Now that you’ve seen “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” you’ve met all of the new characters introduced on the show. Chloe Bennet plays Skye, a computer hacker who stumbles onto S.H.I.E.L.D. via her unauthorized investigation into an Extremis patient (J. August Richards).
I had only seen the pilot episode over lunch the day ABC presented “S.H.I.E.L.D.” to the Television Critics Association. That evening I found Bennet at the cocktail party and got a little alone time for some “S.H.I.E.L.D.” intel.
CraveOnline: What do you think Skye did the moment the Avengers battle in New York happened?
Chloe Bennet: I think she was there. I think she’s one of the civilians who is not afraid to go up and film and try to rally people to help the Avengers or something like that. She was already interested and I think she already knew about these people before The Avengers but was very like “Oh, I was right. I was right about that kind of stuff.” I think she was a bit excited in a way, not for the tragedy of the battle, but for the possibility that there are all these other things out there.
Was that the inciting incident for her?
I think she’s had an agenda about superheroes and Asgardian gods beforehand. I think she’s always been excited, but she definitely doesn’t have an agenda. There’s a reason why she’s so curious.
You got the line that people will notice is from another Marvel character. How much fun was it to say the Spider-Man line?
“With great power comes a lot of crap that you’re not prepared to deal with,” that line?
Yes, that’s the one.
That was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun to play with.
Was that in the script or could you riff?
No, that was the writing. I knew how I wanted to say it and it was a really funny line. People were laughing on set while I was doing it.
Joss Whedon writes women particularly well. Could you feel that in the characterization of Skye?
I definitely do. The writing is so fantastic and it’s so easy. I feel like for me, the dialogue, it’s different but it’s so Joss but it fits with me for some reason. It’s been an honor to play one of Joss’s infamous female characters because they’re so talked about and well known.
She’s so different from Simmons too.
Yeah, yeah, they’re very different but they’re very complementary as well. Me, Ming[-Na] and Elizabeth [Henstridge] take the whole spectrum of these different types of interesting kick-ass women, but kick-ass in their own individual way.
When they’re gearing up a Marvel show, how competitive was the audition for Skye?
You know, I went in six times, so I went in quite a few times and it felt pretty competitive. I think everyone read the project and immediately loved it. How could you not? And then I had to fight for that part and it was worth it.
They’re so secretive, for good reason. What scene did they give you to audition with?
Oh, I haven’t been asked that. My audition scene was the scene in the diner with J. August Richards.
So it wasn’t a fake scene. It was a real one.
That was one of them, yes.
Did you have chemistry reads with any of the other cast?
I did read with Brett [Dalton] and I was terrible, so awful. [Joking]
What happened?
No, it was great. We had such a great time. We got along really well right away and we had such a great time.
How computer savvy are you?
I’m not very computer savvy. That is all my acting. I’m not the greatest with computers so it’s really fun to play someone who is pretty fantastic.
Have you learned anything from Skye?
Yeah, I’ve been watching Ted talks about computer hackers and getting in touch with my inner hacker, but there’s not much research you can do on how to hack computers because you just have to learn how to hack them. But it’s really fun to play her.
Is Skye going to be involved in any of the big action of “S.H.I.E.L.D.”?
She definitely does. I think the whole team does. I can’t say much about the upcoming episodes but it gets even bigger and even crazier. Everyone becomes very involved.
Did you have to train for it?
Kind of. I can’t say. You’ll see why.
Oh, something that specific. Well, she might be someone who’s not supposed to know how to fight.
Yeah, she’s kind of thrown into situations, as are Fitz and Simmons without many skills and that makes for very entertaining television.
Is this your first experience working with visual effects?
Yes, yes, and it’s interesting. It’s a lot of “Oh, there’s a green screen but there’s a monster right there.” So it’s fun. It makes it feel like dress up, like what we used to do when we were kids. It’s like a throwback. It’s very nostalgic in a way.
Were you a comic book fan growing up?
You know, I have six brothers so I definitely was aware of Marvel more than I was of princesses, but once you’re cast in a Joss Whedon Marvel show, you go and become even more of a bigger fan. You do your homework.
Have you seen any comic books you’ve liked?
I just read “Red Hulk” that Jeph Loeb wrote and “Hawkeye.”
I was in the second audience to ever see this show. What has it been like for you to slowly see the Comic-Con audience respond, then us?
It’s such a fantastic feeling. It’s so enjoyable to see everyone love what we’ve been working so hard at and what we love. I saw the pilot for the first time at Comic-Con with everyone else so being able to see it with everyone and see everyone laugh in the right spots and awww in the right spots and gasp in the right spots has been really, really awesome.
Has the name Skye ever appeared in a Marvel comic before?
I don’t know. I don’t think so. I do know that these are all new characters and they’re all new additions to the wonderful world of Marvel characters. So to my knowledge, I don’t think these are characters that have been done before.
