Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Interviews with Brett Dalton, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker, Henry Simmons and Adrianne Palicki #AgentsOfShield #ABCTVEvent

Disclosure: I was provided with an all-expense-paid trip in exchange for media coverage. All opinions are completely my own.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

I have to be honest, I was late to the game with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I didn’t start watching until halfway through the first season and I was hooked. Hubby and I have a scheduled date night every Tuesday night at 9pm (8pm Central) – right in front of the TV. I’m allowed to swoon over agents that may or may not be evil and he gets to watch all the action. I think that’s fair, right?

I cannot tell you how jealous my husband was that I was invited to visit the super-secret Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. set.  He had so many questions, so I did my best to get all the answers. There are probably a few questions that you have and I think you’ll be happy with the answers we got.

Season 2

After helping to thwart Hydra, Agent Phil Coulson was appointed as Director and tasked with rebuilding the agency.  Agent Melinda May, expert pilot, martial artist and longtime friend, will continue to look after Coulson in the wake of the mysterious etchings he’s been carving into walls.

Grant Ward, highly trained in combat and espionage, was found to be a Hydra mole and a traitor to S.H.I.E.L.D. and locked up away from the world and his former teammates. But this isn’t the last we’ve seen of him…

After being left to die in the middle of the ocean by Ward, Agent Leo Fitz, brilliant engineer, and Agent Jemma Simmons, genius bio-chemist, found a way to escape their watery grave. But all did not go well for Fitz, who was left in a coma and may never regain his full cognitive functions; a devastating blow to Simmons.

And computer hacker Skye, now a full-fledged S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, discovered her origins as a 0-8-4 — an object of unknown origin — and that her parents were considered “monsters.” Could Skye have darkness lying dormant inside of her?

Also joining Coulson’s core team is Lance Hunter, a dashing mercenary sharp shooter with a quick wit. Since he didn’t rise up through the ranks, does he have an ulterior motive for helping out the team.

Who can Coulson trust as he rebuilds S.H.I.E.L.D? For detailed recaps please visit Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Season 2 Episode Guide.

Episode 218 Airs Tonight on ABC 9|8c

GRANT WARD MAY BE COULSON’S LAST HOPE, ON “MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.” ON ABC

Sneak Peek of Tonight’s Episode

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Interviews

Were you following along during my trip to L.A. for the Avengers: Age of Ultron press junket and visit to the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. super-secret set? I didn’t have the opportunity to use social media while visiting the set, but I did have the chance to sit down with the cast and have a little chat. Along with 24 other awesome bloggers, we sat on the set and asked the questions you wanted answered.

Let me set the scene: We’re on the set of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and we’re sitting right next to Lola. So close, that when I turned my head it was sitting right there. Right.There! Just so you know, it’s just as gorgeous in person. Then, the cast walks in and takes their seats at the front of the room. Included in this interview are Iain De Caestecker (“Leo Fitz”), Elizabeth Henstridge (“Jemma Simmons”), Brett Dalton (“Grant Ward”), Henry Simmons (“Alphonso ‘Mack’ Mackenzie”) and Adrianne Palicki (“Bobbi Morse”).

Where to start? There is so much we want to know about these Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters. The chemistry on set and their camaraderie in this interview was palpable. You could feel how close they have become while working on this show. It was said a few times over the course of our day there that everyone involved in this show is ‘a family’ and that’s how it felt to me.

Brett was asked what it was like when he found out that he was Hydra, since it was hard for us (as viewers) to find out.

There was a little ribbing between the cast mates with this question. We were told that the creative minds behind Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. know how to keep a secret and that the actors actually don’t find out any changes until a few days before those changes happen in the character’s life. Such as when Agent Ward’s secret was revealed.

I was very sad.  Yeah.  Pretty sad.  I didn’t know before.  They let me know the episode before, so there wasn’t a lot of a heads up on that.  I appreciate the Wikipedia entry where somebody said [that] they let me know in the beginning of the season, so I could subtly play it every scene.  I don’t know who wrote that but I was like, thank you for the credit in something I did not do. It was a big change but I think it really rounded out the character in a way, because  prior to that he had a mask that he was showing to the rest of the team.   And then after that you get all of the back story underneath it and all of the pain, danger in there.  It made him really fun to play. -Brett

We were all mortified. We were shocked. And we could only speak to each other about it…it was tricky. -Elizabeth

It’s still a pretty hard subject for me, so I don’t want to to bring back up [the] past. – Iain

You can see from the picture above that the actors were sitting, from L-R Henry Simmons (‘Mack’), Brett Dalton (‘Grant Ward’), Elizabeth Henstridge (‘Simmons’), and Iain De Caestecker (‘Fitz’). It was mentioned that they may be sitting good versus evil. The actors said that wasn’t planned, but got a laugh at the statement.

Now, here’s the question we really wanted to know.

Is it more fun playing the good guy or the bad guy?

I don’t see my guy as evil.  I don’t.  I think he’s doing what he thinks is best for S.H.I.E.L.D.  The real S.H.I.E.L.D.  I don’t see him as being evil.  But, I guess evil people don’t see themselves evil. -Henry

Ditto (that gets a chuckle). We’re playing these characters so we can’t say ‘this guy’s a jerk.’ I feel that he’s (Ward) also not an evil guy. He’s just made certain choices along the way. Some of those choices, some people might frown upon. This guy has had a really hard life and he’s doing the best that he can to move his life forward. He’s even taken some other people under his wing, as well. It’s not just me twirling my mustache and petting a kitten. That will happen next season (insert evil laugh here). 🙂 I’m trying to move other people’s lives forward in the way that I have. -Brett

This show is about an unconventional family, you’ve all had relationships with trust issues. As the character Fitz, which of the other three characters (Simmons, Ward, Mack) would the relationship be repaired easiest.

