Graviton is here to save you all -- or so he'd like you to believe. In the last episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Glenn Talbot entered the particle infusion chamber and walked out a superhuman. Now that his cells have been bonded with gravitonium, he has a slew of gravity-based powers, but those abilities come with a price. Those that bonded with gravitonium before him were driven mad by the personalities of Franklin Hall and Ian Quinn, both of whom still exist inside the temperamental element. It's yet to be seen whether Talbot will suffer that same fate, but actor Adrian Pasdar promises that the process certainly "changes" his character.
Speaking with CBR, Pasdar discussed Talbot's mindset as he heads off to face the Confederacy, his big reunion with General Hale and why we should expect some "pretty fantastic spins" in the next few episodes. He also recalled when the writers filled him in on the big Graviton twist, what it was like to wear his first superhero costume and more.
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CBR: You've played quite a few superhero roles over the years. You've been Nathan Petrelli and Morgan Edge, and you've voiced Iron Man, Hawkeye and Ultron. What separates Graviton from all the rest?
Adrian Pasdar: Well, I mean, a lot of times -- when it's voice over or a voice over character -- it's a different situation altogether. You're relying on the animators to create the physicality of it, and this one was just being created as we went along by the writers. The costume folks had a lot to do with it, obviously. It's been a journey that is a little more organic, although it does stem from a real kind of... You know, I guess it's just one of those things where you feel like you're a little bit more in control of the overall when you're doing live-action stuff than doing voices.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the first time you've gotten to wear an honest to God superhero costume, cape and all. What was that experience like for you?
Well, in my day-to-day real life, I wear one all the time, you see. I'm kidding! I have a fond appreciation for the costume people. It's a lot of work from a lot of different facets of the costume department. You know, there's some of these different people that are involved that I don't even see, that are involved in making the thing happen, with the different fittings and the operations and adjustments and things like that. So it's quite a process! And by the time you get done, you're really inside the process. It's not like somebody just presents you with a suit and says, "Put this on!" It's kind of like you were there from the beginning, so you got to watch it grow, which is a fun part of it.
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When did the writers clue you in on the big Graviton twist?
Oh, from the beginning. I mean, from the beginning of this season, from the end of last year.
What was your gut reaction to reading the script for next week's episode?
Gosh, that's a hard question. It's one I wish I had a really good answer to. When you know that it's coming, and you're talking to everybody about the development of it, and things that precede this script are important, so you learn a little bit of information about things in advance and down the road before they do. It's a much more gradual process. It isn't just like you get the script and then you're like, "Oh, I do this!" You're kind of filtered in. You know what's going on. But obviously, having said all that, it was really exciting to read how it all comes together in the final draft of the script.
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Can you tease your favorite moment or scene from the episode?
Well, that'd be like choosing a favorite breath. You know, all of the cast members are so great. I always love my stuff with Clark [Gregg]. It's always rewarding. It's so bickering and embattled from its genesis that it seems fraught with despair from the beginning, but we always find a way out of it or at least a temporary reprieve from our argument. It's very fun to work with Clark. It's always very rewarding. But it is with every cast member as well. I think one of the best things that happened for the -- well, I can't talk about it. Sorry! I have a sheet here in front of me that I says what I can talk about and can't talk about, and that's on the list of things I can't talk about it.
Talbot and Coulson have more or less stayed on equal footing throughout their rather contentious relationship. How do Talbot's new powers impact that dynamic?
I'm just checking the sheet... Can't talk about it! Sorry! If it was anybody but Marvel... They have a team surrounding my house right now. One false move, and you'll never hear from me again.
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It looks like this week's episode will also put Talbot face-to-face with General Hale, the woman who brainwashed him. Can you tease how that reunion is going to go?
We've had a contentious relationship, I think, a little bit, but her being an Air Force General puts her on immediate equal footing with Talbot. He respects her and that's evidenced in the previous episodes. There's a good relationship, but -- like I said -- it becomes very contentious after I realize what she's put me through and that she's brainwashed me and that she's Hydra and all that stuff, when her truth becomes revealed.
As it is, Talbot has gone through some pretty major changes this season. Will we see that reinvention continue in these next few episodes?
Yeah. The process isn't over yet. I think there's a constant state of growth from him, from Talbot to Graviton, being a fairly liquid transformation, so to speak. There are some changes that do happen. That's all I can say.
How would you describe Talbot's mindset as he goes to confront the Confederacy?
I think he really believes he's doing everything he can to restore his family, his reputation, but -- most importantly -- to save the people from planet Earth. I think he's got it in his head that every move he makes is one step closer to redemption, for having slid so far off the grid. So I think there's a great deal of altruism that's involved in every choice he makes, as well as a great deal of ego, but that's always been there in Talbot.
As we've seen over the course of the season, exposure to gravitonum has some unsavory side effects. How quickly will we see that start to affect Talbot?
Well I think, since he's the only one who's absorbed 100% of it, the side effects are different than they've manifested in others that have come before him, namely [Carl] Creel. Again, it's a great unknown, so it changes him. That's for sure.
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Like you mentioned, Talbot is the only character to absorb 100% of the gravitonium. When he starts to really flex his powers, will we see any surprises?
Absolutely! I can't say what they are, but sure. There's a lot of stuff, I think, that comes up from the writers' room. A lot of those creative minds up there have put some pretty fantastic spins on the stuff that happens in the next few episodes.
Airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5 stars Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Henry Simmons, Ian De Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley and Elizabeth Henstridge.