BACKING TEAM ZEMO
Initially a Marvel bad guy, is the baron now switching sides?
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Disney+
When Daniel Brühl decided to let Baron Helmut Zemo indulge in a fist-pumping dance during a sweaty nightclub scene in an episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he had strong artistic motivations.
“That was born on the day and it was improvised,” Brühl says in a video call. “I was standing in the club and I was supposed to be doing something else. Then I saw the crowd dancing and I heard the beats and I thought, `Zemo needs to let off some steam. He's been sitting in a German prison cell for years. He needs to show his little moves.'”
After appearing as the main antagonist who threatened to tear apart the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War, Zemo has returned as an ally of sorts to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) as they track a new strain of super-soldier serum that has empowered a terrorist group known as the Flag-smashers and their leader, Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman).
Packed with a new backstory that emphasizes the character's wealth and aristocratic upbringing, this reimagined Zemo allows Brühl to show another side to the popular Marvel villain. “I could see I was going to be able to show different aspects and a completely new attitude and style that I didn't have the chance to explore in Civil War,” the two-time Golden Globe nominee says.
Q How much prep went into Zemo's dance inside the club in Madripoor?
A It wasn't on the page. But I liked it because I saw the reactions of Sam and Bucky, and they're clearly annoyed. For Zemo, though, it was the right tactic. The more noticeable you are, the less suspicion there will be around you. I thought it's actually all right to do that little dance. But after I did it, quite frankly, I thought they'd cut it out of the show. I'm very, very happy, especially now hearing the reactions, that they kept it in the show.
Q How is Zemo different this time around?
A I enjoyed playing him in Civil War so much. When I got the call to play him again, that was a thrill. But when I received the first scripts and (writer) Malcolm Spellman's new version of Zemo, I thought it was great. I knew I wasn't going to repeat myself and it wouldn't become redundant. You get to understand Zemo's aristocratic background. You find out he's a baron and his family was royalty, and those revelations allow me to be funnier, to be suave, to be arrogant, all while wearing this beautiful coat with a little fur (laughs).
This is pop culture history. … To have the privilege of playing a character who is so iconic and so old feels really rewarding.
Q Zemo is one of Marvel's oldest villains, dating back to the early 1970s. Why has he endured?
A It all comes down to (Marvel Studios boss) Kevin Feige, the mastermind of the MCU. … What I find impressive about Kevin and the MCU is how they're able to reinvent certain characters and reinterpret them. So, it's not the Zemo that we know from the comic books. … The fact that he's one of the oldest makes me very proud because this is pop culture history. I have that gigantic book from Taschen, 75 years of Marvel history, and to have the privilege of playing a character who is so iconic and so old feels really rewarding. I also love how the fans are responding to my new interpretation of that guy.
Q How is what's happening in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier going to set the stage for what's to come in the MCU?
A I'm just impressed that after all these wonderful movies that we've seen that they still come up with new ideas and constantly set the bar high. Wandavision was such a wonderful, experimental
show. Now we're going to a buddy-cop action-thriller. My personal delight was the boldness and imagination that they had with my character. So it never gets boring. Now I can't wait to see Loki after watching the trailer. I don't know how they do it, but they find a way to keep on going. It's mesmerizing.
Q I felt myself falling in love with you last week. Are you going to break our hearts by the end of the series?
A I hope so (laughs). I hope that at the end of that show everyone's joining Team Zemo.