Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter is strong, sophisticated in “Captain America”
Hayley Atwell plays British agent Peggy Carter, part of the team who helps to train scrawny Steve Rogers in “Captain America: The First Avenger.” Once Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) receives the super-soldier serum to become America’s athletic, star-spangled hero of World War II, Atwell’s Carter is part of the unit that helps Captain America face off against the villainous Hydra and the Red Skull. “Captain America” is available on DVD and Blu-ray this week.
The half-British, half-American Atwell grew up in London, but spent summers in Kansas City, Mo.
For “Captain America,” she went through extensive training with an ex-Marine to become Agent Peggy Carter.
“It was a matter of making sure that physically she was strong and fit and looked like she could hold a gun and hold her own in quite an action-packed, male-dominated environment,” Atwell said in a phone interview promoting “Captain America.”
“And it felt like it paid off. It gave me tremendous energy and vitality and confidence, not to mention stronger biceps.”
But Peggy Carter isn’t only strong, she’s also sexy.
“We looked at kind of old Hollywood glamour, the Lauren Bacalls, and the pencil skirts of the 40s, and found a way to make the uniform look practical and strong, but also sexy and sophisticated as well.”
Atwell said she felt women of the 1940s made an effort to look their best at all times, which was reflected in Peggy Carter.
So even when Carter is chasing the bad guys, “she still managed to go and powder her nose and put some red lipstick on,” Atwell said.
She said working with star Chris Evans was inspiring.
“He’s a really smart guy, and I thought he brought so much sensitivity to this role,” she said. “Not just the physical aspect of it, which he obviously was clearly capable of doing, but then you see there’s quite a sensitive side to what Chris can do as an actor.”
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Features Editor Matthew Price has worked for The Oklahoman since 2000. He’s a University of Oklahoma graduate who has also worked at the...
