Two interviews this morning with Lucy from TV|Line and EW ahead of the season premiere of Agents of SHIELD Season 2.
Entertainment Weekly
'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.': Can Lucy Lawless' mercenary Isabelle Hartley be trusted?
21 September 2014
When Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns for its second season, Director Coulson will have to reach out to some unsavory types in order to keep the organization afloat and battle the nefarious Hydra. One of those he'll turn to for help is S.H.I.E.L.D. vet Isabelle Hartley, who brings with her a group of dangerous mercenaries.
"She's tough as all get out," Lucy Lawless tells EW. "She does what she wants, when she wants for her own purposes. It just so happens that whatever Coulson's purpose is becomes her No. 1 aim in life, so he knows he can trust her above all."
While Lawless recognizes similar attributes in Izzy to some of her past roles--like Xena and D'Anna from Battlestar Galactica--she says there's one big difference: "She doesn't respect the right to life of any human being on the planet," Lawless says. "If she's paid to kill them, she'll take the gig. Therefore, I'm not sure there are any conventions she'd particularly respect, whereas my other characters have had some boundaries on what they'd be prepared to do."
Can S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Brilliance Trump HYDRA's Magnificence? Lucy Lawless Previews the Season 2 Opener
TV|Line 21 September 2014
When last we tuned into Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the titular organization had crumbled, its name disgraced, assets depleted. In the wake of a HYDRA-fueled onslaught, Nick Fury (guest star Samuel L. Jackson) resurfaced to appoint Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) as Director, so that he might rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D..
To do that, Coulson and his bruised team of agents will need the occasional helping hand -- the first of which, as Season 2 opens this Tuesday (ABC, 9/8c), belongs to genre-TV queen Lucy Lawless.
Here, Lawless previews her S.H.I.E.L.D. visit, reveals a crush on Coulson and ponders the outcome of a clash between Agent Hartley and a certain Warrior Queen.
Some highlights from the interview
TVLINE | Tell me, under what circumstances do we meet Miss Isabelle Hartley?
Well, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been smashed by the treachery of Ward, who's revealed himself to be a double agent and now Coulson has to pick up the pieces. You get to see globally how many agents they've got and the one person he feels he can trust to spearhead this move is an old friend, Isabelle Hartley.
TVLINE | Does she hold Coulson in high regard? Does she feel he's up to snuff as director?
Yeah. I think she likes him a lot. She doesn't like many people. She likes him. And she likes her team, but there's friction with [Coulson's] guys because they're so slick and we're so rag-tag, but she's like, "Deal with it."
TVLINE | Well, who are Agents Lance Hunter (played by Nick Blood) and Idaho (Wilmer Calderon) to her?
Lance Hunter is like her favorite nephew. He's played by Nick Blood, who's just incredible, a terrific actor. Hunter is in it just for the money, so he's a bit confused by Isabelle's adherence to Coulson's wishes, but she and Coulson go back a long way. I think they've really been in the trenches together and whatever side he's on, she's on. Idaho is a valued member of her team, someone she has mentored. He's got skills. Mad skills.
TVLINE | [Showrunner] Maurissa Tancharoen at Comic-Con teased something about a knife always in close proximity to Isabelle...?
Oh, yeah. You never know when you might like to slice some cheese... or worse. She has the air of a Middle Eastern journalist, one of those people who thrives on danger, and we'll see if she's bitten off more than she can chew, because HYDRA is incredibly awesome.
For more information about Lucy's role on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D go to the AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D subsite