Straight from Hollywood
Clark Gregg talks about his place in the Marvel superhero universe, collecting basketball sneakers and his famous wife.
As leader of counter-terrorism spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D., agent Phil Coulson is a regular face in the Marvel universe – so much so that actor Clark Gregg has played the steely team leader in Hollywood movies Iron Man (2008), its sequel Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011) and The Avengers (2012). But these days, Clark’s got his hands full fending off baddies on popular spin- off series Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013- current).
The series looks like a big-budget minimovie, but with all these Marvel stories going on, in movies and now on TV, are they all related?
There is nothing that will happen in this [the TV show] that will conflict with anything happening in the movies. Being part of the birth of the Marvel cinematic universe, the funnest part for me, because I actually grew up reading some of these comics, is watching the way that they use them as kind of chapters of this giant pop culture novel. Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a new chapter and a more intimate look at the people that my character symbolised in the films, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, the people who’re vulnerable, who aren’t immortal, who have no superpowers in a world where others do. From the pilot, you could see that Coulson is forming this team is a direct response to The Avengers and certainly something about what’s going on with his character is a direct response to what happened to him in the film [he was killed by Norse God of mischief Loki, then brought back to life].
With all these superheroes and gods in the movies and now the TV series, do you have favourites?
They are my “children” to a certain extent, my dysfunctional superpowerful psychotic kids and I love them each in different ways. I certainly have a particular affinity for Tony Stark [Iron Man – Robert Downey Jr] because he is really who I’ve had the longest and most satisfying relationship with.
You mentioned that you read some comics. Which ones?
I was a big Iron Man fan. I loved that Iron Man was a person. He didn’t have superpowers. He had a spectacular suit and some real demons that he had to overcome.
Your character collects the Captain America trading cards – what kind of stuff do you collect?
Basketball sneakers. I play a lot of basketball. What I love is that it doesn’t require a ton of equipment but I can afford to get good sneakers.
How good are you at being in charge and is Agent Coulson kind of like Marvel’s version of James Bond?
If Bond and Walter Mitty [Ben Stiller’s daydreamer character in 2013 movie The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty] had a child, I believe that he is that. I’m getting better at being in charge. I don’t do it very often.
You’re married to actress Jennifer Grey, who we don’t see much of anymore. Does she give you any advice or support about what’s to come with the show?
I’m very lucky to be married to Jennifer (Frances “Baby” Houseman in iconic film Dirty Dancing, 1987). I think that everything good that happened in my life kind of started after I met her. I was all over. I was a little scattered up until I met her and she’s the perfect partner and really also because she has had so much experience in this industry in ways that I haven’t. She’s so smart about what to focus on and what to not focus on. She’s a brilliant actress in her own right and in a just universe, we’re going to get to see that again.