Summary

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff interviews Lewis Pullman and Hannah John-Kamen about their roles in Marvel’s Thunderbolts*.

John-Kamen reveals how training was essential to Ava’s character development in Thunderbolts* given how much she’s grown since Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Pullman discusses the complexity of playing Bob Reynolds in Thunderbolts* and showcasing the character’s internal struggles.

In Thunderbolts*, Hannah John-Kamen returns as Ava Starr, a.k.a. Ghost, showcasing a stronger, more centered version of the character audiences first met in Ant-Man and the Wasp. In his MCU debut, Lewis Pullman steps into the complex role of Bob Reynolds, better known as The Sentry. Both performers dive deep into their characters’ internal struggles — Ava learning to control her powers with new discipline, and Bob wrestling with conflicting identities and overwhelming guilt — as they bring emotionally charged performances to Marvel’s most grounded team-up film yet.
John-Kamen has become a consistent name to see in credits across major franchises for both film and television, with roles in Ready Player One, Tomb Raider, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, among plenty others. Her contributions to the screen don’t stop there, though — by voicing roles in both Dark Souls and Dark Souls II, she has proven herself a talented addition to video games, too. Pullman, meanwhile, has built a career on endearing roles, from winning the hearts of many as yet another Bob in Top Gun: Maverick to leading Outer Range as Rhett, as well as being at the center of the latest telling of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot in 2024 as the story’s protagonist, Ben Mears.
In an interview with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, John-Kamen and Pullman discuss the physical and emotional preparation behind their characters in Thunderbolts*, including how mental strength, physical training, and character mapping helped shape their performances. They also touch on potential future crossovers and appearances in the MCU, the dynamics of trust and forgiveness among superheroes, and more.
Physical Training Was Crucial to Ava’s Transformation in ‘Thunderbolts*’

Hannah John-Kamen compares the regimen to that of Ant-Man and the Wasp.

PERRI NEMIROFF: When we see Ava in this movie, she’s a lot stronger and more in control. Did you do any backstory work to justify that newfound strength, maybe even something we don’t see or hear directly in the film, but we can feel informing your performance?
HANNAH JOHN-KAMEN: I did a lot of hot yoga. It’s really funny because everyone was like, “You’re loving hot yoga,” but it was actually physically different. I hadn’t gone really into it so much before. The training for my body before, for Ant-Man and the Wasp, was very cardio, hyperactive training, getting the tension up in my breath. With my focus of everything in control, and being in that suit as well, my hot yoga really serviced me for that kind of mental strength and feeling comfortable in my skin with that control.
Lewis Pullman on Playing Three Different People for ‘Thunderbolts*’

“It’s almost like three people fighting underwater.”

Image via Marvel Studios

Lewis, I was watching an interview that Jake [Schreier] did, and he was explaining that the two of you talked a lot about mapping out the beats of your character to figure out which side of him is meant to be expressed most and when. Is there a particular point in the movie where doing that was the greatest challenge, where there was the finest line for you to navigate?
LEWIS PULLMAN: Good question. The whole film was a very intricate process of planting who was rearing their head at what moment. It’s almost like three people fighting underwater, and every once in a while, a different head pops up and gets to say something, but it is all the same guy. So, I think that the most challenging is when he kind of comes into his own as The Sentry. He is battling a lot of guilt and questioning how much to believe of Valentina’s influence and then also these wild cards who have taken him under their wing, and who to believe, but then also coming into his own, and he has these illusions of grandeur. So, there are a lot of competing parts of himself that are rearing their heads.
Who Can These Thunderbolts Trust in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’?

Or, perhaps, who can’t they trust?

Image via Marvel Studios

Thanks to Chair Day, I can’t help but look ahead now. We know the two of you are in Doomsday. We know a bunch of other people are in Doomsday. Of all the characters we know are confirmed, which one do you think your own would get along with the most, and who do you think they would get along with the least?
JOHN-KAMEN: I want to say Ant-Man for both, because there is a feeling of forgiveness here. “I tried to kill you, but I think we could be friends.”
That makes sense.
JOHN-KAMEN: Full circle.
PULLMAN: Good answer. Oh, man, Julia [Louis-Dreyfus] is not on there. She doesn’t have a chair on there, does she?
She’s still around, though.
PULLMAN: They better. They also said there are still more chairs to be revealed.
Exactly.
PULLMAN: So I think that would be an interesting crossover, for Bob to have another intersection with Valentina. I wonder what the heck would happen there. I don’t think it’d be pretty if he even remembers.

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We’re so seated for ‘Doomsday’ we’ve brought our own chairs!

I’ve got a lot of questions about that.
PULLMAN: So do I.
I’m going to end with the most overly sentimental question you’ve probably heard all day, but I just love the fact that this movie reminded me of the power of a good hug. Can you each tell me the last time you got a good hug that made you feel supported, and like you could power through all the challenges life throws at you?
PULLMAN: I mean, every time my mom hugs me, it’s filled with all those things. It’s never just an on-the-go hug, a thoughtless hug.
JOHN-KAMEN: My family and friends at the premiere of this movie back in London. It was such a big moment. The love and support is lovely.
I love that. The first thing that I wanted to do when I left the theater was go and hug my sister, and that is exactly what I did. I’m going to say huge thank you for your time today and congratulations on the movie!
Thunderbolts* is in theaters and IMAX now.

Thunderbolts*

Release Date

May 2, 2025

Runtime

126 Minutes

Director

Jake Schreier

Writers

Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo

Franchise(s)

Marvel Cinematic Universe

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