Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 wrapped its run, and there's one element of Marvel Studios' relaunch of Charlie Cox's hit show that fans are absolutely eating up: Wilson Bethel's Bullseye. The villain, the first of many who will appear in the show, was first introduced in Season 3 of the Netflix series. On Disney+, he's had the time to shine with his full villainous persona on display.
Bullseye is an iconic villain in Marvel Comics and the arch nemesis to Daredevil, many would say even more so than Kingpin is on the page. Though the psychotic marksman has been around for decades, Born Again star Wilson Bethel is convinced that his version of the character is better than what fans know from the comics.
The Direct sat down with Daredevil: Born Again Bullseye actor Wilson Bethel, where the actor explained why his character is better onscreen than in the comics and made it clear that the character is, and will always be, a villain.
"I definitely do not think he's an anti-hero," Bethel noted, adding that despite his villainous nature, it shouldn't keep audiences from "sympathiz[ing] with him or his humanity."
The actor admitted that, "as cool as many of [comic Bulleye's] story arcs are," the comics' version of the villain "is a thin character." Bethel added, "It's a character who we would not necessarily want to watch for four seasons of a TV show."
In fact, if Bethel had to take on a more faithful, 1:1 adaptation of the comic villain, the actor thinks he "would frankly get bored playing that as an actor." At the end of the day, Bethel "want[s] somebody who feels human" and "can [he] can access."
More of our interview with Daredevil: Born Again star Wilson Bethel is available below.
Bullseye Will Always Be a Villain, but One Who Is Deeper Than His Comic Counterpart
"I Definitely Do Not Think He's An Anti-Hero..."
- The Direct: "I am a big fan of Bullseye in the show, and what [you and the writers are] doing with the character... But one of the hesitations I have is that, in the comics, Bullseye is, through and through, a psychopath. He is just evil, irredeemable, like he doesn't do anything good. He's unhinged completely. Obviously, this Bullseye is unhinged and whatnot, but even just him working alongside Matt for any reason, at least, to me, feels like something the comic version would not do. So what are your thoughts on people that might feel that way and are kind of hesitant about the show putting him in almost more of an anti-hero type bubble?"
Wilson Bethel: Well, for starters, I definitely do not think he's an anti-hero... If you sympathize with him or his humanity, that's one thing, and I think that that's a very important and great thing, because he's not a caricature. I mean, I'll be honest, I think that the character that exists in the comics, as cool as many of his story arcs are, is a thin character, that's not a character who we would necessarily want to watch for four seasons of a TV show. There's just not enough there. So no, I mean, I'll take this version of Bullseye any day.
And as much as I love the way he exists in the comics, I would frankly get bored playing that as an actor. Like, I want somebody who feels human to me and who I can access and if along the way, that means that the fans of the show are surprised or even disgusted with themselves, or whatever it is, or find themselves caring about this character who [they] thought... is just supposed to be some guy they're supposed to hate, or is supposed to be one way, then great, I've done my job. But that doesn't necessarily make him an anti-hero. That just makes him a human being, which he is.
Wilson Bethel's Dream MCU Crossovers
Bullseye Deathmatch With Hawkeye, You Say?
- The Direct: "What would be, for you, just a dream MCU hero you would love to see Bullseye either just interact with, or even go up against, and also, since you're hunting villains in this season, what is a villain you would love to see him go up against? "
Wilson Bethel: A few of the tops for me would be, like, I think a Bullseye-Punisher face off would be absolutely fucking bananas. And just like, brutal. I think Spider-Man would be really fun just knowing their different skill sets. I think that would be a really fun one to see on screen. And then, sort of like a no-brainer, would be Hawkeye.
Filming Non-Combat Scenes With Charlie Cox
"When We Get to Work Together In Any Capacity, It's Always Super Fun For Us."
- The Direct: "It's always awesome to see you filming with Charlie Cox, especially when you're not fighting, which you did get to do this season. What is it like getting to film those slow, just dialogue scenes with two characters that in any normal circumstances would never be able to do that?"
Wilson Bethel: Amazing man. I mean, you know, partly, I just love Charlie... That's my boy. So when we get to work together in any capacity, it's always super fun for us. And both sides of that coin are equally fun. Like, I love doing the action stuff with Charlie. We're both extremely game to just dive into that work, [we're] both very physical guys, so that's a blast.
And then also, I love, you know, I'm an actor too. I'm not just like, I love doing stunt work and all that sh*t, but I love acting with other great actors. So give me a chance to face off against Charlie in a scene. And, you know, I think it brings out the best in me, and it brings out the best in these characters. And I think those two different sides are equally necessary and important for making these stories really sing.
Our full interview with Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 star Wilson Bethel can be seen below:
