really fun thing for me to play.