If you thought the cast of Marvel’s The Avengers was big, you will be blown away by Avengers: Age of Ultron. In addition to a new villain, Ultron, the cast grows by adding the Scarlett Witch, Quicksilver and the Vision to the mix. This expansion of the cast adds new voices to the film, but must have also been daunting to the actors that are now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
At a recent press conference, the actors of the film addressed what the experience of filming Avengers: Age of Ultron was like. James Spader, who provided the voice and motion capture performance of Ultron, discussed the whirlwind process of filming the movie. “I really don’t have any idea what was happening at all – (it) happened very quickly. I really was just trying to hold on and then stay on the train that was moving very, very quickly. But I will say this, that I arrived in London, and within the first half hour I was – they put on a suit, they put on all this gear, and I’d gone through a range of motion, and then within 15 minutes, I was watching me walk around a big room, moving and doing this and that and everything else, and watching Ultron, or at least a formative stage of Ultron, on a monitor in front of me. And it just – it started right there.” The next day he said he was filming a key scene with Scarlett Johansson. Spader also credited director Joss Wheadon for helping flesh-out (no pun intended) his performance of Ultron “Over a fantastic meal with a whole bunch of wine.”
When it comes to “the twins,” Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch performed by Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, they leaned on each other as they joined the ensemble. Previously, the actors worked together on Godzilla where they played husband and wife. Taylor-Johnson discussed how having each other to rely on made life a little easier: “It was comforting to know, like stepping on set, when it was such a big ensemble and cast that you kind of had someone to feel comfortable with.”
Paul Bettany is no stranger to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having portrayed J.A.R.V.I.S. since the beginning in the original Iron Man film. But for the first time, he appears as more than just a voice. When discussing the benefits of having to appear on set, he said “the great thing is being able to work with all these incredibly creative and talented people.”
I wish I could say more about all of these new characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I don’t want to enter spoiler territory. But with the new additions to the Avengers family, Kevin Feige had it right when he described the group as “the greatest ensemble ever assembled in cinematic history.”