Interview with Cobie Smulders aka “Maria Hill” in Marvel’s The Avengers #TheAvengersEvent

There’s been a great surge of strong female characters in film and Marvel’s The Avengers features several of them. Cobie Smulders plays “S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill”, second-in-charge under Director Nick Fury himself. Fortunately, for the 25 bloggers including me, she was easy-going and very down to earth in our roundtable interview last Saturday. Yes, she was tall. Yes, she was gorgeous. Yet the (now internationally-known) actor came flailing about and gawking at the view from the Trump Hotel penthouse suite saying “Swanky room!” and “Love this ‘lady’ vibe in here!” as she entered the room. All of us let out a sigh of relief and were ready to learn more about her and her breakout role.

Cobie got the role of Maria Hill before she had a chance to read the script. In fact, it was only after her chemistry test with Samuel L. Jackson that she even got it.

COBIE SMULDERS: I thought I was literally going to be making a latte for Nick Fury, or on the computer screen in the background. And it was really cool to read that I had a lot to do and then it just kind of grew more and more.

To prepare for the role and to be ready for anything they might ask of her, Smulders did boxing three times a week, trained in several forms of martial arts, and hired someone that actually trains S.W.A.T. teams so she could get used to handling weapons. She was pleased with the action parts she was given, especially since she was not one of the ‘super heroes’. She admits to not knowing much about the Avengers comic book series when taking on the part but is now a pretty die-hard fan.

So what did she think of the finished product and how have fans reacted so far?

COBIE SMULDERS: It’s so cool being a part of this movie. You guys will see tonight, the movie is so good. And I’m not just saying that because I’m promoting it. I just saw it for the first time and I was totally blown away. I knew it was going to be good because of everyone involved, because of what we did, and because of Joss filming, and Marvel, their technology. But it’s so good and the fans are so happy with it and so excited by it. You’re not confronted with, “Well, Maria Hill in the comic books wore a black and white costume. Why are you wearing a blue one?” Everyone’s just happy with it. So it makes it easier. But everyone has been lovely.

As a mother herself, did she think it was a movie that families would enjoy?

COBIE SMULDERS :  What I like about this film is it’s kind of a dysfunctional family the way that all these sort of separate superheroes have to come together to succeed. I feel there’s sort of a family dynamic within that. It’s cool to see them rise above their personal issues and sort of accomplish the goal.

Smulders’ excitement rubbed off on us. We couldn’t wait to see the film! After watching it I could better understand Smulders’ viewpoint and how she grew to be a fan of the movie as well as being a major part of it. It’s opening weekend of Marvel’s The Avengers so don’t forget to get your tickets!