"Thunderbolts*" Geraldine Viswanathan Confesses Messing Up On Set Was "Scary"
Australian actress, Geraldine Viswanathan, has quietly crept onto Hollywood's radar, in recent faves Miracle Workers (2019), Blockers (2018) and You're Cordially Invited (2025). Now, she's stepping up to the MCU plate as a pivotal character in Jake Schreier's superhero smash, Thunderbolts *.
Questions are already being asked of her future involvement in the Cinematic Universe and if she'll be returning as bright-haired hero, Songbird. Geraldine's answer is Marvel media training at its finest — which could really mean anything.
Ahead of the cinematic release of Thunderbolts*, we sat down with Newcastle-raised Geraldine Viswanathan to confirm (or deny) her future MCU role, chat about the biggest menace on set and her career "WOAH" moment.
Here's everything she told us:
BFOZ: Growing up in Australia and pursuing acting over here, when it feels so far away from the big lights of Hollywood, what's the moment that made you realise, "Holy shit, I've made it"?
Geraldine: I mean, [ Thunderbolts* ]' is kind of crazy and I'm looking at the poster here and I see my name at the bottom and I'm like, "Wow".
I feel like it hasn't dawned on me the massiveness of joining the Marvel universe until I've started doing press. But I think also doing Blockers and having our premiere, was such a pinch me full circle moment because I think it was a couple — five years prior to that, I had gone to that same theatre for the Bridesmaids premiere, just as a fan waiting at the barricades to get autographs.
And so to be on the other side and have a movie that's premiering at the same theatre felt like a very cool moment.
BFOZ: If Marvel dreamed up a new South Asian-Australian superhero, what backstory and powers would they have? Would grow up in Newcastle just like you did?
Geraldine: Woah. What a question. You know what? I've thought about this before.
I think I was like, wouldn't it be interesting if there was a mixed race superhero who can live in this liminal space between worlds or something like that? Maybe she could shapeshift or time jump or something.
But I definitely, would love to see more superheroes from Newcastle.
Samir Hussein / Samir Hussein/WireImage
BFOZ: Speaking of new heroes, will we be seeing Mel step into her own hero role in the future?
Geraldine: I really can't say, or else I'll be sniped, but all I can say is that... Hey! I would love to. I'm available, and this experience has been such a dream and I would love to do it again, if I could.
Just for your visual reference, here's Geraldine's reaction to the question:
Anyways...
BFOZ: Back to Thunderbolts*, the ensemble is full of absolute characters. Which cast member was the biggest menace on set?
Geraldine: Biggest menace?
I feel like everyone was pretty well-behaved because it was so scary when you mess up and they have to reset. But I think David Harbour is a big crack and I think was cracking up the team.
So, he might win the award for biggest menace.
BFOZ: And finally, in today's world, if you could pick one of these Marvel villains — Thanos, Valentina de Fontaine, Loki, The Green Goblin or Killmonger — to rule, who would it be and why?
Geraldine: Oh my god, these are terrible options. No, I don't want any of them to rule to the world, but maybe if I had to choose, I guess Val. I'm staying loyal to my boss. I think she's not all bad.
There's some nuance, there's some gray area there, and I love to see a woman in charge, so I'll go with Val.
BFOZ: How do you think she would change the world?
Marvel Studios / Courtesy of Marvel Studios
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Girl Authority
an hour ago
- Geek Girl Authority
Emily Hampshire Joins VISION as E.D.I.T.H.
