The Disney Plus show Hawkeye finished its six-episode run recently, and after a somewhat shaky start, fans and critics agree that the show is one of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe offerings so far on the network.
One of the coolest things about the show was the decision to bring in Oscar-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld to play the role of Kate Bishop. Bishop is Hawkeye’s biggest fan in the show and wants to follow in his footsteps. The two end up teaming up and have a fun buddy cop relationship that adds some real zest to the proceedings.
Steinfeld told ET that she had to balance a lot this season, including dealing with not only the Tracksuit Mafia but a Black Widow as well.
“There’s a lot of depth here,” she said, “and the stakes are incredibly high.”
She said there was one scene in particular that she loved filming.
“The car chase in episode 3… with Jeremy and myself, we had the absolute time of our lives. I had a moment where we shot the first take and I literally just was like, ‘Yeah, this is absolutely why I did this. This is being part of the MCU,'” she said. “It was just so amazing, because this show is so beautifully balanced with these grounded characters and these very human emotional conversations, and of course, in the perfect MCU fashion, the car chases and the wild stunts and fight sequences,” she added. “That was one of the first moments I had where I felt like, I had been in this very character-driven world, and then we were thrown in the middle of this car chase, and it was just the most epic thing.”
That wasn’t the only scene that stood out to Steinfeld. She also loved when Florence Pugh, playing Yelena Belova, showed up in Kate’s apartment to warn her. Steinfeld called it “their little girls’ night in over some mac and cheese and hot sauce.”
“That was some of the most fun I’ve had working, and Florence is incredible in that scene,” she said. “That was really special and fun to play through.”
Spoiler alert incoming if you haven’t seen the final episode, but Steinfeld also talked about the revelation that her mother, Eleanor Bishop (Vera Farmiga), was working with fan-favorite Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, played by Vincent D’Onofrio.
“I remember reading that and feeling very scared for Kate, but having this confidence that even though it’s been a very short period of time, Kate has grown a lot. And I felt like she, in this moment, is at least more capable now than maybe she was a few days prior, in terms of protecting herself. And she does still have an Avenger by her side to help protect her,” she said. “But I think before jumping to any conclusions of feeling sorry for her, I was scared for her in that moment. She’s been doing anything and everything she can to protect her mom, and comes to find out she might be somebody that she needs to be protected against.”
What is her journey as a superhero? What did Steinfeld learn about her character in that regard?
“She, I think, is forced into the reality of what it means to be a superhero. It’s not all jumping from buildings and making people smile. There’s, as she says, collateral damage that that can go along with it. But that doesn’t stop her,” she said. “I think it throws her and it alters her outlook, but it doesn’t stop this burning fire within her to ultimately help people and protect people. She knows she’s capable of that. And I think that that alone can take us anywhere.”
The whole season of Hawkeye is available to stream on Disney Plus.
