One of the highlights of Daredevil: Born Again, as well as the original Netflix series, has been actress Ayelet Zurer, who plays Mayoral First Lady Vanessa Fisk. She’s shared many incredible scenes with Vincent D’Onofrio, who plays her husband Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime, who is now New York City’s Mayor. We got the chance to talk to Ayelet Zurer about returning to play such a complex character after so many years away from the role.
Nerdist: When the original Daredevil series ended in 2018, a lot of people thought that was it for the characters. Did you ever think this was a role you’d be returning to all these years later? And were you surprised when you got the call from Marvel?
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Ayelet Zurer: Surprise, surprise! One day I got a text message from Vincent [D’Onofrio] saying, “Hey, are you busy?” And are you working on something?” And I said no. And he said, “Okay, hold on. I’ll talk to you in a few days.” Then I got a call. So he sort of hinted, prepped me for the call. I was very excited, and very, very happy.
There’s a scene with the Fisks in therapy with Dr. Glenn, where Vanessa starts talking about her affair with someone named Adam, and she lovingly talks about his amazing hands. She seems to be purposefully trying to enrage her husband, Wilson. Did you decide to play it as if she were deliberately poking the bear?
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Zurer: She’s definitely poking the bear. Everything that she does is with purpose, nothing is by chance. So let’s say the way she chooses to say it in this particular place is with a purpose. I think she comes to this relationship at this point with a lot of hurt and trust issues, just like him. She can’t really open up in a situation like this, in front of the therapist. Because they’re not the type of people who will tell one another in front of another person. They are too loyal. So there are ways to say things without quite saying them. So this was a way to say, “Hey, I’ve done what I’ve done, but there’s a reason for it. You’ve done what you’ve done.”
This can’t be the first time you’ve been asked this, but there seem to be a lot of Melania Trump parallels with Vanessa Fisk. She’s someone who obviously would much rather live a life of wealth and relative anonymity than be the First Lady of anything. How much of that was deliberate, and how much of that was just a big coincidence?
Zurer: Coincidence. Entirely. The way she’s dressed and the way she always dresses in a certain way, she’s always dressed to the nines, and I don’t think they were thinking about that. But it’s a nice coincidence.
There’s a moment in episode seven where we think Vanessa might betray her husband. And she doesn’t. Do you think there’s ever even a remote chance your character might betray Wilson? Because she genuinely seems to love him, but also knows she’d be better off without him.
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Zurer: I don’t think she would. Business is not what drives her at all. I think power for her is a service to get to safety and protection, and even protecting him, not just her and their relationship. So when she thinks about how to move the chess board, she never thinks about herself as just one. She’s always thinking two. That’s what I think.
When you first got the role, did they give you a backstory on Vanessa before she met Wilson Fisk? And if not, have you given her one yourself?
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Zurer: All of the above, to be honest. So there’s a story from season one (of the original Daredevil series) that kind of determined for me who she was, and what happened to her, and what kind of person she is. All of the background. Then I discussed that with [Born Again showrunner] Dario Scardapane this season, and he wanted to know what I was thinking. Then he took that and then created something else, but in a way that relates to what we discussed. And so it’s three things at the same time. I always had a backstory for her from the beginning, and it evolved.
Vanessa Fisk is a pretty ruthless character who is willing to kill if she has to. Or even if she doesn’t have to? Are there any traits about her that you try to bring to the surface when playing her?
Zurer: I don’t think she would kill someone if she didn’t have to. I think she does everything for a very specific reason. Again, it all comes down to protecting what she has, and to protect him, even if he doesn’t feel the same way. I think in a way she thinks about them always. It’s always “Them, them, them.” So everything she does is to create safety. The stakes are going up, and so the price goes up.
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So you had kind of a true spectrum of comic book acting in your career, because you’re Superman’s mom Lara (in Man of Steel), and Daredevil’s enemy. So which is better?
Zurer: Oh gosh. I mean, Vanessa. Vanessa is so much fun. You can say there’s something about this character, something that’s so unique and plays on the duality between being vicious and being gentle and loving. There’s just some complexity to it. So I can’t, but I mean, Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel was fun too, because of him and how he works, and the sets. That was fun too.
Do you have a favorite Vanessa Fisk moment for this season, or even one from the original series?
Zurer: From the original series, I love Vanessa and Wilson’s first meeting. Their first meeting [in the art gallery, about the painting], Rabbit in a Snowstorm, is one of my favorite scenes from all the seasons, all three seasons (of the original series), because of the metaphor of loneliness that I love for them and just the poetic essence of what the scene is about. And from this season, I like all the therapy scenes this season very much. And actually, I really like the finale, what’s happening in the Born Again finale. The finale has been great fun.
Daredevil: Born Again season one is currently playing on Disney+.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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