Emily Hampshire is boarding Marvel's Vision s eries. Vision Hampshire will play E.D.I.T.H., a Tony Stark-crafted A.I. whose name stands for 'Even Dead, I'm the Hero.' In addition to Hampshire, James Spader will return as Ultron. The Vision series on Disney+ has announced another cast member. Emily Hampshire ( Schitt's Creek ) will join the series as E.D.I.T.H., an A.I. created by Tony Stark. Originally introduced in 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home , E.D.I.T.H. is just one of several returning Marvel Cinematic Universe characters who will appear in the show. Vision on Disney+ Vision is the second spinoff of the first MCU series on Disney+, WandaVision . Last year, Agatha All Along claimed the title of the first spinoff. Terry Matalas will serve as showrunner for Vision and is presumed to direct at least one episode. Previously, Matalas served as showrunner for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, so you know he has experience with returning characters. RELATED: Marvel's Vision Finds Showrunner in Terry Matalas As mentioned above, E.D.I.T.H. originally appeared in Far From Home . Recalling Vision's origins, E.D.I.T.H. is a Stark-crafted A.I. whose name is an acronym. E.D.I.T.H. is short for 'Even Dead, I'm The Hero.' In Far From Home , E.D.I.T.H. allowed Peter Parker (Tom Holland) to access the late Stark's weapon systems. In addition to Paul Bettany as the title character and Hampshire as E.D.I.T.H., Vision will see the return of James Spader as Ultron. Previously, variants of Ultron appeared in What If…? on Disney+ and in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness . However, in those appearances, the role was played by Ross Marquand. Also returning will be Faran Tahir as Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar. The commander of a Ten Rings terrorist cell in Afghanistan, Raza first appeared in 2008's Iron Man . RELATED: 5 Things We Loved About the Agatha All Along Finale Along with the returning characters, Vision will feature new characters as well. These include T'Nia Miller as Jocasta. Furthermore, newcomers Ruaridh Mollica and perennial Matalas collaborator Todd Stashwick will also appear on Vision in undisclosed roles. Catch up with the MCU by streaming the shows and movies on Disney+. How WANDAVISION Perfectly Encapsulates Grief and Trauma Avery Kaplan is the author of several books and the Features Editor at Comics Beat. She was honored to serve as a judge for the 2021 Cartoonist Studio Prize Award and the 2021 Prism Awards. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her partner and a pile of cats, and her favorite place to visit is the cemetery. You can also find her writing on Comics Bookcase, NeoText, Shelfdust, the Mary Sue, in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tom Hiddleston Breaks Down His Dance Moves in ‘The Life of Chuck' and If He'd Ever Do a Musical
After building his career on dramatic roles and as Marvel's Loki, Tim Hiddleston is trying out a new title in his upcoming movie The Life of Chuck: dancer. The film, which won the audience award at TIFF last year, is adapted from a Stephen King novella and follows three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz (played in part by Hiddleston) whose death coincides with the end of the world. Along the way, it also features plenty of dancing from the actor. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Andor' Team Breaks Down Their Favorite Series Moments, Including That Mon Mothma Speech Why FX's 'Adults' Team Has Been Partying at Laundromats Ralph Macchio on Decision to Return to 'Karate Kid' Films and Future of the Franchise 40 Years In 'I've never danced quite like this before and I had some steps to dance, some miles to go before I felt skilled enough and practiced enough to pull off some of the techniques and styles that Chuck pulls off,' Hiddleston told The Hollywood Reporter at the film's Los Angeles premiere on Monday. 'I have a great affection for movie musicals, I really was thinking about them a lot in making this — thinking about Swing Time and Singin' in the Rain and Cover Girl.' He continued, 'I've always loved dance in movies and it's not actually just those, if you think about Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing or Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz in The Mask or Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 500 Days of Summer or Little Miss Sunshine, dance is a part of the DNA of movies.' And as for if he'd ever star in a musical himself, Hiddleston joked, 'No one's knocking on the door yet but I'm always open.' Co-star Karen Gillan teased she had seen Hiddleston dance before so she knew he had moves, but seeing him in the movie 'was a whole other level. I was blown away by what he did in this film.' His dancing even played a part in him getting the job, as director Mike Flanagan revealed he saw Hiddleston grooving on a late-night show and 'it wasn't the dancing that made me say, 'That's him,' it was the joy on his face. It's that regardless of if he was nailing the steps, he was feeling and channeling this incredible happiness. I said, 'That is exactly what this movie needs,' and he's perfect in it.' The uplifting, emotional film is a stark change from what King is known for, and the same can be said for Flanagan, who has mostly worked in the horror genre. But, the filmmaker said, 'I think Steve, kind of at his heart, he's an optimistic humanist. Even in the darker stories, that's always there for him.' 