IMAN VELLANI

From high school grad to the MCU in just one audition

Kamala was your first audition. How did you land her?

I got the casting call through a Whatsapp forward, which is like the Brownest way this could have happened. My aunt was like, “You’ve read all the comics, just go for it.” I sent my headshot and a very academic résumé. They sent back three scenes. I was like, “I know exactly which comic books these are from!” I was freaking out and I didn’t want to do it because I was honestly scared. But I knew my 10-year-old self was gonna hate me, so I did it for her. I sent [a self-tape] in. I think a day or two after I got a call. They’re like, “Get a lawyer. We need you to come to LA.”

How was that experience?

It was the greatest time of my life. I am obsessed with people who work at Marvel, so just seeing so many people with Marvel Studios hats and jackets was like sensory overload in the best way possible. I went home the happiest girl in the world. They sent me one email to come back, but then the pandemic happened. Four months go by and I have to accept university offers. I was freaking out because I’m like, “I don’t think I want to do anything else now. What if I don’t get it? I can’t just go back to being a normal kid. I’ve gotten this little glimpse of what it could be like!”

Captain Marvel is Kamala’s hero and Brie Larson is your co-star in The Marvels. When did you first meet her and do the two of you talk much?

I got cast on June 24. Two days after, I get a text from [casting director] Sarah Finn saying, “Brie wants to meet you.” I was like, “What?” The next day, we did a little Zoom call. It was very, very nice to have her hold my hand throughout everything. I very much made sure I was using her as much as I could, because she made herself so available for me. There’s a sense of loneliness that comes with just being the only superhero on set. She definitely dealt with that on

Captain Marvel. For me, I was the only person in a superhero costume, which is a little scary. Everyone is gonna look at you when you’re wearing the shiny piece of Spandex. It’s a little intimidating and you feel insecure. You’re in this funky costume doing these weird hand things. Brie was telling me that she’s gone through the same thing. I was like, “Great. Not alone!” She said, ‘This is normal, and you’re going to have a lot of body pain!’

Was the comic book run important to you?

The G Willow Wilson run was a huge inspiration for our show. Honestly, I carried that comic around everywhere with me. I have it memorised at this point! Not even just rereading, but holding it with that classic cover. I never let go of that comic, because it means the world to me. I asked Kevin [Feige] to sign it when he came to set. He did not. He was like, “That’s so weird!”

Because of that, did the change in Kamala’s powers bother you?

That’s a good question. I was surprised when they told me. Obviously, I am very married to the original comic run. But certain things have to be reimagined to fit a larger scale, and this fitted how the direction of the MCU is going right now. The themes of the comics have always been about identity and marrying all the things that make Kamala Kamala. She’s Pakistani. She’s Muslim. She’s a superhero nerd. There’s too much, and that’s real life. You can’t just identify yourself as one thing. Those core themes from the comics and that tone is very much prevalent in our show as well. I think that’s what should matter.

Do you feel like much of your own life is in Kamala’s story?

I honestly felt like I kind of lived Kamala’s life minus the superpower part. I’m a huge Marvel fan. My family dynamic was very similar, so doing those scenes, I felt very at home doing that. Adil [El Arbi] and Bilall [Fallah], who directed episode one and six, they would have very regular calls with me before I moved to Atlanta, just talking about my life and what high school was like for me, and my relationship with boys and teachers. I appreciated that so much, because it’s the worst thing in the world when 40-year-olds are writing a script for 15-year-olds, and acting like they know what they sound like. They don’t. They are far removed from that type of world. These guys really made an effort to share my voice and make

my voice Kamala’s voice.

As a Marvel Studios fan, who is your go-to Avenger?

I’m a huge, huge Iron Man fan. I know Kamala is more Captain Marvel, but I was very much asking for more Iron Man references in there. Like, “I think she needs an Iron Man action figure, more Iron Man.” There was a point where we got to too much Iron Man, that was the note from Kevin!

Iron Man is one of the best MCU origin stories. Did you revisit it in order to prep for Kamala’s?

The first thing I did when I got cast was watch Iron Man again. It’s like my comfort movie. Any big milestone we would hit in the show, whether it was filming the scene where Kamala gets her costume or her powers,

I would watch Iron Man. It was my reminder that this character exists in the same universe as Tony Stark, which was just the coolest thing in the world for me. Honestly, it is very fun to just create this story. This is something new for the MCU and it’s also a side of the MCU we haven’t seen before, the perspective of a teenage kid who’s obsessed with these Avengers.

Iron Man wasn’t mainstream before his movie. Do you feel Ms Marvel has that same underdog status?

Kamala has a lot of self-doubt and imposter syndrome. It’s a really fun thing to play because I was on a very similar path. I came from high school to the Marvel Universe. It’s like I was given the ultimate key, so I was dealing with a lot of imposter syndrome. Being the first of anything is very scary. The MCU hasn’t seen a character like this before. With Kamala and me, we have a wonderful support system. Her family is her rock and her friends in Bruno (Matt Lintz) and Nakia (Yasmeen Fletcher) in the show are the people that she goes to where she can be herself and where she can get her confidence from. For me, it’s also my family and my friends. I think it’s really awesome. Ultimately, we just see her become a badass superhero.

You’re also a big cinephile. Give us three recommendations.

Harold And Maude is one of my favourite movies. I’m gonna put Mamma Mia! on that list too. And Boy, Taika Waititi’s movie. [The main character] similarly lives in his own head in a fantastical world and has to deal with a lot of family drama, so that for sure I rewatched.

It was the greatest time of my life. I am obsessed with people who work at Marvel