'As the new kid, I was pretty scared': Guardians of the Galaxy 3's Will Poulter on joining Marvel

He's no newbie in acting, but his first experience with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was eye-opening for Will Poulter.

Will shared in a press conference last Saturday (April 29) that he was very nervous entering the MCU as the "new kid" on the block.

"I was nervous from the outside looking in," the 30-year-old English actor said.

"I think it's because I'm a really big fan of the Guardians movies. And within the Marvel universe, this is the trilogy, as it now is, of films that I'm the biggest admirer of.

"And so you look at something as a fan and you think, 'That's cool', and you appreciate that as a fan for what it is — and that's what it will always be. You don't imagine yourself being a part of it."

The fact that Will was able to play a part in the film was inherently "exciting", he said, and the other members on set helped him acclimate to the new environment of the MCU.

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Will previously acted in films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010), The Maze Runner (2014) and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018).

Speaking about director James Gunn and the cast members, Will said: "James makes a point of making the set a really fun environment and he surrounds himself with really great people… it just made the experience so, so fun. 

"Which is really, really important because there's pressure as a new kid - I was pretty scared — so that made it easy."

Will plays Adam Warlock in the film, who is introduced as the "Warlock" - the apex of his people — of the highly advanced, genetically engineered race known as the Sovereigns.

However, Adam was pulled from his cocoon too early and proved to be an incomplete product of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), failing to meet his maker's expectations as he goes up against the Guardians, a team of heroes led by Star-Lord (Chris Pratt).

Will even found similarities between himself and his character: "I think the thing that I shared with Adam Warlock was probably that sense of trying to work out what the hell was going on…

"I was the new kid on the block arriving on this set, very much like how Adam Warlock arrived into the world, trying to find his way and work out the rules."

'You were a big disappointment'

Apart from how Will felt with his foray into Marvel, press conference host Nathan Fillion also dug deeper and asked how Will's family reacted to his role.

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"It's funny. My family are mostly all medics, nurses, and doctors or whatever. So this sounds cheesy, but they're real-life superheroes, that kind of thing, right?"

Nathan, 52, quipped to the humour of everyone attending the conference: "So you were a big disappointment."

Once the laughter subsided, Will continued: "Huge. But they're very supportive and very excited for me, and they've since watched all of the Guardians."

Will reportedly struggled in school due to developmental coordination disorder and dyslexia.

Will's parents were the only two people within his family and group of friends who had never watched any of the Guardians films, he shared.

"They watched them back-to-back as soon as I got the role and have been very excited ever since."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqcncLPi9zw[/embed]

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 also stars Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillian and Sean Gunn, and will be out in cinemas here on May 4.

ALSO READ: DC Studios co-chair James Gunn snaps back after fan slams him for promoting rival Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

khooyihang@asiaone.com

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