Some Super Heroes aren’t born — they’re made.
That’s certainly true of Robert Reynolds, aka Bob, the mild-mannered mystery man played by Lewis Pullman in Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* (now in theaters). But who is he, really?
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
Midway through the film, it’s revealed that Bob, depressed and down on his luck, had volunteered for an illicit, secret Super-Soldier experiment, orchestrated by CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). The result? Bob gets godlike powers that, according to Valentina, make him “stronger than all of the Avengers rolled into one.”
So, in an attempt to solidify her own power, Valentina decides to rebrand Bob as Sentry, giving him a classic costume and a blonde dye job. But it isn’t long before Bob’s dark side manifests as the Void, a deadly alter ego that threatens the Thunderbolts — Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) — and the rest of the world.
Thunderbolts*, which topped the global box office in its opening weekend, not only introduced audiences to Bob and the Thunderbolts, but to a new team: the New Avengers. Following the film’s release (and retitling), Pullman shared an unfiltered look at the many facets of Bob — and teases what might be in store for his character in Avengers: Doomsday.
What excited you most about joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)?
I think it was the possibility of living in and inhabiting a character, potentially over the course of many years. Unless you’re doing television, there’s a clear arc in the beginning and end of your relationship with a character; you can only go so deep. There’s something really intriguing about [continuing with] a character who’s as complex and versatile as Bob.
How do the film’s themes of grief and worth — coupled with intense action and dark humor — work together to create something that feels bold and different for the MCU?
After seeing it, what I really appreciate is that it has all the momentum and action that is so intoxicating about previous Marvel films — but it also has patience. Our director, Jake [Schreier], lets the tempo of the story slow down in moments when it’s earned and it’s deserved. It was invigorating to see [the Marvel Studios team] allow themselves to do that.
Performance-wise, how were you able to juggle Bob’s different personas?
Jake and I spent a never-ending amount of time talking about it over the weekends. We’d have phone calls late into the night after we’d finished shooting, because he understood him so well.
We were always very clear on the fact that we couldn’t have them be so separate that you could root for one and not for the others — that the audience understood that these were all derivatives of the same spirit and of the same person. It was about finding those ties and those bridges between them. Once you have those, you can stretch in any direction that you want to, as long as you really remain true to those things that are always going to be a commonality, no matter which facet of his personality is in the driver’s seat in the moment.
What was it like the first time you saw yourself in the Sentry suit with blonde hair?
It was bizarre. One of the kind of challenging things to ride was that he’s supposed to look like he’s a Super Hero, but something’s off. There’s something that’s not true to himself, because Valentina had gotten her talons into him. When I finally saw myself fully formed [as Sentry], I was like, ‘I think it’s good that I don’t feel comfortable like this.’ It goes to show that we did it right in terms of how it’s supposed to be a little dissonant and almost a little disturbing. It’s like seeing somebody wearing somebody else’s clothes and trying to act like somebody else. It always looks a little off-putting, so it was really fun to play into.
It wasn’t until the fight sequence when I really felt like I was able to own the suit and not let it own me. There are so many parts about this movie that were meta, and it just kept revealing itself. Even my own imposter syndrome — it was so helpful to have all of that emotional information at the ready for the character. I was lucky that it was so applicable.
What’s it been like to see the asterisk revealed in the post-release marketing?
That was an easy secret to keep, because it’s unprecedented to change the title of a movie right after it’s already been released. It was hard to imagine how it was going to be pulled off. When they were first talking about it, I was like, ‘How is this going to happen? Has it ever been done? No?’ And, honestly, I still have questions about it! Going forward, should I say that I played Sentry in Thunderbolts* — or in The *New Avengers? What do you think?
I guess we’ll find out.
I guess we’ll find out!
