Mike
Peterson, aka Deathlok (J. August Richards) jumped off to our small screens in
the very first episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and stayed ever
since. His transformation from down on his luck father, to hero, to villain, to
anti-hero is certainly one the most memorable things from the show's first
season.
Speaking
to Collider, Richards' talked about going back to his old comics to do some
research on the character, returning for the second season, Deathlok's atonement,
and much more.
When you signed on and did the first episode, even though you didn’t know
where it could go from there, did they at least tell you that there was the
possibility that it could turn into a bigger arc, or did you think you were
only doing one episode?
RICHARDS: They hinted at
the fact that there would be more, but there were soft hints. At the
time, it was just a pilot, so there wasn’t even an assurance that it was going
to go forward. So, while I was doing it, I just treated it as if it was
the only episode I was ever gonna do. Then, they got picked up, but I
didn’t hear anything for awhile. I was just in a place where I was like,
“You know what? If that’s all I get to do, that’s fine because I had the time
of my life.” I really did. It was such an honor to play the
part. And then, when I finally did get called back, I was really
ecstatic. And then, when I found out that I was being turned into
Deathlok, that’s when I had to pull the car over on the side of the road to do
a happy dance.
When you did come back and then blew up, and everyone thought you were
dead, did you also think that you were dead, or did you know that they had a
bigger plan and that Deathlok was down the line?
RICHARDS: I knew there
was a bigger plan, at that point, because I was signed on to do two episodes,
so I knew that I had to be in the next episode. I knew that I wasn’t
going to be dead for long. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, we
did the table read first, and I only got the call that I’d be coming back for
the second episode, after the table read. So, when I read the episode, I
was just happy that I was getting to do more, as a character. I thought I
could be dead, but then I found out really quickly that I wasn’t, so I was only
scared for a little while.
Being a comic book fan, was this a character that you knew anything about,
or did you immediately go back to all of your comics and try to find him, so
that you could read everything you had on him?
RICHARDS: I went
straight to my old comic book collection. Fortunately, it was right
around the Christmas holiday, so I was on my break, back home in D.C. My
sister has been holding onto my comics for me, and the first place that I
wanted to research the character was in my comic books. I didn’t know how
I was going to do it, but knowing the Virgo that I am, I had every issue of The
Guide to the Marvel Universe, which is like an encyclopedia of all of the
characters that have ever been in there. I found the character and
started reading, which is how I began my research. Deathlok was in my
childhood comic book collection.
How difficult is it to totally relinquish control and put yourself in the
hands of the folks running the show? Does it help to know that Marvel has
such a proven track record now, and at least you’re putting yourself in the
hands of people who know what they’re doing?
RICHARDS: It’s not
difficult at all, and I actually really like it. I have no idea what’s
coming next, so I like the fact that I can’t try to project, into my
performance, what’s coming. Even in the first episode when I say to
someone, “No, this is an origin story,” I had no idea what I meant by
that. I had no idea what that could mean. So, I love it. It
only allows me to play what is in front of me, and I can’t wink at the
audience, which I’m famous for. I’m glad that I can’t do that.
Obviously, Deathlok/Mike Peterson is not dead, so chances are that we’ll
see you again, at some point. Because this character is someone who’s
been exploited and forced to serve other people’s interests, where would you
like to see him go next?
RICHARDS: Man, I have
such strong feelings for my character. For me, the most important thing
that I would like to see him find is redemption for himself, and be able to
face his son again. In my mind, I won’t consider the character resolved
until he holds that little boy in his arms again.
What would he have to go through on his journey of atonement, before he’d
feel worthy of being with his son again?
RICHARDS: When I was
reading the scripts from last season, I kept saying to the script, “Mike, why
do you feel so guilty? It wasn’t really your fault. Everybody is
okay. You don’t really have anything to prove.” But, the character
has this tremendous sense of guilt. I think he would have to save the
entire planet, in order to feel human again. It would have to be
something big, and hopefully his boy would get to see it and know it was him.
If you could see Deathlok either team up with or go up against any
character from the Marvel universe, who would it be?
RICHARDS: I would go
against Juggernaut because that character always appeared in a lot of the
Marvel comics that I read, as a kid, and I always hated that guy because he was
unbeatable. And I would love to team up with someone from Alpha
Flight, but I don’t know who.
Marvel's Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D." returns for a dynamic, action-packed second season, with
newly appointed Director Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) - now the keeper of the
secrets -- charged with rebuilding and restoring government and public trust in
S.H.I.E.L.D. in the wake of the events of "Marvel's Captain America: The
Winter Soldier," where it was revealed evil Hydra agents had infiltrated
the organization. Ever since the existence of super heroes and aliens became
public knowledge after the Battle of New York, the world has been trying to
come to grips with this new reality. Agent Phil Coulson, who had died at the
hands of Loki during the battle, was resuscitated and brought back into action,
assembling a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide
law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland
Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division). S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mission: to
protect those who cannot protect themselves from threats they cannot conceive.
Source -
Collider
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