Clark Gregg on ‘Iron Man,’ ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ and more on
“At Home With The Creative Coalition”
Clark Gregg sat down with The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk in the latest episode of “At Home With The Creative Coalition,” a podcast featuring unplugged and uncensored conversations with today’s biggest stars. In the newest episode, Gregg opens up about when he knew “Iron Man” would be a smash hit, how “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” came about, his favorite episode of “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” and more. Highlights below.
“At Home With The Creative Coalition,” sponsored by the Pioneering Collective, is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, and more.
Listen now at:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clark-gregg-off-the-cliff/id1521900273?i=1000523009998
For planned coverage, please link to:
http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast
Highlights from “At Home With The Creative Coalition” featuring Clark Gregg —
On knowing that “Iron Man” would be a huge success if Robert Downey Jr. could overcome his “addiction issues”:
“From the minute I saw that Jon Favreau was directing this movie of ‘Iron Man’ with Robert Downey as that character with Gwenyth [Paltrow] and Jeff Bridges, I knew that if Robert was able to show up and, you know, become the talent that we’ve all hoped he would be able to be — you know, with the addiction issues — that it would be one of the greatest versions, the best possible version that could have ever been. And he really, really nailed it.”
On whether he was a Marvel fan before being cast as Agent Phil Coulson in the MCU:
“I was [a fan] as a kid […] I always had a couple of Marvel comics. I had a couple of things that I was a really big fan of, including ‘Iron Man’ so I was really shocked and happy when they put me in that movie.”
On how “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” came about:
“In 2012, I was in ‘Avengers’ and I got killed off. Then I got a call saying, ‘You know, you might not be dead. It’s a comic book world. You might…’ Joss Whedon and Jeph Loeb, the head of Marvel TV said, ‘We think that you think you’re dead. We think that you think you got out a close call. But it turns out you were super dead. And it turns out they used some very dark stuff to bring you back. And the whole first season is about you discovering what you are now and being really uncomfortable with it.’”
On his favorite episode of “The New Adventures of Old Christine”:
“Kari [Lizer] liked to push the envelope a little bit. And there was one where she was really championing this African American family to get into the school and to be friends with them because she felt like she needed more African American friends. And then she found out that they were super homophobic. And it just was kind of this perfect collision of political correctness. I thought that was a spectacular episode.”
On what’s next:
“So I took a moment at the end of the show, then last fall tried to really reassess what I want to do next and as the world has changed so much. And I knew that I wanted to — there were some projects that I’d been working on during all my downtime, during ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ And there’s just so much interesting stuff happening in the longer format stuff — you know, on Netflix […] So I have a couple of ideas that I’ve been developing and been working on those as much as I can get my brain to work here. There’s television ideas and a feature idea. I was talking to some people about a film that I might do. So still continuing to act, but my dream is to try to make something, a long-form story that I can shoot and use my friends to be in.”
————————
More about “At Home With The Creative Coalition”
Hosted by The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk, “At Home With The Creative Coalition” brings listeners intimate portraits, key moments of discovery, and “art and soul” conversations with iconic entertainment industry personalities from the big screen to the boardroom, from L.A. to D.C. “At Home With The Creative Coalition” is sponsored by the Pioneering Collective. Listen now at http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast.
Upcoming guests include Asante Blackk (“When They See Us,” “This Is Us”), Griffin Dunne (“This Is Us,” “Dallas Buyers Club”), Willie Garson (“Hawaii Five-0,” “White Collar”), New York Times Bestselling Author Susan Isaacs (“Compromising Positions,” “Takes One to Know One”), Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace,” “Travelers”), Rob Morrow (“Billions,” “The Fosters”), Haley Joel Osment (“Future Man,” “Entourage”), Alysia Reiner (“Better Things,” “Orange Is the New Black”), Yolonda Ross (“The Chi,” “How to Get Away with Murder”), Reid Scott (“Why Women Kill,” “Veep”), Matt Walsh (“Veep,” “UCB Comedy Originals”), Alfre Woodard (“Clemency,” “Luke Cage”), and Constance Zimmer (“Condor,” “UnREAL”).
Previous guests include Jason Alexander (“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Harley Quinn,” “Saturday Night Seder”), David Alan Basche (“The Exes,” “United 93”), Carly Chaikin (“Mr. Robot”), Wilson Cruz (“Star Trek: Discovery,” “My So-Called Life”), Alan Cumming (“Briarpatch,” “Instinct,” “The Good Wife”), The Creative Coalition President and actor Tim Daly (“Madam Secretary”), Lea DeLaria (“Orange Is the New Black”), Jim Gaffigan (“Tesla,” “The Jim Gaffigan Show”), Judy Gold (“The Other F Word,” “Nightcap”), Jason Isaacs (“The OA,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Harry Potter”), Richard Kind (“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Big Mouth,” “Gotham”), Chad Lowe (“Supergirl,” “Life in Pieces,” “Pretty Little Liars”), AnnaLynne McCord (“Nip/Tuck,” “90210”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs,” “Reno 911!”), Katherine McNamara (“Shadowhunters,” “Arrow”), Kathy Najimy (“Hocus Pocus,” “Sister Act”), Bill Prady (“The Big Bang Theory,” “Young Sheldon,” “The Muppets”), Jessica Queller (“Supergirl,” “Gossip Girl”), Anthony Rapp (“Star Trek: Discovery,” “Rent”), and Julie Taymor (“The Lion King,” “Frida,” “The Glorias”).
More about The Creative Coalition
The Creative Coalition is the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating its members on issues of public importance. Actor Tim Daly serves as the organization’s President. The Creative Coalition also creates award-winning public service campaigns including #RightToBearArts to promote the efficacy of the arts. For more information, visit https://thecreativecoalition.org.
###