Jesse Williams and Micheal Peña Interview: Bringing a Little Small Screen to a Blockbuster, and a Little Blockbuster to the Small Screen
When many people think of stars Jesse Williams and Michael Peña, they often think of Dr. Avery on Grey’s Anatomy and Luis from the Ant-Man films. However, in the Paramount+ film Secret Headquarters, the duo truly shines as Captain Irons and Ansel Argon, respectively, due to their charisma and whimsicality in the villainous roles.
Secret Headquarters is a superhero film directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, who co-wrote the movie with Christopher L. Yost and Josh Koenigsberg, based on a story by Yost. The story follows a young boy, Charlie (Walker Scobell) and his friends who begins to suspect his father (Owen Wilson) might be '“the Guard”, the world’s greatest superhero, when Charlie discovers a secret headquarters in his basement. Williams and Peña play two men trying to commandeer the technology of the Guard for their own nefarious purposes.
Williams has been a trademark of the small screen, portraying Jackson Avery on Grey’s Anatomy as well as Station 19, with a foray on to the silver screen with films like Cabin in the Woods. When asked about the transition from the small screen to a blockbuster motion picture Williams states “It was very different” but notes that all sets, regardless of television, film, or streaming have the same goal. “There are some similarities, it’s a set and you have responsibilities” but Williams notes how the real goal was being able to create something for his kids. “This was fast, loose, and really expressive of my inner child, it was an adventure. I knew my kids are going to be able to watch it and all the kids in the film are really great, and being able to have even in the darkest moment a sense of humor or the pursuit of an opportunity for humor with these directors, Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, was just a ton of fun and you know honestly being able to watch Michael and Owen work was a big reason I was excited to do it and you know not only get to do something that you hope is worth watching but being able to watch people who you’ve respected for a long time”.
His partner in crime, Peña is no stranger to blockbuster franchises and films by any means. From his film roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, collaborations with director David Ayer or appearing in many auteur filmmaker films, Peña has built himself quite the impressive catalog in terms of performances. Peña is an actor who has such versatility whenever it comes to the roles he plays, he seemingly knows his audience to a perfect degree. When asked why he joined a project like Secret Headquarters he said: “ I saw the director’s previous movie, Project Power on Netflix and I was blown away by it. [The] performances were good, and so was its story and the special effects and everything worked and clicked. Then I read the script…and then I talked to the directors and I thought they were so cool and I told them, I’m in. ”
Secret Headquarters streams on Paramount Plus on August 12th
Check out the full interview with Michael Peña and Jesse Williams below:
