With the premiere of Ms. Marvel less than a week away, newcomer Iman Vellani is about to be one of Marvel’s newest stars. That’s obviously going to come with its own issues, but the new superhero actress said she got some help from other MCU veterans.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Vellani revealed that she got a lot of support from Captain Marvel herself Brie Larson, as well as fellow MCU actress Teyonah Parris.
“Brie (Larson)’s held my hand throughout this process…Teyonah (Parris) has been so wonderful.”
In addition to their support, she also revealed that Chris Pratt has been instrumental in helping her as well, especially doing “press.”
“He made himself so available for any help I would need in the future, so I shot him an email asking about press and stuff and he sent me this juggernaut of an email with so much advice and what’s gotten him through this.”
That’s not all, as she also has the support of Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who she said shocked her by visiting the set one day.
“The day (he) came to set, I fully froze. He was trying to talk to me, and I stared at him until he left, and then I went back to my trailer and cried the hardest I’ve ever cried before. That was the most cathartic feeling ever.”
Vellani also said that before she was cast in the show she was going to major in integrated media at a design college in Ontario. However, once she got the acting bug everything else took a backseat.
“I got interested in cinematography when I started watching Ingmar Bergman movies and a lot of Agnès Varda. But acting’s working out pretty well so far, so I’ll see where this takes me.”
Vellani, who is a fresh-faced 19, said she was excited about the future and where she might end up.
“I want to try a bunch of things, because I’m still young and I don’t really know what I’m good at. I want to be involved in work I’m proud of and has a good message, and that Hollywood hasn’t really seen before.”
The actress has been making waves her own way lately, whether it’s going viral for brutal film reviews or getting noticed for Marvel-inspired short films.
Ms. Marvel premieres on Disney Plus on June 8. Like other Marvel properties on the streaming service, it’ll last six episodes.
