Clark Gregg
Clark Gregg
Robert Clark Gregg, known professionally as Clark Gregg, is an American actor, screenwriter and director. He has played Phil Coulson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, The Avengers, and the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He also voices the character on the animated television series Ultimate Spider-Man and in the video games Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Lego Marvel Avengers and Marvel Heroes...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth2 April 1962
CityBoston, MA
CountryUnited States of America
I thought there would be more time in my trailer to write during 'Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.,' but I seem to be always flying in a harness and conquering supervillains instead.
When I moved out to Los Angeles to get some film and television work, and couldn't get any... I became a little isolated, a little terrified, and it's a good place to get writing, because you're so bored. So I wrote a few screenplays, and people notice those.
Sometimes being an actor is being a song in someone else's mixtape, so I really understand why more and more actors are making films of their own.
I started out doing theater in New York. I used to go to Shakespeare in the Park a lot.
The thing is, I love a great death scene - no good actor doesn't. Sorry, any actor, I should say.
When there wasn't a lot of work, I wrote a screenplay, 'What Lies Beneath,' which got noticed and got me more acting jobs. As I got more jobs, I was able to make my own films. That ethos of making my own work has provided me with a lot of opportunities.
'The Avengers' is exciting on the level 'The Matrix' or 'Indiana Jones' was when I was kid. I think it will be timeless.
There's something about the superheroes and the idea behind their relationship with humans, whether it's a metaphor for the better part of ourselves, or the more flawed part of ourselves. So it seems to really be our own pop-culture version of Greek mythology.
New York is the perfect place for a film festival because there's already so much energy and life here, and New Yorkers love movies.
The technology actually seemed to come at just the right time to make the Hulk - Mark Ruffalo was really able to play both characters.
For me, one of the really cool things about this is that throughout these movies, there have been - and I enjoyed it this way - hints at what S.H.I.E.L.D. is and how they function within this Marvel movie universe which, as you know, is deeply based in the comic books.
As you can imagine when you have to summon a force like that together, the opposing elements are pretty freaking gnarly. I would think of those pioneer movies where they've got the cook and the ladies loading the guns and firing at the surrounded wagons. I don't put Coulson in that category, I think he is on the upper tier of people who come to scrap at situations like that but everybody's involved.
But what I've also really liked about it is that it not only has Marvel set about... if they just were slavishly trying to bring the comic books to life, literally, I don't the movies would work, because it's different to see something on screen in three dimensions with actors, and they kind of, I believe, are constantly trying to find a way to absolutely respect the source material and at the same time, transform it into something that works and that you believe on screen.
Speaking as Coulson, it's unclear. I feel like that are other formidable S.H.I.E.L.D. elements and they don't have Coulson's connection to some of these people. I think what I like about what seems to be going on is there are differing opinions about who's where on the hierarchy and I think that's some of what goes on in the movie.