‘Thunderbolts*’ Stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Geraldine Viswanathan Break Down Their Comedic Chemistry

It’s been four years since Marvel fans first met Julia Louis Dreyfus’ scheming CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Since making her debut in 2021’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Val has popped up all over the Marvel Cinematic Universe, slowly recruiting allies to serve her own mysterious purposes.

Now, Val is finally revealing her hand in Marvel Studios’ new movie Thunderbolts*. Over the years, she’s pulled strings to assemble an oddball group of antiheroes — including Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost/Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) — to help consolidate her own power. Thunderbolts* finds Val weaving her most dangerous web yet, accompanied by her loyal assistant Mel (played by Blockers and Miracle Workers star Geraldine Viswanathan).

Before Thunderbolts* hits theaters, Louis-Dreyfus and Viswanathan sat down with Marvel.com to break down their boss-assistant relationship and reveal a few of Val’s secrets.

MARVEL.COM: Julia, you’ve popped up several times as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, but here, you step into the spotlight as the scheming director of the CIA. When you first joined the MCU, did you know this arc was coming?

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS: Yes, I did. I had a meeting with Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito, and they told me what the plan was for this character. They were going to sprinkle her into a bunch of other Marvel projects, and then eventually she would be in Thunderbolts* assembling this team of antiheroes.

MARVEL.COM: So how did you react when you finally got the Thunderbolts* script and that all came true?

LOUIS-DREYFUS: I was just so relieved that it was a really strong script, and the actors were so formidable. [I knew] it was going to require some real chops to land it, but everybody worked so hard. And I feel very satisfied and really grateful to be a part of what I think is such a strong film.

MARVEL.COM: Geraldine, I understand director Jake Schreier called to offer you the role of Mel while you were sick in bed. How did you react?

GERALDINE VISWANATHAN: It was completely out of the blue. I was really sick, and they were like, “Jake wants to talk to you.” We got on a Zoom, and he was being very elusive and vague, trying to explain the script to me — because you can’t read the script before you sign on. He was like, “So, do you want to do it?” And I was like, “Wait, what are you asking me? You want me to do it?” And he was like, “Yeah, would you?”

I’ll never forget that moment. Then, I called my parents and was like, “I think I just joined the Marvel Universe…?”

MARVEL.COM: Your parents were your first call?

VISWANATHAN: Yeah, they couldn’t believe it. Although my mom could kind of believe it because she went to a psychic 10 years ago when I first came to LA to pursue acting. She asked the psychic about me and where I’d go, and [the psychic] was like, “Oh my God, I just got chills. I just saw her in a Super Hero movie.” So, it was written in the stars. [Laughs]

LOUIS-DREYFUS: Isn’t that incredible? I need that psychic’s name.

MARVEL.COM: I love the relationship between Val and Mel. That push-pull between boss and assistant is so much fun. How did you figure out their dynamic?

LOUIS-DREYFUS: We had some days of rehearsal, and we worked on it there. But it was obviously really important to both of us to make it seem as real as possible, while at the same time trying to mine as much comedy out of it — without changing the tone of the film. But we got along really well from the get-go, so it was easy-peasy in that sense.

VISWANATHAN: I love the way Val cuts Mel off if she tries to insert herself, tell a joke, or hand her coffee in the wrong moment. Those little details were really fun to play with. Or when you say my name wrong.

LOUIS-DREYFUS: That was born out of an improvisation, I think, if I remember correctly!

MARVEL.COM: The scale of this film is so extraordinary, and you both spent time on some pretty impressive sets. Did you have a favorite location?

LOUIS-DREYFUS: [Val’s] Watchtower was nuts. That set was so beautiful to walk onto. It was incredible because back in the day, my dad used to work in the Chrysler Building in New York. So, we walked on to the set, and I was like, “Oh my God, that’s my dad’s office.” You could see the actual floor of his office. It felt very real.

MARVEL.COM: Tell me a little bit about working with Jake Schreier. What was he like on set as a director?

VISWANATHAN: He wore a gorgeous suit every day.

LOUIS-DREYFUS: Very little repeating of the suit! It was quite impressive.

VISWANATHAN: He had a lot of suitcases.

LOUIS-DREYFUS: And a lot of style.

VISWANATHAN: I just think he was so the right person to hire for this very ambitious movie. He’s so brilliant, and he really brought his arthouse film sensibilities to a movie that is so focused on character development and the emotional nuance of the story. The movie is so much richer for that. His visual flair is so impressive, and he also really cares. I remember when we shot in the desert with a helicopter, and the lens flare happened at the right time, and he shed a tear because he was just so happy that it all worked out and came together. He’s amazing.

MARVEL.COM: I’m curious, is there something that surprised you or that you weren’t expecting about making this film?

LOUIS-DREYFUS: I was surprised by the enormity of the production. I sort of knew it intellectually, but when you get onto set in Atlanta or Utah or wherever, you see the hundreds of people who are working on this. It’s in the prop design, in the set design, in the costumes, all of it. There is so much expertise that is brought to life in this production that it feels like an old Hollywood film, in that sense. They’re not — what’s the expression? — whistling Dixie here. There’s an enormous amount of dedication to getting this just right.

Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* is in theaters May 2.