The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is already off to a roaring start, with Sam and Bucky pursuing an elusive group of… terrorists? Freedom Fighters? Whatever they are, they have super strength and they’re being hailed as heroes wherever they go. So why are The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (hey! That’s the name of the show!) so hell bent on bringing them in?
More to the point, why is the newer, and meaner, Captain America so determined to take down this cadre of plucky rebels?
You might recognise Erin Kellyman, the actor playing the leader of this crew. Appearing in Solo as another masked rebel of sorts, Enfys Nest, she’s got a truly fantastic screen presence. I was curious about just how terrifying – and edifying – it would be to step into something as staggeringly big as the MCU.
How hard is it, I asked, having to keep so many secrets?
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier – Erin Kellyman
“Friends and family have been asking me more about my character… I know everything that happens! And it’s so difficult to try and keep all of that in, ‘cos I know how cool it is, and I know how cool it gets! So it’s so hard not to just spill it all out and tell everybody. But also… I think it’ll be worth the wait.”
What was it like, for example, to do things like punch the Bucky Barnes off the back of a moving truck? I asked her what kind of preparation was required to get ready for the fights we saw in episode two. “I did a lot of boxing”, Erin tells me. “Kickboxing as well. A little bit of parkour…” I laugh at this – not because there’s anything laughable about parkour (unless you’ve seen that episode of The Office), but because, as I point out to Erin, if you parkour on the back of a truck, you’re off the truck.
You’re dead, surely.
Erin laughs. “No, listen! Not Karli, she’s crazy. Yeah, she’s fearless. And then they had me do, like, strength and things before actually flying to America, so that I was prepared to do all of the stuff by the time I got there.”
I then ask Erin whether that was something she’s just let slip: that Karli Morgenthau can literally fly. Another laugh. “Can you imagine if I just let that slip? Now? She can also fly. And read minds.” It’s patently obvious talking to Erin that she’s deeply, deeply stoked to be allowed to talk on the record. But on top of that, she seems genuinely over the freaking moon to be in the thick of it, mixing it up with such iconic characters.
I can’t wait to see where Karli ends up over the next four episodes of the series. Talking with Erin was an absolute treat – you can check out our full interview in the video above, and you can (and should) dive into The Falcon and The Winter Soldier right now on Disney+.
Special thanks to Erin Kellyman for her time.
