Joe Locke turned interviewer for his on-screen brother. With the VisionQuest finale reuniting Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd, Locke sat down with Ruaridh Mollica for a Marvel.com conversation that opened with Locke checking whether Mollica was “right for the role” and ended with Mollica telling Locke, “I love you.”
In the finale, Billy (Locke) and Tommy (Mollica), the twin sons of Wanda Maximoff and Vision, finally get back together and team up, Billy with his reality-bending magic and Tommy with his super speed, to help save Vision from Ultron.
Brothers To Lovers To Brothers
The two are close friends off screen and starred together in last year’s West End production of the play Clarkston. They first met over “a boozy brunch” the week before they shot their VisionQuest scenes together. Instead of running lines for their Marvel scene on set, they rehearsed audition lines for the play, where they played lovers. “Brothers to lovers, and then back to brothers,” Mollica joked. “It sounds like an Adele song or something.”
Locke revealed he knew Mollica was in the running before he was cast. Producer Mary Livanos texted him asking what he thought of Mollica. His answer, delivered as a joke: “He’s just… smelly. I can smell him from here.”
The Accent, The Powers And Paul Bettany
Mollica said he cried when he got the part. He plays Tommy in his native Scottish accent, which Paul Bettany encouraged, though Mollica laughed that he still does not know if that was because his English accent was so bad. Locke admitted he was jealous he did not get to use his own Manx accent.
The two also argued over who has the worst power in the Maximoff family. Locke pointed out that Billy can fly and create whole altered realities. Mollica’s comeback: “Well, at least my character’s not a narcissist.”
Mollica said he bonded with Bettany instantly in a father and son way. “I literally arrived at the screen test and was like, ‘I love you,'” he said. He also called the show “a deeply human and emotionally dramatic story” with some of the hardest emotional scenes he has ever acted.
Keeping The Secret
To prepare, Mollica watched all of WandaVision, picked up the comics with their characters on the cover and went through fan theories on Reddit, some of which were almost too accurate. The pair nearly spilled the reunion during a Q&A for their play, when their director hinted they had already filmed together and they had to insist they had not.
“I’m so happy that you’re my brother,” Locke told him at the end. Mollica’s reply: “I’m happy that you’re my brother. I love you.” VisionQuest is streaming on Disney+, and the finale is already the highest-rated episode of the WandaVision trilogy on IMDb.
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