Tag: 2021 interviews

Kat interviewed for Screen Rant

Among other interviews last Monday, Kat spoke to Screen Rant. Below, you can watch the interview video and read its accompanying article.

WandaVision brought back another MCU fan favorite last week, as the Disney+ series re-introduced the loquacious college student turned astrophysicist Darcy Lewis. Played by Kat Dennings, she was introduced as an intern and sidekick to Jane Foster in Thor and has now worked her way up to SWORD consultant and doctor.

Dennings spoke to Screen Rant about Darcy’s offscreen growth since Thor: The Dark World, her onscreen chemistry with Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo, and where her character might go from here.

A lot’s been made of Darcy being a doctor now and her credentials. I’m so proud of her. Do you have a backstory in your head for that development, or is that something we’re going to explore later on down the line in the MCU?

Well, first of all, thank you for saying that. That is very sweet. I’ve been really overwhelmed with the sweetness of the internet. That’s not something I ever thought I’d say. I really appreciate how nice people have been about Darcy.

But yeah, it’s funny. The main question I had for the writers was, “Was Darcy blipped?” Like, what happened? We decided amongst ourselves that she was not blipped. And while we don’t see that flashback, I like as an actor to imagine Darcy in the blip. Because that would be hilarious.

I think the idea would be that Darcy was influenced by Jane Foster and Dr. Selvig to become an astrophysicist. It’s kind of fun to watch her evolution, and now she’s a boss and she’s a doctor. I imagine she’s just been in school with her head in a book this whole time.

As far as you know, when was the last time that Darcy saw Jane Foster?

That’s a good question. What we know is that the last time was in Thor: The Dark World. I’d like to think that they saw each other more. I’d like to think that they have a text-phone call-FaceTime relationship.

I think they were in contact personally. I bet Jane wrote her a letter of recommendation.

Previously, you commented about really getting into the action in WandaVision. What’s been your favorite part about portraying Darcy this time around?

It never happens as an actor that you get to not only revisit a role, but bring that role full circle. Like I said, making her a doctor? That’s so gratifying to play. Because she was a fun college student, and now she’s like a boss, and she’s an expert. Now she gets to tell people what’s going on. That’s the most fun part for me.

And I will say those words are very hard to pronounce. I wanted to make sure I got them right, and they actually had an astrophysicist on set to help correct me if I said something wrong. Or if the lines were a little bit right, but a little bit wrong, she would come and be like, “Actually, it’s this,” and then we would change it to be accurate. So, it was a really, really cool experience.

Is it just me, or did I detect a little bit of chemistry between Darcy and Agent Woo? Darcy is usually pretty cold to people, but it seems like she connects with him. Is there a connection there?

Well, for the character, certainly. I love Randall Park. He’s a wonderful person and amazing actor. For me, I was just so excited to be in the scenes with him.

But for those characters, I think there’s that fun thing of two people that you never thought would be put together, from two completely different movies and different parts of the MCU. Seeing that is really fun, and I’m so glad people respond to it. It was fun to play. I love that scene with the potato chips. He’s a joy, and there’s a lot more of that.

What’s the biggest difference between working on these Marvel films and this new foray into the MCU television side on Disney+?

Shooting a show and shooting a movie are different, of course. There’s that thing of like, “Okay, we have to shoot this location out. So we’re gonna do this,” and whatever. There’s always a logistical thing with the show. It’s a little more controlled in a film, but Marvel is the best of the best. They’re as good as it gets, so it didn’t feel that different at all. They’re on top of their game, and obviously, everybody is is the best at their job. And it’s a real joy. That experience is pretty unheard of in the world of indie film, eating ramen in the closet like I usually do on set.


Written by Joe Decklemeier for Screen Rant, article dated February 4th

Kat on Just for Variety! podcast

Marc Malkin of Variety chatted with Kat over Zoom for the website’s podcast. She can be heard around minute 24:00. Below, you can read the accompanying news article.

Did you know that they were thinking about bringing back Darcy?

Once you’re in the Marvel Universe, you’re kind of there even if they kill you. You’re still there. A lot of time had gone by between the first two “Thor” movies and I didn’t know whether or not they’d ever bring Darcy back. And I never assumed that they would so when I got this call, especially for this, because Darcy has [had] nothing to do with Wanda or Vision, or the Avengers other than Thor, it was kind of like, “What is she doing here?” And that was my question. But of course, the initial phone call comes in and it’s a secret phone call. You sign an NDA before you get the phone call. They’re like, “How do you feel about this?” Like I’m gonna say no, at all ever to Marvel for anything. You say yes a then you’re in for a wild ride. You don’t even know what’s happening. I still don’t really know what’s happening.

Do they show you scripts or just tell you bits and pieces of what you need to know?

