Canadian actress Emily VanCamp is kicking ass and taking names in Captain America: Civil War, even though her part isn’t that big and she doesn’t have any superpowers.
That’s OK, insists Port Perry, Ont. native VanCamp, because her character Sharon Carter (a.k.a. Agent 13) is powerful without any super-strength or special ability. Take her much-ballyhooed face-off with Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow): both characters aren’t superheroes, per se, but that doesn’t stop them from fighting at an equal clip. Sharon is also Captain America’s love interest, a pretty important part of the story.
Global News spoke to VanCamp about being a part of summer’s first blockbuster, her character’s relationship to Peggy Carter, and of course, details about that fight with Johansson.
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Emily VanCamp: [Laughs] All the time! I’ve had a whole different level of tweets these days. I find it quite funny, because it’s like I’m personally with Captain America. You have to remind some of these people that I’m not actually Sharon Carter. I’m Emily VanCamp, and Chris [Evans] and I are just buds! I don’t take any of it personally, since these are fans who are very invested in the story and they’re entitled to their opinions.
Are you #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan?
I’ve seen the movie a couple times now, but I’ve sort of been on the fence. I can see where Iron Man is coming from. I mean, Tony’s got a point! It’s interesting that it’s Captain America who’s going a bit rogue in this. He really takes a stance in this film, which is really great.
Can you elaborate further about your character’s connection to Peggy Carter?
Anyone who knows the comic books knows that there’s some kind of relationship there. In the cinematic world, we’ve made it clear that she’s her great-aunt. That extra generational gap makes it slightly less creepy that she’s invested in her relationship with Steve (Captain America). I also think it makes sense because they have this mutual love for this woman who really impacted their lives and was a huge influence to both of them. In a way, it really bonds them in this unspoken way.
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Are you soaking in as much experience as you can on set?
It’s amazing to watch how people work, you learn so much. A lot of these guys have years and years and years of experience, and it’s fun to sit back in and soak it all up. I’ve learned a lot, just being behind the scenes on a movie of this scale. You can’t imagine what goes into making these things, it’s incredible.
[Laughs] Maybe sometimes, but I also really like playing a rooted, real person in this kind of heightened universe. There are benefits to that too. Look at Black Widow, she doesn’t have any superpowers either. She’s just super-badass, and I think Sharon is another version of that as well. I don’t feel like superpowers are a necessity, no.
Sharon really is becoming a counterpoint to Black Widow in many ways. For you, how do you make sure that you don’t do what Johansson is doing?
They come from completely different backgrounds, and there’s just no way you could mix the two up. Even in the small bit of fighting they do in this movie, they have very different styles. It was so cool to see her do her thing, though, I have to say. Some of my favourite sequences in the movie have been hers.
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I did so much of this for Revenge, a lot of physical fighting, so lent itself well. I felt much more prepared going in because of it. It was great. We had no time to shoot it, we had never rehearsed it, I had no idea going into it what I was going to do. We showed up, warmed up for 10 minutes, then figured out what I could still do from a ballet background that ended a long time ago… [Laughs] It was great fun. They have the best stunt team that makes you feel really at ease during the process.
‘Captain America: Civil War’ opens in theatres on May 6, 2016.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
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