The Avengers Tell All

The cast of The Avengers assembled in Beverly Hills recently for a revealing press conference. Here are some highlights.

Compiled by Elisa Osegueda

On their most memorable moments during filming:

I believe it was our first day on set with the whole ensemble, which was a pretty exciting and nerve-wracking experience. –Chris Hemsworth

On their most memorable moments during filming:

The scene where Thor and Iron Man are fighting...I’d yet to see Hemsworth and Downey in their full suits, and I showed up at night, and it was the first time I saw them both kind of geared up. I just got really excited. I felt like a little kid. –Chris Evans

On their most memorable moments during filming:

Mine was being naked in front of Harry Dean Stanton. –Mark Ruffalo

On their most memorable moments during filming:

...When I read the script and saw that it was my fanboy wet dream of an Avengers script and that Coulson was a big part of it that was the great day for me. I drove around with the script on the passenger seat giggling. –Clark Gregg

On costume envy:

I’m not going to lie. I think that Agent Coulson could rock some of Agent Romanoff’s cat suits. [Laughs] There were certain times in the morning when yes, I wished I did have some Asgardian armor to walk around in. But after 13-14 hours into the day, I’m quite pleased to be in my cool, pressed Dolce and Gabbana suit. –Clark Gregg

On costume envy:

It takes two hours to get into Loki’s outfit. It’s even more fun when you fight in it, the sweat pools in the chest and it’s, ah, a really luxurious experience. I want to publicly salute Alex Byrne. She worked with everybody in terms of making the costumes practical. Loki’s silhouette is so incredibly menacing. There were days when I longed for the suit--the Dolce and Gabanna one. –Tom Hiddleston

On costume envy:

It was tough. I wish that I had a cool costume to wear the entire time instead of a leotard that was painted like a Chinese checkerboard. –Mark Ruffalo

On who they'd swap characters with for the next film:

Oh, man. I want to say Iron Man because I loved those movies but who can do it better? The shoes would be too big to fill. –Chris Evans

On who they'd swap characters with for the next film:

I want to be Scarlett. [Laughs] I just want to be that cute for like 15 minutes. –Samuel L. Jackson

On creating a unique version of Bruce Banner:

I met with Joss Whedon, and he said he really liked the Incredible Hulk TV show and what Bill Bixby did with him. So I rented those with my 10-year-old son. After the third episode, [my son] turned to me and said, "Papa, he’s so misunderstood." I basically based my character entirely on my son, who has all the force of nature. –Mark Ruffalo

On the pressures of being The Incredible Hulk:

It was terrifying. I [made] the mistake of going online and reading some of the fanboy responses to the announcement that I was playing the next version of Bruce Banner. That was a mistake. I will never do that again. I’ve never had a role be more scrutinized and criticized even before I shot a single frame. –Mark Ruffalo

On playing fish-out-of-water:

I think in this film more than the Captain America, Steve Rogers has some issues, some conflicts, some trouble given the fact that he is a man out of his time. But given who he is he puts the mission first. –Chris Evans

On playing fish-out-of-water:

We all kind of fell into that category, Thor is from another planet. I guess his motivation through the conflict and the villain was far more personal than the rest of them because it was his brother. –Chris Hemsworth

On taking the lead:

When I was cast in Iron Man, Kevin Feige said, “You know, this is all going to lead to where we’re going to have all of these franchises come together. We’re going to do something unprecedented in entertainment. We’re going to make an Avengers movie.” I remember, I would get nervous about it…so just being a worker amongst workers is kind of where I started out. It was nice not to have to carry a movie. Everyone is equal in this venture. –Robert Downey Jr.

On the 360 shot:

I remember thinking the day it was shot, this is the trailer or the big moment. We were finally assembled, the entire team, and the 360 wide shot captured us and the chaos around us. I certainly remember thinking, “Yeah, this is the moment.” –Chris Hemsworth

On bonding:

Chris [Evans] sent us a text and said Avengers assemble at such and such bar at nine o’clock on a Saturday night, which was a good group effort. We paid for it at work the next couple of days. –Chris Hemsworth

On bonding:

I just remember coming into someone’s place with a group of half-naked men in a hot tub, and Scarlett Johansson standing over them with a giant ladle, making boy soup. [Laughs] –Robert Downey Jr.

On what makes their characters good guys:

I’ll say his heart, his selflessness. He wasn’t born a superhero. This didn’t happen to him by accident. He was chosen and it was for those reasons, values, and morals. He puts other causes ahead of himself and it’s really something to aspire to. –Chris Evans

On what makes their characters good guys:

He didn’t really set out to do anything noble so he’s kind of in transition. Also, the fact that he can pull off wearing a Black Sabbath T-shirt for the better part of the film. –Robert Downey, Jr.

On what makes their characters good guys:

I like the sort of visceral gut instinct that Thor has and there’s a bit of childlike quality in the sense that if he believes something or wants something he does it. –Chris Hemsworth

On experiencing accidents on set:

I was on a wire, because I hadn’t learned to fly yet, and I had to come down and land on a cliff. It’s where Thor takes Loki off the ship and lands. I had to land and step while having a conversation. In the first couple of takes, this will turn up in the DVD extras, I just face-planted into the dirt. It was incredibly ungraceful and un-superhero-like. –Chris Hemsworth

On Loki:

It’s such a great character. He’s just a treat, never mind the iconography. It’s like playing an iconic Shakespearean character. He’s got such a level of complexity and layers to him. When I read the script, I couldn’t believe my luck. The film was called The Avengers and yet Loki was almost on every page. –Tom Hiddleston

On director Joss Whedon:

Joss set up the rules, and we showed up. You know, certain people have license. He’s the rich smart-ass guy. He’s the little guy with the big words that might turn and f**k you up at any moment. But you never know when that is. –Samuel L. Jackson

On bringing it all together:

The hardest part is and always will be structure. How do you make everyone shine? How do you let the audience’s identification drift from person to person without making them feel like they’re not involved? It had to be right. It had to be earned from moment-to-moment and that’s exhausting. –Joss Whedon