As former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Grant Ward, the character Brett Dalton plays on TV is cold, calculating and, as revealed in Season 1, a double agent for Hydra. The man behind the character Brett Dalton is the opposite – a warm, friendly and charming guy who seemed to want to connect in some way with every fan at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. From a highly entertaining panel – along with co-star Ming-Na Wen at the Corral – to his interactions with fans at his table and photo ops, he went above and beyond to make each interaction special.
Another indication of this was the media event held prior to the parade of wonders. Typically actors from major TV shows don’t do media when appearing at events like the Expo. This can be for a variety of reasons, including contracts with the networks, but Dalton spent a few fun minutes with GayCalgary to chat about the show. Much like the audience watching Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Dalton didn’t know what was coming and feared the worst for Grant Ward when asked to meet with producers.
"It was a surprise to me. I saw the producers on set on a Friday – Ming and I were doing a fight scene. The producers were like We need to talk to you. Nothing bad but we need to talk. We were shooting late; it was like 10 or 11. I was like Oh my god this is it. This is a Joss (Whedon) show; we know people die... well I’ve had a lot of fun. I just thought this was my green mile. I was saying goodbye to things on my way there. They sat me down and said Bill Paxton is the Clairvoyant so that makes you... and I said fired? No, that makes you part of Hydra. You are a spy for them and we are going to make that reveal next episode. I didn’t have a lot of time – it was a big pivot."
Initially Grant Ward just seemed to be a badass with an attitude but, over the course of two seasons, his back story has unfolded and answered many questions.
"When they gave me the initiative I ran with it. I was very happy with where they took the character. We’d had hints of his back story but, for me, it all made sense. Instead of that being the character, instead we were seeing the tip of the iceberg. The majority was underwater; this rich back story about this other stuff and the choices he has made. I took it and just ran with it."
As one of People’s sexiest men in 2013 (a YouTube video called ‘Shirtless Brett Dalton cuddling a puppy’ from the photo shoot gives us another look at Dalton’s personality) the 32-year-old has been considered the ‘hot agent’ by female and gay fans alike. Dalton blushed at being touted a sex symbol.
"It helps when I write my own tweets, doesn’t it?" he quipped, adding "that is flattering, that is cool. I just try and play the truth of the moment – if sexy comes out, cool. I guess there is a little bit of the bad boy thing. We have a lot of good looking guys on the show and good looking agents in general. That must be a requirement. If not, they will stick you as a Hydra guard at the back with the goggles and mask on. Agent Carter is about the founding of S.H.I.E.L.D., so being beautiful must have been a requirement starting at that point because she is so beautiful."
The second season will wrap up with a two-hour season finale May 12th. ABC just announced a third season after our interview with Brett, who was hopeful and excited to bring more S.H.I.E.L.D to the screen.
"I am definitely looking forward to another season. The second season I feel is incredibly strong; we know exactly who we are and where we are going, and it has been really cool to be a part of it. We do finales really, really well and this is no exception. We just continue to go there and pull out all the stops... This is crazy; I can’t wait to share this with everyone. It tees up the third season quite nicely and there are a lot of things that could really explode our show. This is saying something without saying anything; that’s what I am doing. It is going to be incredible. I had tweeted out I was going to be in episode 17 and I hope my friends have forgiven me, because I wasn’t in it, but I am in the rest of the season. I hope people are tuning in for what I think is some very good television."
Related Articles
Contributor
Jason Clevett |
Locale
Calgary |
Person
Brett Dalton |
Topic
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. |
Calgary Expo |
Celebrity Interview |
Celebrity Video Interview |
Comic Expo |
