I felt like people really do their best work when they're having a really good time and feel safe to push the envelope and make a jackass out of themselves.
There's very few people, who really thrive creatively under great stress and conflict.
As you can imagine when you have to summon a force like that together, the opposing elements are pretty freaking gnarly. I would think of those pioneer movies where they've got the cook and the ladies loading the guns and firing at the surrounded wagons. I don't put Coulson in that category, I think he is on the upper tier of people who come to scrap at situations like that but everybody's involved.
One thing I've learned about the Marvel universe is that it's a little bit like God... if you want to make him laugh, just make a plan.
I like anything Jennifer Lawrence is in. She's so beautiful.
I was really sad after 'The Avengers' when I realized I was not going to have a part in 'Thor 2' or 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier.' But I'm not arguing with my fantastic plane and my really cool car.
Because I'm stern and scolding [the characters] sometimes, I'm sure I'll get a ton of grief.
There was a day on the set of Iron Man where I said, "I remember some of this stuff. I definitely had some Iron Man books. But, S.H.I.E.L.D. is a little bit of a weak spot for me."
There's a different set of writers and a different director for the films, but Marvel has turned it into a pretty spectacular job.
What I love about Coulson is that he manages to do that and he manages to wrangle the diva superheroes, and really keep a sense of humor about it. And, you can tell that he really loves his job.
Speaking as Coulson, it's unclear. I feel like that are other formidable S.H.I.E.L.D. elements and they don't have Coulson's connection to some of these people. I think what I like about what seems to be going on is there are differing opinions about who's where on the hierarchy and I think that's some of what goes on in the movie.
The tremendous Jeremy Latcham from Marvel showed up with this one-of-a-kind animated encyclopedia about S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Avengers. Coulson wasn't a part of the comic books, which is a singular thing about him that I thought would get me killed off very quickly, but luckily, it didn't. It just became a thing that I fit into, and they kept finding new and better uses for me.
I guess what we know about the Avengers is there's a reason why all of the heroes that we've been meeting, from Thor to Captain America - everybody - they need to work together.
All the PG-13 superhero movies are depriving me of the gore that I need.
I'm not secretly on the board of Marvel.
When Marvel put together Ultimate Spider-Man and someone came up with the idea of having Principal Coulson, they said, "Do you want to do the voice?" I thought, "I have to do the voice!" Because I have a daughter and we watch some cartoons, I couldn't bear the idea of tuning in and hearing somebody else's voice.
The world of Ultimate Spider-Man is funny. I can't imagine a live-action film where he's Principal Coulson and dealing with some of the pranks from these guys.
I was an 'Ironman' fan. It was in the '70s. I definitely liked comics and drew a lot of panels on my notebook when I should have been studying - probably why I ended up in the arts.
There's nobody who loves being around actors working more than David Mamet, especially actors bringing his tremendous dialogue to life. I've never seen a movie director who was happier to be directing a movie than Dave.
To go from Jon Favreau for Iron Man 1 and 2 to Kenneth Branagh for Thor and the very different world of Thor, it's about how to adapt to Coulson in a different setting and a different world while, at the same time, still have him be a part of the same world.
Agent Coulson takes the work very seriously. He certainly has some fun with Spider-Man and the others, but he takes each of their tasks, including when they get involved with the drama club, way too seriously. The adventures that they come up with are really exciting.
It was cool to me, as a fan of the comics, to see some of the villains that end up finding them there, and the way that they abuse Coulson before the superheroes come. I'm always, in the movies or in the animated series, getting into trouble that a superhero has to bail me out of.
With the tone of the show, like a lot of the films, the Marvel creative team has found a way to bridge really exciting stuff that has real stakes. They balance some of the action stuff that the fans of the comics really want to see with characters that people can relate to and who are very human.
I've never seen a movie director who was happier to be directing a movie than Dave [Mamet]. His sets, everyone who's ever been involved with one of them will tell you of the funnest, funniest sets you can be on.
The great thing about Coulson is that he's a little bit like a party game, where the next person who gets ahold of him gets to write another sentence. I'm constantly learning more and more about the guy.
