Eternals actor Richard Madden detailed what it was like to portray Ikaris, a character defined by his constant struggle with love versus duty, in the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
"I really loved it. I'm kind of used to playing lovers often," Madden revealed during an Eternals press conference attended by CBR. "And to play someone who's such a soldier, but is completely driven by love, all his decisions are driven by love, and it's actually him that's wrestling with that -- I'm used to characters who are very focused on their love, and that comes out."
Madden added that one of the most interesting characteristics of Ikaris is that his internal struggle was actually "the opposite of that," noting, "He's kind of trying to bury that love because it gets in the way of his duty, and is constantly wrestling the two."
"And that's kinda what made it really interesting for me to pull out that relationship with all the characters from Sprite to Sersi, and --and kind of work out what this relationship is, when you're trying to stick to duty, but your feelings get in the way," he continued. "It's this kind of eternal soldier wrestling that."
The Ikaris character was created by Jack Kirby and first appeared in The Eternals #1, which was published in July 1976. He is known as the son of the Eternals Virako and Tulayn and was born more than 20,000 years ago in Polaria, in the area now known as Siberia. Ikaris also holds the title of Prime Eternal.
In a separate interview, Madden also opened up about the importance of Ikaris and Sersi (Gemma Chan) being a part of the MCU's first onscreen sex scene. "Much like the diversity in the film, I feel like that intimate moment is also something that should be normalized," he said at the time. "I think it gives an insight into a very intimate moment in the lives of people who are actually very private and untouchable beings. To see them be intimate together is a special, delicate thing."
Despite garnering mixed reviews from critics so far, Eternals is predicted to bring in an estimated $75 million domestically during its opening weekend. In comparison, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings earned $75,388,688 during its opening weekend in September and Ant-Man and the Wasp generated $75,812,205 back in 2018.
Directed by Chloé Zhao, Eternals stars Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani and Kit Harington. The film debuts in theaters on Nov. 5.
Source: Eternals press conference