Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for the Daredevil: Born Again finale.
While Daredevil: Born Again has been full of narrative ups and downs — including shocking deaths, baffling character choices, and surprising MCU cameos — the Disney+ series finally seems to be righting the ship in the wake of its early creative overhaul. The last several episodes of Season 1 have seen Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), as well as New York City at large, facing an even greater threat now that Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) seems to have returned to his Kingpin ways on a larger scale — using his position as city mayor to legitimize his actions, of course. Yet even Fisk’s grab for power wouldn’t have been possible without the work his wife, Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer), has been doing behind the scenes, with the season’s penultimate episode confirming she was the one who hired Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) to murder Matt’s best friend, Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson).
Ahead of the Season 1 finale, Collider had the opportunity to speak with Zurer at length about returning to the role of Vanessa Fisk in Daredevil: Born Again, as well as some of her character’s biggest moments this season. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, Zurer reveals which changes to the character surprised her, which moments she fought for behind the scenes, and what she enjoyed about getting to play through the Fisks’ marital issues. She also discusses which episodes are major turning points for Vanessa, where the Fisks stand heading into Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, and more.
COLLIDER: One of the big changes that this show made this season was with Vanessa’s character. When we pick up with her at the beginning of Daredevil: Born Again, we see what she’s been doing in Fisk’s absence, and she’s kind of become a kingpin herself. What was your reaction when you found out this was the direction that your character was moving in?
AYELET ZURER: It was really interesting. There were many choices in this. It kept me wondering how to deal with it, because I saw Vanessa in a very particular way through Seasons 1–3 of Daredevil, the Netflix show. I never saw her as a violent person or someone interested in power. But it made a lot of sense, because if he’s gone, and she’s taking care of business, then she has to be very wise in the way she’s dealing with the people involved, because it’s the darkest side of humanity, really.
What I really liked was the way that they differentiated between his ruling and her ruling, where she rules with the understanding that if people have something to gain, then you can control them better rather than scare them. She doesn’t believe in fear. She believes in the power of money, really. From her perspective, it’s money. If I make money for you, then you listen to me. It’s an interesting beginning. There are other things that I struggled with at first, things to do with loyalty and stuff like that, but we definitely found a way to the why everything is happening.
‘Daredevil: Born Again’s Ayelet Zurer Enjoyed Playing the “Human and Realistic” Side of the Fisks’ Marriage

Image via Disney+

Fisk makes his grand reappearance in New York, and there’s a tension between him and Vanessa that we eventually learn the source of. Did you enjoy getting to play a somewhat different side of their marriage with Vincent [D’Onofrio]? We’ve never really seen them so distant before.
ZURER: It’s more than being just distant. There’s heaviness. There’s a real sense of struggle. There’s something that is very human and realistic beyond the genre that exists in that space, and that’s interesting for these specific characters, to show Kingpin in a very, very human space. It’s a place where you wouldn’t see him or his wife, in the therapist’s office. And then also dealing with the loss of trust on both sides, which is the absolute other side of their crazy loyalty and honesty. That was really interesting for me to play because it’s really deep, and it’s also very adult. It’s beyond the genre, love. There’s some depth to it that I really, really enjoyed.
Speaking of the therapy sessions, talk about a place that we don’t expect to see Kingpin in. There is, though, that added layer of these two people who can’t talk honestly about what they’ve done in front of someone who’s not a part of that world. The two of you start sitting very far away from each other on the couch, and then, very slowly, push back together over time. How do you feel those sessions really give Vanessa and Fisk a better understanding of each other and allow for that connection to reestablish itself?
ZURER: It’s very true. They grow closer and closer, also, in physicality. I’m glad you saw that. But also, they can talk in a way that only they understand. It’s almost like siblings with a secret language. They have their own secret language, but they really solve everything in the house, just one-on-one. That’s where they really open everything and talk. The sessions allow them to bring things that they’ve never brought in before, particularly for Vanessa — aspects of her that we’ve never seen before or heard her expressing — and I think that’s probably the only way this would have worked in that specific space for them.

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Vanessa Fisk Just Became More Terrifying Than Her Kingpin Husband in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

Long live the Queenpin.