We get a little bit of a look at their friendship in these answers. The banter, with the back and forth teasing.

With each three of these characters? I think probably Simmons, right? -Iain

Yeah. -Elizabeth

Anything can be solved with a cup of tea, right? -Brett

There we go. -Elizabeth

He (Fitz) has the most history with Simmons. Even when they fight, and they’ve fought a lot this season. I can’t ever see them being out of each others lives, really. -Ian

We’d still like to see them come together in the episode that we’re showing on Tuesday, that they’re back to working together and you see that they still have that relationship where they get how each other is thinking. Fitz knew that Simmons wasn’t just doing what she said she was doing. She was giving him coded messages through what she was doing, and him picking up the cue. I think that you can’t just wipe out history with someone. And these two have been together for years. -Elizabeth

The relationship with Ward is irreparable. As much as Ward would like to be friends once again it’s just not gonna happen. -Ian

Brett then proceeds to feign hurt with the best line. “Oh great. In front of everybody?” Then they proceed to have an intervention for Brett because of all of the horrible things that Ward has done.

On Fitz’s relationship with Mack:

It depends on what’s going to happen exactly with that storyline, I suppose. For example, with Ward, I think the reason that’s irreparable is because he’s done some unforgivable things and there’s no real scene to the background and what has happened to him. Some of the things he’s done. Whereas right now, Mack hasn’t done anything, but maybe he’s been misguided or misjudged.

Bobbi is a complex character, how many parts of your character parallel your real life?

Well I don’t walk around kicking people’s ass [she laughs] even though I’d like to sometimes.  The thing I love about Bobbi is she’s a real human being and she has real feelings.  She’s a soldier, she wants to do everything right.  But she does have emotion, she is a female, she’s a strong female but she’s still vulnerable.  Any of those elements I definitely understand, she’s just trying to find the right path and navigate it. So I kind of I see that in her.

Adrianne’s character is conflicted between the “real S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D.”. Where do you want her to go?

I have my own views as well, but…she’s torn.  She’s been part of this other S.H.I.E.L.D. since the beginning and she’s been with Gonzales. She saved his life, you all saw that. But at the same time she cares about these people. She doesn’t think Coulson is a bad person, she is just concerned about where some of his loyalties stand and his alien blood. Some concerns that we might all have a little bit of, we don’t know where he’s going with all that, but she cares about these people.

So she’s definitely conflicted and she’s trying to find her path through all that but at the end of the day she’s a soldier and she’s been thinking that she’s been doing the right thing the whole time, so now she’s starting to feel like maybe these people aren’t being treated the way that they should be treated.  And, you know, she’s a little concerned.  I think you’re going to see that girl a little bit more. -Adrianne

Do you think S.H.I.E.L.D. would take Grant Ward back? Would he even want to go back to S.H.I.E.L.D.?

I don’t know what their policy is.  Yeah.  It wasn’t some nondescript agents that I took out, either.  I did take out Hand.  She was up there on the list.

He seems to be on his own path this season.  We’re not sure exactly where that path is headed or why he’s doing the things that he’s doing.  He’s making some choices along the way that will lead somewhere.  And hopefully at the end of the season there’ll be a kind of clarity [regarding] why he went down to see his brother again.  That’s why he did the thing with Whitehall.  Oh, that’s why he shaved his head.  That’s why he shaved his beard.

We asked Adrianne about now that Bobbi’s with the “other S.H.I.E.L.D” where does see the relationship with Hunter going?

That’s the thing with them, they’re this on again off again entity.  She’s done a really big thing, which is, lied to him massively for a long period of time. So there’s definitely going to be a lot of mending before anything can happen.  But it’s a possibility. -Adrianne

Question to Brett from Elizabeth: Do you think he misses the team?  Think he misses us?

Yes.  I do.  Because his weakness, as Agent Garrett has always said, is that he has compassion.  It is that he is sensitive as much as he pretends that he’s not.  And does things that, his actions don’t exactly… -Brett

He always wants to belong, doesn’t he?  ‘Cause he didn’t as a child.  Right?  So you miss Mack. -Elizabeth

It’s true.  It’s true.  And I’m glad that we’re getting this out.  I think this has been really good so far. -Brett

For everyone. -Elizabeth

Really good for me.  Good. -Brett

 When you came on to the show, did you know you were going to be infiltrating Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D.?

No, no I didn’t. I had been on for quite a few episodes and we started talking about this secret.  I’m like, ‘What is this secret?’ what is this secret, they would not tell me the secret!  I was like, as an actor, I need to know, they’re like, you’re not bad, you’re not Hydra.  Well that doesn’t tell me anything.  What does that mean?  What am I?  So, yeah no I didn’t know until probably like an episode before we shot the coming out of what it was. Keeps it interesting. -Adrianne

What an awesome experience to walk this set and talk with the actors. I cannot wait to share more interviews and some behind the scenes extras.

Stay tuned for more interviews over the next few weeks!

Follow AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. on Social Media

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Watch AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Tuesdays 9|8c on ABC

Catch up on past episodes via ABC.com or the Watch ABC app (when you authenticate as a cable subscriber), Hulu or Hulu+.