'This feels more Stephen King to me than a departure, this is who he really is,' Flanagan added. 'This was a really special thing to work on together. I'm so grateful he trusted me with it and if it makes people a fraction as happy as his short story made me when I read it then we're onto something.' Flanagan also commented on releasing this film in this current climate, after initially reading the novella during the pandemic shutdown. 'It really gave me an enormous amount of hope and comfort at that time; I feel like I need that now maybe more than I did then, and I think unfortunately for us we're all going to need it, we're all going to need reminders of that,' he explained. 'So I hope as dark as things may be, people feel some of the love and optimism and the comfort that this story has in it.' The Life of Chuck hits theaters on Friday. Tiffany Taylor contributed to this report. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Keanu Reeves Reflects on a Decade of ‘John Wick' With ‘Wick Is Pain' Doc, Insisting 'I Don't Do Stunts, I Do Action'
Wick Is Pain, a new documentary from director Jeffrey Doe, offers an inside look at the early struggles of making the first John Wick, tracking star Keanu Reeves and filmmaker Chad Stahelski for a decade as it goes from being an indie film to becoming a billion dollar franchise. At a special screening of the doc in Santa Monica on Thursday, Reeves and Stahelski joined Doe, producer Erica Lee, writer Derek Kolstad and producer Josh Oreck for a Q&A about the highs and lows depicted the doc. More from The Hollywood Reporter Harrison Ford Is Open to Continuing in 'Yellowstone' Universe After '1923' 'Gilmore Girls' Alum Yanic Truesdale on Why His French 'Étoile' Character Doesn't Have an Accent Sebastian Stan Channeled Clint Eastwood in 'Unforgiven' For 'Thunderbolts*': "The Older Guy That's Been There, Done That" Stahelski noted of the film's title and mentality that goes along with it, 'I think anything hard is supposed to hurt a little bit… anything great takes effort, sometimes effort hurts a little bit.' Reeves echoed that when it came to the months and months of fight training he would go through for each film, when the directed pushed him in workouts he was ready to 'do some more because Wick is pain and we fucking love it.' The star also pointed out that he trains with the film's stunt performers, so 'when we get into the level of choreography and stuff, everyone's been used to being thrown by me. If I do 100 throws, there's fucking six guys who are getting fucking thrown and doing it. So I'm not in that alone, and then just the cinema part of it is that all of the operators are in it with us to capture everything.' Several of the franchise's stuntmen were in the audience at the screening, and as Reeves reflected on his love of working with directors 'who wanted to explore character in action' in Matrix, Point Break and Speed before the John Wick films, he gave much of the credit to those stunt performers. 'I really love being able to do as much as I can, but I don't do stunts. Stunt people do stunts,' he said. 'They're like, 'Look at all those stunts you did' and I'm like, 'Fuck that, [stunt double] Jackson [Spidell] just got hit by a car twice.' And [Stahelski] is like, 'Hmm, maybe we can hit him with two cars,'' as the director joked that was just because they couldn't afford three. 'Anyway yeah I don't do stunts, I do action,' Reeves insisted. During the conversation he also teased Ballerina, the upcoming John Wick spinoff starring Ana de Armas in which he appears. 'It was really cool to have a chance to put the suit on. I've worked with Ana a couple of times and she's a wonderful artist, and she committed to the action,' the star told the crowd. 'I just had like eight days on it, but it was fun to play the role again and I'm excited for people to see the film. It's in the spirit of John Wick and has new characters and opens up some stuff, so hopefully people like it.' Looking back on his decade of playing the hitman, Reeves noted that it was 'a special thing to have something you love chronicled in such a way' with the documentary. 'It's kind of like a picture book. I mean it's like 10 years of our lives and it changed our lives for the better, personally and creatively.' And as for his takeaway from the franchise, after getting initial pushback over the storyline of the first film, Stahelski teased, 'Always kill the dog.' Wick Is Pain is now available on digital. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