My first meeting with [writer] Jac Schaeffer and [director] Matt Shakman was at the new Marvel offices. I had been to the old offices, but never the new ones. It’s really intense and incredible. If you’re a fan of Marvel, your brain would explode, but you sign an NDA when you get to the lobby. So intense, so intense. And then once you do that, you sit and they bring you a little badge, and then you go into the room. And I understood why I had to sign the NDA before this meeting. The walls were just covered with the comic book pages with references. For a person who thinks comic books are like the end-all be-all, it was just like, unreal. They took this very serious. They always do, but this, specifically, they wanted to get this just right, because it’s so different from anything Marvel’s ever done. Everything has been meticulously planned. They laid out the sketch of it and what I would be doing, but to be honest I still don’t really know what happens.

How much fun is it to be on the set? It seems so immersive.

The thing for anybody in the industry or not, you know that usually your budget isn’t this kind of a thing. So they’re able to create everything and that’s so rare as an actor, because usually you’re imagining all of it, which is fun, it’s also really fun to do. But in this case, you kind of don’t have to, it’s there. So it’s just an unbelievable experience. I remember the first Thor movie, I had come from the world of like $10 indie movies so I couldn’t believe what was going on. They had this town built in the desert in Santa Fe, a whole town, everything was there. And we would start that’d be like a long shot in the back and we would round the corner and come towards the camera down the street. And the AD, which is the assistant director who says action and cut and whatever through a microphone, if you’re that far away. Usually you hear him screaming from 100 feet away, “Action!” But this time, his voice came through a speaker inside a newspaper box next to us on the street. It was like magic. I was like, “Oh my god, where is he?”

How spoiled do you get then?

You cannot get used to it. Don’t ever get used to it. You’ll never see that size of a trailer ever again. I didn’t know they made such a nice trailer. They do such a nice job for us. They take good care of us and they want us to be happy. And they want everyone to be happy and do their best. And that’s how it’s possible. Everyone feels good and taken care of and ready to go. So I love working for Marvel. [Laughs]

Are you going to be in the next “Thor” movie, “Thor: Love and Thunder?”

Still don’t know. I don’t think so. I’m gonna assume no, I feel like I would know by now. They’re shooting it so I don’t think so. I don’t know. I promise. Scout’s honor. I mean, I feel like someone would have alluded to it. I don’t know. But anything Marvel ever wants from me, I am always available for them. Not matter what.

I love how they kept Darcy very down to earth. I noticed that you’re eating Cup of Noodles and baked potato chips in your first episode.

They wanted to keep Darcy’s essence. At heart she’s still that college girl who eats trash ramen from 7-Eleven like me. And I really love that they put that in there. And they even asked — again Marvel spoiling their actors — what flavor Cup of Noodles do you like best? [Laughs]. Then they asked what kind of potato chips do you think Darcy would eat. I was like, “Well, she’s an adult now so maybe the baked ones.” [Laughs]. I love those little things. I’m so happy you noticed that.

Now, a fun question, what was the worst audition you ever went on?

It’s not the worst, but it’s the craziest and most memorable. I’m trying to figure out the aftermath of me telling the story and whether it’s worth it. I just won’t say names. So there was a film, very dramatic film that did come out and was nominated for a bajillion Oscars and was amazing. That’s all I’ll say about who, but the scene I was reading, this was like the final audition where I was reading with the actor. And in the scene I was being physically restrained by that actor. So the dialogue all had to do with me trying to get free from the guy. I’m pretty young at that point. I’m not nervous, but I know this is a big deal. I’m super excited to be reading with this famous actor and this hugely famous director that I really respect and he’s there and I’m like, “Oh, my God, this is a big deal.” I have everything memorized. I’m ready to get into like the physicality of the scene, but I realized pretty quick that that actor is not going to touch me. He’s also not going to be near me. He was at the other end of the room, which seemed to be his choice, which I was like I’m going to be miming this. So a scene where I am asking to be let go of and physically wriggling out of this man’s grip became a mining session. But I understand and I respect that the actor made that decision. But at the time, it was not great because I was like, “I look like an absolute moron.” I’m not getting this. But I enjoyed it. It was just not what I anticipated.

You say you understand and respect why the actor made that decision so you could tell me who it is.

I feel like I can’t because he’s one of my favorite actors of all time. But he didn’t do a bad thing. All right, it was Nicolas Cage. But the movie I won’t say. I don’t want this to seem like it was life ruining. It was great. In fact, you asked for the worst, but it’s one of the best memories because it was such a huge curveball and such a massive learning experience. And we ended up having such a nice conversation afterwards. It’s like one of my most cherished audition stories and I’m actually really grateful for that experience just because I wanted to be in a room with Nicolas Cage. It probably will never happen again. But what’s nice is that he was so respectful and I think that might have been where it was coming from like, I’m a young girl so he didn’t want to physically touch me and make me uncomfortable. I appreciate it. I really do.


Written by Marc Malkin, in condensed form, for Variety, article dated February 2nd

Kat interviewed for Review Nation

Kat Dennings was interviewed yesterday by Derek Sante for Review Nation. The video was published today to the website’s YouTube account.

Kat Dennings talks with Derek about Wandavision Darcey returning and getting more story finally, Her own TV world if she could magic one & Mew Mew!