Having acted beside him inDaredevilseason 2 andThe Punisherseason 1, Deborah Ann Woll, who played Karen Page in both MarvelNetflixseries, reflected on what it was like working with Jon Bernthal, who played the titular character for the latter show.
Woll could not stop gushing about what it was like to work with Bernthal, who played the most direct and callous version of The Punisher role. Even though Bernthal is a committed and intense actor, Woll made it clear how much they enjoyed working together.
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During an interview onInside of You, Woll talked about her rapport with Bernthal while working together. “I can only speak from our relationship. He was supportive. He lifted me up. He always talked about how excited he was to work with me. How much he wanted me to cross over and do thework with him onThe Punisher. We would still love to work together on other things in the future. I have a lot of love and respect for Jon.” Woll then got candid on Bernthal’s open-minded approach with scenes. “John will read something, and he’ll be like, ‘Okay he’s good, but why would I give her a gun?’ and then you’re like, ‘Oh! Why would he?’ And suddenly you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, that doesn’t make any sense!’ then suddenly you’ve got an hour on set where you’re trying to figure out what you’re going to do instead because Jon is kind of too good at what he does.”
Despite Frank Castle’s reputation as arguably one of the most intimidating known criminals to the public, Page was one of the few who got to know the real him and his true intentions. That’s why she was always on his side whenever he got himself into legal trouble. Having a good relationship with the people you work with can play a pivotal role in how shows work as well as they do. It’s clear Woll and Bernthal developed a good relationship when they worked together, which helped them play off each other as well as they did inDaredevilandThe Punisher.
Bernthal has risen through the ranks over the past decade as one of the modern tough guys. From his first breakout role asShane inThe Walking Deadto playing Jordan Belfort’s drug dealer inThe Wolf of Wall Streetto giving what fans believe is the best performance as the Marvel anti-hero Frank Castle inThe Punisher. Doing so has led to Bernthal getting prominent roles in more popular movies likeFord vs. Ferrari,Baby Driver, andThe Many Saints of Newark. Even though not all the projects got a unanimously good reception, Bernthal’s performances were never considered part of the problem.
With Bernthal rumored to return as Castle in the MCU, many wonder if it will be in the same setting or if they plan to utilize him differently. What makes the character so much different from other Marvel characters is that he is more than happy to kill people who are threats. Will the MCU make his character more family-friendly? If they do, it might be in their best interest tobring back Woll’s Karen Pagewith him to bring that sense of optimism as Netflix did.