I did want to ask you about a specific scene this season, where it initially seems that Vanessa is sending Luca to kill her husband. Then, you realize she’s setting Luca up to be killed instead, and we get the reveal in the following episode that it was a plan that they hatched together. Do you feel like there was any part of Vanessa that considered a double-cross at that moment?
ZURER: It’s funny that you’re saying that, because there was a discussion about that, and I always said, “Absolutely not! She’s so loyal. No, no, no, no.” But to be honest, eventually, when I actually acted it out, when I actually performed it, there were some moments where, throughout the show, I’m thinking, “Love and hate, love and hate, love and hate.” But really, she loves him so much. She’s so obsessed with this person, and him with her, that there’s no other way, obviously. But yeah, that was actually a discussion, and I so resisted it at the beginning. There’s that one shot where I’m making that decision, and I remember we shot it, and… yes, it is there, the back and forth.
Ayelet Zurer Discusses Vanessa’s Ruthless Side in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

Image via Disney+

The scene with Adam is a major turning point for Vanessa. There’s a gun and a key on the table, and the choice is there. You’ve spoken about the love that’s there, even though it’s a bit unconventional. It feels a bit ruthless for her, too, so I’m curious about how you approached that scene.
ZURER: It’s very ruthless. At first, I resisted that for her, but it is such an interesting take on loyalty and how far you would go to prove love, and by doing so, could create a knot that’s unbreakable. When is it unbreakable? In a way, she might trust him, but he may not trust her ever if she doesn’t prove her loyalty to that extent in a visual way, not just sending someone to do something. At some point, she jumps into the water in a way without even thinking, but more feeling. She does what she needs to do emotionally. I think it’s going to come with a price, eventually.
There’s a big reveal towards the end of the season where we learn who was responsible for hiring Bullseye to kill Foggy. Was that another surprise for you, or did it give you a better understanding of how determined Vanessa is to really eliminate any kind of threat at this point?
ZURER: She was always about eliminating threats. That was always in her psyche. I feel like that’s kind of what she is about. She would do anything to protect Fisk and protect them. From her point of view, it’s worth it. For her, it’s different to send someone else to do something than to do it yourself, and that’s really what the difference is in turning points for her.
She was willing to send someone else at the beginning of the season, and now, as we’re seeing towards the end, she’s more and more capable of doing it herself.
ZURER: Because, listen, if you start dipping your hands in something sharp, shortly, you will swim in it. Now, there’s no halfway. Once it gets dark, it’s dark. Even in life, this is the moral aspect of the story, isn’t it?
The party scene is not just a great chance to see the cast all dressed up, but it gets so many different characters in one room together. Matt uses it as an opportunity to tell Vanessa that he knows the truth about the role that she’s played in all of this. From a performance standpoint, what did you enjoy about getting to spar with Charlie Cox? The two of you have a fun little tête-à-tête in that scene.
ZURER: It was so much fun, because the last time we did a scene together… we had two together, one in the gallery and one at the end of Season 3. Aside from the fact that it was just fun to be all of us together in the same room, it was just great to play with him, because I haven’t had a chance to do so, and I think he’s so talented and just a fun person. I like him personally, so that was really nice to do. It was a whole week of filming, and it was so much fun. Oh my gosh. Because it was kind of unhinged at that point. The characters are completely nuts. Everybody’s losing it from their own perspective, you know? It was just nice to act.
Ayelet Zurer Teases the Fisks’ Future in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2

Image via Disney+

In terms of the end of Season 1, Fisk is making his big moves to enact martial law, to the point where he’s keeping people in cages, including the Punisher; he also has Vanessa at his side. How does this set them up as a real power couple heading into Season 2?
ZURER: There’s nothing that I can say that will be halfway, to be honest. But as we are filming Season 2, I have to say that it’s very interesting where things are going. They’re boiling even more. I can say that.
Regarding Vanessa and Fisk’s relationship, do you feel like they’re stronger than they’ve ever been at this point?
ZURER: Oh, they’re strong together, that’s for sure. Strong together. But there are other factors coming in, so everybody’s going to be affected.
All episodes of Daredevil: Born Again are available to stream on Disney+.

Daredevil: Born Again

Release Date

March 4, 2025

Showrunner

Chris Ord

Writers

Chris Ord

Franchise(s)

Daredevil, Marvel Cinematic Universe