Fans of Hayley Atwell‘s Peggy Carter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were likely upset by her (SPOILER) sudden death-by-frisbee in the 2022 Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness. Atwell was not too thrilled about it herself, either.
While she acknowledged that after years of acting classes, “not many things embarrass [her] anymore” on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, she delved into her feelings surrounding Carter meeting her abrupt demise in the film.
The scene, which occurs minutes into Atwell’s introduction on screen, features Peggy as an alternate Captain America being almost immediately killed off by Elizabeth Olsen‘s Scarlet Witch, who slices her in half with a frisbee.
“I’m like, “That wasn’t my choice,”‘ she told Horowitz. “When she was like, ‘I could do this all day,’ and then followed by she’s immediately cut in half by a frisbee. And the audience being like, “She can’t do it all day.’ Apparently you can’t. So, egg on your face.”
“That doesn’t really serve Peggy very well,” she jokingly quipped.
Atwell made her debut as Peggy Carter in the 2011 Captain America: The First Avenger alongside Chris Evans‘ titular patriotic portrayal. She has played Carter in five MCU films, as well as a 2013 film entitled Agent Carter, the second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and her own TV series Agent Carter , which aired from 2015 to 2016.
Horowitz honorably compared Peggy’s final words to the infamous “Bond, James Bond,” line of Agent 007, and asked if she had to “practice that line in the mirror” in preparation for her momentous demise.
“I didn’t give it a second thought because I didn’t want to give myself too much pressure,” she explained. “If I had practiced it, it’s a bit like if you repeat a word over and over again, it loses all meaning.”
She added that prior preparation would have made her execution of the line feel like “too much,” detailing that in reality, “it’s more of a throw away line because in Peggy’s mind, she’s not saying, ‘I’m gonna say the big Captain America line.’”
“In Peggy’s reality, she’s just like loving being there in the moment,” Atwell continued.
After being asked if the role is “out of her system” and if she believes she’s “gotten her money’s worth,” Atwell shared that she feels she has “much more to do in the What If… animation series.”
“I mean, any actor will tell you, to be able to go into a booth in effectively your pajamas and do an animation is great fun because you’re focused on the voice as the instrument and your main performative tool,” she said.
You can watch Atwell’s interview above.
All of Atwell’s moments as Peggy Carter in the MCU are available to stream on Disney+. You can also see her on the big screen alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One, in theaters now.
