At long last,Ironheartis streaming on Disney+, bringing us up to speed on what’s going on withDominique Thorne’s Riri Williams after the events ofBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever. In this interview, Collider’sSteve Weintraubchats with Thorne andAnthony Ramos, who plays Parker, a.k.a.The Hood, to discuss the motivations behind these two opposing forces.
In the show,genius inventor Ririheads back home to Chicago from MIT, where she finds herself embroiled in a battle of technology versus magic after aligning herself with the enigmatic Parker Robbins (Ramos).Ironheartalso starsAlden Ehrenreich,Lyric Ross,Zoe Terakes,Eric André,Jim Rash, and more.
In the spoiler-free half of our conversation, Williams and Ramos comment on why it took so long forIronheartto take flight after executive producerRyan Coogler’sWakanda Forever(2022). They also talk about the inspiration and motivations of their two characters, who challenge the notion of greatness with each of their abilities. Thorne also addresses the “iconic” television antiheroes that Riri’s choices could be compared to.
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“Are we the Sopranos or Ocean’s 11?”
COLLIDER: You filmed this back in the 1800s. What has taken so long for this to come out? Because it’s good. It’s not like this needed to be hidden.
ANTHONY RAMOS: Well, finally, we have electricity. Right? Then, TVs were invented, so finally, now, we’re able to see it.
DOMINIQUE THORNE: [Laughs] Exactly that. Honestly, I don’t even think “hidden” is the right word. Shout out to the folks up top who knew thatwe had something special and wanted to make sure that everything was right, the temperature was perfect, for it to come out into the world. There’s been a lot going on in the industry, and all the things, so I definitely think it’s right on time.
One of the things that I found compelling about your character, and that’s so different than the typical MCU, is that your character is flawed and is dealing with a lot of trauma and makes a lot of bad decisions. I’m joking around, but who’s worse? Tony Soprano, Walter White or Riri Williams?
RAMOS: That’s crazy! [Laughs]
THORNE: Whoa!
I’m joking, but when you watch the show, shedoesmake a lot of…
THORNE: I don’t know if I’m mad at that lineup.
RAMOS: That’s kind of crazy.
THORNE: That’s insane, Steve. That’s insane, but that’s also kind of iconic. I’m not mad at that at all. Oh my god. Well, she asks, “Are we the Sopranos or Ocean’s 11?” So I feel like she can’t be Tony Soprano because she’s already not trying to do that.
Being serious, one of the things I think is so compelling is that she is a flawed character and she’s dealing with a lot of baggage and trauma, which facilitates why she makes these sometimes very bad decisions.
THORNE: Yeah. Absolutely. That’s something that makes me really excited about the show and about the future that we have with it, especially considering where we left off. FromWakanda Forever, we saw thatRiri was not necessarily eager to assume any sort of superhero responsibility, but she also recognizes the importance of folks in that position, and specifically with the improvements and advancements that she’s been able to see and realize within the tech space. So, she’s, at every major turning point, really making those choices and trying to do the best that she can to balance the truth of who she is with what she knows she could be, and that’s why I think this is a good story.
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Anthony Ramos on Finding the Delivery for The Hood
“Just because he’s a criminal doesn’t mean he can’t be human.”
Anthony, I really dug your portrayal of Parker, The Hood. One of the reasons is that often, in a lot of movies, the antagonist is so over the top. I’m like, “This is not realistic.” Your portrayal is so realistic. You’re talking to a found family, and you’re talking very charismatically and recruiting people in. Can you talk about how you figured out that portrayal and where that line was in terms of the delivery?
RAMOS: When you think about any of the drug dealers that were in the hood, at least for me, that I grew up in, they were charismatic. They were very smart. They did have a family around them. They knew how to get what they wanted, and they had money. In some ways, you were like, “Wow. Dang! I’d like to have character traits like that,” whether you agreed with what they were doing or not. And Parker, this guy being a criminal, I’m like, “Just because he’s a criminal doesn’t mean he can’t be human.” He’s human, and he genuinely believes that what he’s doing is right. And to some degree, you’re like, “Dang, I can’t really knock him for doing that.”
It’s also the way you’re delivering, your performance, really. It’s very charismatic. You could see how people get pulled it.
THORNE: Absolutely.
RAMOS: Thanks. I appreciate that.
Ironheartis now streaming on Disney+. For our spoiler conversation with Ramos and Thorne about the finale,head over here.
