The Avengers Cast and Crew Speaks Out

In a recent interview with FilmInk, the cast and crew of The Avengers had a chance to speak about their time on set and the difficulties of mashing these larger than life figures into a single flick.  I’ve gone through the pages and chosen some of the best bits of the conversations for your reading pleasure. No need to thank me…but if you feel like it, go ahead and thank away in the comments section below.

Kevin Feige, on the Long Road to “The Avengers”

“It was midway through Iron Man that we introduced the organisation of S.H.I.E.L.D. to help the story. I thought that it would be fun to put a teaser with Nick Fury at the end to let fans know that this was possible.”

“Spider-Man. The Fantastic Four, the first Hulk – all these had taken place in their own seperate universes. We have a lot of characters, but it’s not too much,” Feige assures. “It’s the exact right amount to tell the original story of the formation of The Avengers. While there are certainly going to be hints to what may come in the future, this is the core team”

Chris Hemsworth, Thor

“This movie is much more of an ensemble piece than Thor, obviously,” the actor says. “It’s been a trip. In a strange way, Thor finally fits in because he’s not the only guy dressed up in a strange costume.” And speaking of costumes, Hemsworth smiles saying, “This time it’s sleeveless, so it’s more of a summer number,” he laughs.

“I’m hugely impressed with how Joss Whedon has worked all these characters into the story. I was asking myself, ‘How is it going to work?’ But Joss is a genius in the way that he’s written this. All the characters get their time, and it ends up being a very iconic collaboration. We’ve watched these characters grow individually on screen, and to see them come together is really exciting.”

Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man

On facing Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Downey Jr. sums it up saying, “It’s other-dimensional, and so that’s the way that Tony think of this Loki-intergalactic-planetary-Beastie-Boys-son reality that happens in The Avengers. As an engineer and scientist who explores all possibilities, I don’t see why he would say, ‘That’s not possible.'”

Tony Stark’s jokey approach is to concoct nicknames for his new cohorts. “Like, he’ll call Steve Rogers ‘Capsicle’ because he was frozen.” After being asked does he have a personal nickname for himself, Downey quips, “Number one of the Call sheet”.

Tom Hiddleston, Loki

“He and Thor literally have superhuman powers,” the British actor says. “Within the Marvel Universe, Loki has the keys to the universe, and he’s been down all those dark alleyways in space. He’s met all the monsters and made friends with them.”

Alluding to the backstory, saying that between the gap from Thor’s end and The Avengers’s beginning, Loki has taken a journey to the Marvel version of The Seventh Circle Of Hell and brought back secrets. “He’s an all-power-being,” he says smiling. “Loki’s agenda, like all delusional, would-be autoratic fascists, is power, which he believes will give him self-esteem. I haven’t let go of the fat that he still motivated by this terrible jealousy and spiritual desolation.”

Many thanks to our friends at CBM for taking the time to transcribe this.