Hayley Atwell has revealed her favourite thing about playing spy Peggy Carter in Marvel's Agent Carter is getting to indulge her love of action.
The actress stars in a TV spin-off about the Marvel character and said she loved having the opportunity to be more physical.
She said: “I love the physical aspect of the role though, because I find it a release from the buttoned-up British reserve that Peggy sometimes has. I played rugby at school and was often climbing up trees or wrestling boys, so I’m used to getting quite physical.”
Hayley Atwell stars in Agent Carter (Fox)
Hayley added that she had recently fallen out of a tree on a hen do, explaining: “I wasn’t even drunk! We were glamping in the countryside and I saw this amazing tree – I was fine, I just had a couple of bruises.
“I was going to go jet-pack skiing in Monte Carlo, but then I thought Marvel would probably not be too happy. I try to make smart choices when I can, but I don’t want to strip myself too much or you end up not having a life.”
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter (Fox)
Talking more about playing Peggy in Agent Carter, she said: “I felt she was under-represented in the films, because she doesn’t get much screen time, so having her own series meant I could flesh her out a bit more, make her three-dimensional, see her strength but also her emotional vulnerability.
“And I wanted to see the psychological cost of losing someone like Steve. With television, there’s more time to be able to explore that.”
Marvel’s Agent Carter starts tomorrow (Sunday 12 July) on Fox at 9.00pm.
