How does having to change your body so significantly affect you emotionally?In my drama school, something they really pushed on us was “don’t lift weights, don’t work out.” They were adamant, especially with the fellas, about not getting too big, primarily because it changes your joints, changes what we call the breathing costume. I always had an issue with that because I grew up playing sports at a very competitive level in Texas, so I came as strong as an 18-year-old kid can be.
It’s funny. Again, there were these debates in drama school. They would always be like, “Is that acting? Is that real acting?” I watched all the [Marvel] films and I never thought I would be picked to do it. You know what I mean? They’ve not asked me to change my approach to acting, which was my biggest fear. I mean, [seeing the poster] was probably one of the few moments where I’m like, Holy fuck. This can’t be real. I’m pretty cool. I’m pretty slow to excitement, but I was like, Oh, it’s on.
Kang will appear in several Marvel films as the main villain over the next few years. Did you have any trepidation about signing on for such a long time? No, not once I realized who the character was and the potential for the character. I mean, listen, I hope this doesn’t bite me in the ass, but I walked out of my Marvel general [meeting].This was a long time ago. I had just gotten out of drama school and I’m running around town and I’m sitting in the office. I grew up in a very particular way and I don’t want to waste nobody’s time. So I got in there and they’re just busy.