By Mike McCarthy
If you are a Marvel fan like we are and have binge watched Netflix’s hit show Jessica Jones, then Wil Traval aka Det. Will Simpson is well known to you. Wil has been seen before on other shows like Once upon a Time where he had a stint as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Red Widow as Irwin Petrov. Wil spends a lot of time on Wikipedia and gets lost in a wiki-hole if you will for hours at time. Wil’s character in Jessica Jones was in the comics but was known as something else… Nuke. The name was changed a little but the pill popping police detective is definitely Nuke and we hope that if there is a second season the show-runners utilize that aspect of the Marvel universe. Make sure to keep your eyes out for more of Wil’s work but until then watch Jessica Jones on Netflix.
Wingman Magazine: I have heard you spend a lot of time doing impressions. Is it easier for someone from Australia to do a North American accent as opposed to someone from North America to do an English or Australian accent?
Wil Traval: I do, yeah. I spend a lot of time doing stupid voices, but mostly to my wife. It is easier for everyone, especially the actors because we are exposed to so much North America television and cinema. That accent and sound is already in our mind, versus an American trying to do an Aussie accent. If you travel out to the Midwest I don’t think you would encounter too many Australian accents.
Wingman Magazine: You play Will Simpson on the hit Netflix show, Jessica Jones. What about the script drew you to the show?
Wil Traval: The funny thing was, when the show was being started just like all Marvel projects, it was pretty secretive when it comes to the actors and the scripts. What excited me about reading the scripts while working on the show was the allegorical nature of Jessica Jones.It’s really about having a creepy boyfriend who was a rapist and would abuse her. I was so excited about reading the scripts because it was put into the story but it wasn’t heavy-handed and we were dealing with the world of superheroes and Marvel. I thought it was a really nice way to put in modern themes for male and female audiences regarding female issues.
Wingman Magazine: Jessica Jones is an incredibly sexual show, some of your scenes especially. Any awkward or funny stories that occurred while filming these scenes that you can tell us about?
Wil Traval: In episode 11 during the fight between Trish ( Rachael Taylor), Jessica ( Krysten Ritter) and Simpson, there was an injury on set. I ended up shooting entirely with Jess’ stand in and one of the shots rocked Simpson. I don’t mind throwing myself around for a scene or getting hurt but I put a little bit too much into it and put my head through one of the set walls. The entire staff went crazy and I was a little overenthusiastic.
Wingman Magazine: What kind of research did you do when cast? Were you a comic book reader as a kid or as an adult?
Wil Traval: Oh yeah! As soon as I got cast on the show I rushed down to the local comic book store and bought the Alias series. It was the Christmas present to myself that year, since it was a week before Christmas. I sat down over Christmas break and read through and devoured the issues and was so intrigued about being able to create this world.
I think what happened was they opened up the perspective audiences in ways they hadn’t done before. With familiar characters you have a built-in audience and at you at least have people knowing what to expect. With Jessica Jones being more of an unknown character, people can come at it feeling fresh and without too much expectation. I’m meeting people at parties that watch Jessica Jones but haven’t watched any of the other comic book shows before.
I didn’t read Marvel when I was growing up. The closest I got was reading the comicstrips in the newspaper. But we did have X-Men on the television after school which I was always excited to watch.
Wingman Magazine: What episode is your favorite so far and why that one?
Wil Traval: One of my favorite episodes was episode 10 where Simpson burns up the CDC facility. There is a secret fantasy of mine to walk away from a flaming building without looking back. It was really fun to shoot. Also, Rosemary Rodriguez directed the episode and I worked with her a few times and truly enjoy working with her.
Wingman Magazine: Were you a fan of the Comic book genre before you were a part of it?
Wil Traval: I definitely was before, I am a big fan. Winter Soldier is one of my favorite films. I wasn’t really expecting to enjoy that film as much as I did, but I loved it, I really did enjoy the film and the direction of it.
Wingman Magazine: No word on a second season of yet, but after such a stellar first season, what do you think would happen in a second season?
Wil Traval: There is a lot of potential. I hope they start crossing over some of the characters between the shows. I would love to see Daredevil in our world and vice versa. It’s all fantasy at this point, and you try and think up storylines for the future.
Wingman Magazine: Your favorite genre is Sci-Fi but you haven’t really done any sci-fi as of yet…what’s up with that?
Wil Traval: I haven’t encountered an really film scripts for sci-fi that interested me. The ones that I have read have just been terrible and with sci-fi it’s something that you really want to nail or it’s gonna be really bad.