CS Interview: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Star Erin Kellyman

Ahead of the debut of the third episode of the exciting new Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series, ComingSoon.net got the opportunity to chat with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier star Erin Kellyman to discus her role of Flag Smasher leader Karli Morgenthau and her journey to come in the rest of the season.

ComingSoon.net: Obviously the Marvel Cinematic Universe is nothing you’d want to turn away from, but The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Karli specifically are both very interesting elements for the franchise, what about them really drew you to the series?

Erin Kellyman: I really liked the fact that they had changed her from a man to a woman, I think already when when Kari [Skogland, director] explained that to me, I was immediately like “Oh that’s so cool that they are wanting to do that and they’re they’re switching it up to be more inclusive.” I think that’s probably the main thing that got my attention but then obviously now that I’ve learned more about her and understand what she’s fighting for, like, who wouldn’t want to play her, she’s been so fun to play.

CS: Were you very familiar with the Flag Smasher from the comics before you signed on or was that something that came about in your research?

EK: It came about from the research, I actually had no idea that the Flag Smasher and Karl Morgenthau even existed, but then obviously I did my research a little bit and looked into it some more. I’ve been a fan of the movies but I hadn’t really read too much of the comics.

CS: What was it like for you getting to explore both the grounded storyline that we’ve seen so far but also the explosive action sequences that the MCU is known for?

EK: It’s been so fun, the reason i got into acting was to do the intimate scenes and acting, essentially, I’m interested in people and exploring different people, so to that mix that with action scenes and a lot of stunts it’s just really fun. It’s like a bonus, you don’t go into work every day expecting to do loads of fighting and looking really cool but, it was great, I loved it, every second didn’t feel like work at all.

CS: One thing I think is really interesting we’ve seen so far, especially from the second episode, is that the Flag Smashers are not a group who are necessarily bad people, they have a good goal, but they’re maybe not going about it the right way. What’s it been like for you trying to find that right balance between sort of a villain, so to speak, while also you know being true to their motives?

EK: I think it was very helpful helpful, speaking to Kari and Zoie. It was also helpful having all of the scripts, so I could see her journey, it wasn’t like I was having one scene and then had to switch it up for the next scene. I understood her and her reasoning and her journey throughout each scene and I think once you’ve understood somebody it’s quite easy to flip back and forth in between both sides of her.

CS: It’s great that you got all the scripts, that’s kind of a rare thing it seems for Marvel [laughs]. What’s it like for you having to be in that secret keeping mode for the next couple of weeks as more episodes roll out?

EK: It’s hard man it’s so hard [laughs]. It’s so cool, the show is so cool and I feel like people aren’t ready for the twists and turns, it’s gonna be sick, I think people are gonna really like it.

CS: What are some of the things that we can expect from Karli in the following weeks?

EK: More fight scenes, for sure. I hope people understand her a little bit more, she’s a very driven and passionate person and hopefully that comes across in the different conversations that she has with different people, but yeah more fighting for sure.

CS: Did you get to do a lot of your own stunt sequences or did you have to work with a double?

EK: Oh I definitely had a double, Hannah Scott, she did a lot but I did as much as I could do and as much as I was able to do. It was a lot of fun, though it’s quite handy having the mask because if there’s any difficult things, just put the mask on and it just looks like it’s me and it’s not, it’s Hannah. But it was great, they really trusted me to do a lot of things and I trained close closely with hannah and she was great, she took me through everything and made me feel very safe. I think, actually, in most of my fight scenes I have a mask on, but if I look really closely and try and figure it out, I can kind of tell what I did or it’s a reminder what I did. Looking back at it, I did quite a bit, I’m quite proud of myself.

CS: How much of that truck sequence did you do, because that’s quite the sequence.

EK: So that was the scene that I was trying to work out what I did in it. It always looks more intense than it actually was filming it, obviously, because when you put everything together, it looks like this one crazy fight, that it’s just a continuation. But when you’re doing when you’re actually filming, it’s like a 10-second sequence and then that’s all you do for those few hours. Then you move on to another 10-second sequence. Yeah, I did quite a bit of it, but all that I did, it was only like five feet off the ground, it was nothing crazy [chuckles]. It was never higher up or anything like that, Hannah did all of that stuff, and anything where I’m looking like incredibly badass, probably wasn’t me. I can’t even lie.

CS: Falcon was supposed to be the first Marvel series for Disney+ and then things switched around and it ended up being WandaVision first. What was it like for you seeing that switcheroo, but then also seeing sort of the praise that show got and the praise that you’re getting so far?

EK: It was great, I liked that I wasn’t going first [laughs]. I was able to have those few weeks of just sitting on my sofa and watching WandaVision and enjoy it like everybody else. Then, obviously, towards the end of WandaVision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier trailers started dropping and people started getting excited and I was like, “Oh, god, it’s happening. It’s actually going ahead and people people are still gonna watch it,” but, you know, it’s exciting. I think it’s all very exciting to see the kind of hype around it.

Led by Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their titular roles, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sees Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes coming to grips with forging their future paths following the events of Avengers: Endgame in which Steve Rogers gifted the former his vibranium shield to take up the mantle of Captain America. Choosing to retire the moniker of Cap and retain the Falcon, he and Bucky must team up for a global mission against the Flag Smashers while struggling with their own emotional baggage and a new Cap, John Walker, all of which will test their abilities — and their patience.

They are joined by MCU veterans Daniel Bruhl, Emily VanCamp and Don Cheadle, who are reprising their roles as Helmut Zemo, Sharon Carter, and James Rhodes aka War Machine respectively. Wyatt Russell is also starring in the series as John Walker along with fellow MCU newcomers Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Erin Kellyman as Karli Morgenthau, Adepero Oduye as Sarah Wilson, Miki Ishikawa , Desmond Chiam, Carl Lumbly, and Noah Mills.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a six-episode series that is directed by Kari Skogland with Malcolm Spellman serving as head writer, with John Wick creator Derek Kolstad also part of the series’ writing/creative team. The first three episodes of the buddy action-comedy series are now available to stream!