Interviewing the Cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #AvengersEvent #AgentsOfSHIELD

On April 10th at 1500 hours, I entered a black van with tinted windows along with 24 other people as we headed to an undisclosed location in Los Angeles. With my Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division shirt on, I powered down my phone. We were to go on a total social media blackout for the next 3 hours. My mission? To interview Brett Dalton, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons and Adrianne Palicki on the set of ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that dramatic but it sure was exciting. I did have my Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. shirt on and we DID have a social media blackout. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is one of my favorite shows so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Iain De Caestecker (“Leo Fitz”),Elizabeth Henstridge (“Jemma Simmons”), Brett Dalton (“Grant Ward”), Henry Simmons (“Alphonso ‘Mack’ Mackenzie”) and Adrianne Palicki(“Bobbi Morse”).

Photo Credit: ABC/Adam Taylor

We were also able to get a sneak peek of episode 218 – The Frenemy of My Enemy. In this episode, a dangerous new alliance is formed as Coulson and Hunter turn to the last person anyone would expect – Grant Ward! As the war between S.H.I.E.L.D. factions continues, Skye and Lincoln will find themselves drawn into this conflict.

No spoilers from me, but you’re not going to want to miss this episode which airs tonight on ABC at 9pm EST. Now going forward in this post with the interviews, if you’re not completely caught up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, there will be possible spoilers so read on at your own risk!

During the interviews, we were able to ask all of those burning questions that have been eating at us since the beginning of the series. One of my favorite scenes was when we found out that Grant Ward was actually working for Hydra and we were able to ask Brett Dalton if he knew from the beginning that he was going to be two-timing S.H.I.E.L.D.

No, I didn’t know before.  They let me know the episode before so there wasn’t a lot of heads up on that. I appreciate the Wikipedia entry where somebody said 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, oh, 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. Prior to that he had kind of a mask that he was showing to the rest of the team. And then after that you get this, all of the back story underneath it and all of the pain and danger in there. It really fleshed him out and made him really fun to play.

Even though I was upset to see Grant Ward tun away from S.H.I.E.L.D, he has been such an interesting and complex character to watch. Another reason you’re going to want to watch The Frenemy of My Enemy tonight!

Photo Credit: ABC

Brett Dalton, who plays Grant ward also took time with us to work out his feelings on playing such a character. When asked if he misses the S.H.I.E.L.D. team and if he thinks they would ever take him back, he says,

Yes. I do. Because his weakness, as Agent Garrett has always said, is that he has compassion. He is sensitive as much as he pretends that he’s not.

I don’t know what their policy is.  I mean, it wasn’t just like some like nondescript agents that I took out, either.

If you’ve been watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., then you know that SHIELD collapsed and that recently we discovered that Mack {played by Henry Simmons} and Bobbie {played by Adrianne Palicki} were actually working for what they think is the real SHIELD. We asked them if they view their characters as being on the wrong side.

Henry Simmons {Mack} says,

I don’t see my guy as evil. 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.

Adrianne Palicki {Bobbie} says,

Listen, 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. I mean, she saved his life, you all saw that. But at the same time she cares about these people. And she doesn’t think Coulson is a bad person, she just is concerned about where some of his loyalties stand and his alien blood and all that. Some concerns that we might all have a little bit of but she cares about these people. 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. She’s a little concerned. I think you’re going to see that girl a little bit more.

Brett Dalton {Grant Ward] chimed in on if he views his character as evil,

We’re playing these characters so we can’t go, oh, this guy’s a jerk.  Here he goes again tryin’ to take over the world or whatever! I feel that he’s also not an evil guy.  He’s just made certain choices along the way. Some of those choices, some people might frown on.  I really think that this guy’s had a really hard life and he’s doin’ the best that he can to move his life forward and even taking some other people under his wing as well.  So it’s not just me twirling my mustache and petting a kitten.  That will happen next season… I’m trying to move other people’s lives forward in the way that I have as well.

Another one of my favorite parts of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the different relationships the characters have with each other. Some will make you smile, some will frustrate you and some will make you cry.

Photo Credit: ABC/Adam Taylor

When asked if Hunter and Bobbie will ever get back together and if their relationship can be repaired, Adrianne Palicki shares,

That’s kind of the thing with them is that they’re this on again off again entity, as you know.  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.

Iain De Caestecker, who plays Leo Fitz reveals what relationship he thinks will be the easiest to repair out of Mack, Ward and Simmons.

Probably Simmons. He’s got the most history I think. Even when they fight and stuff – and they’ve fought a lot this season, quite seriously, I think. I can’t ever see them being out of each other’s lives, really.

Elizabeth Henstridge, who plays Jemma Simmons chimes in, 

{In the episode played last week}, they’re back to working together and you see that they still have that relationship where they get how each other’s thinking.  Fitz knew that Simmons wasn’t just doing what she said she was doing.  And she was giving him kind of coded messages through what she was doing, and him picking up the cue.  You can’t just wipe out history with someone.  And these two have been together for years.

As for Fitz’s relationship with Ward and Mack, Iain shares,

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

With Mack…that’s an interesting one, actually. I mean it depends what’s gonna happen exactly with that storyline, I suppose. For example with Ward, I think the reason that’s kind of irreparable is because he’s done some unforgivable things and there’s no real scene to the background and what’s happened to him. Like some of the things that he’s done. I’m just being honest.

It was such an amazing opportunity to sit down with the talented cast of Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. They all had such great chemistry together and I loved learning some insight into each character. You’ll want to check back in a few weeks when I’ll be sharing my interview with Clark Gregg (“Phil Coulson”), Ming-Na Wen (“Melinda May”), Co-Creator & Executive Producer Jed Whedon and Executive Producer Jeff Bell.

Until then, don’t miss The Frenemy of My Enemy which airs tonight AT 9pm EST! You won’t want to miss any of the upcoming episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. if you’re planning on seeing Avengers: Age of Ultron as IT’S ALL CONNECTED!

Photo Credit: ABC

Disclosure: Disney provided an all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles including travel, accommodations and activities. All thoughts and opinions are my own.