Paul Bettany, Marvel Cinematic Universe's Vision, spoke to Collider's Maggie Lovitt at MegaCon about playing the Avengers hero for more than 15 years.
However, Vision has only really been visible in recent years with his roles in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2018's Avengers: Infinity War and 2019's Avengers: Endgame. These were followed up by his first MCU leading role in the limited series WandaVision with Scarlet Witch played by Elizabeth Olsen.
Paul Bettany's Vision in WandaVision
WandaVision allowed them to delve more into the couple's relationship in greater detail, after Vision was killed by Thanos in Infinity War. Years after Vision's heartbreaking death, Bettany is dishing on why the scene needed improvisation.
The actor said that his character's dramatic and tragic death behind the scenes didn't go exactly as planned. There's an element of secrecy when it comes to Marvel movies. This meant that the cast wouldn't know what scenes are being shot until the last minute.
Hence, Bettany and Olsen were only shown what the death scene could look like, which didn't really work for the actors. This meant that directors Joe and Anthony Russo needed them to improvise.
“It was hilarious. None of us knew who was gonna die until like the day before or something like that,” Bettany said.
“They showed us a sort of pre-visualization of that and everybody was like, well, I guess I gotta take the kids out of private school,” he added jokingly.
He then explained the initial scripted scene didn't work as it was planned, which needed both actors to pivot.
“The Russo Brothers came up to us and said, ‘Hey, listen, can you just improvise the scene?'” Bettany began.
“And I go, ‘What? Improvise being a robot getting killed?' I've got no frame of reference! And Lizzie was just laughing at it, and we're so relaxed with each other that… I don't know how it would've worked other than that, because we both really trust each other and, somehow, we got to something that worked,” he added.
From JARVIS to Vision
Before becoming the sentient Vision in the Age of Ultron, Bettany also played Tony Stark's AI, JARVIS (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System). He told the story of how he ended up being cast for the role in 2008's Iron Man.
“Jon Favreau [also Iron Man's director and Happy, Tony Stark's driver/bodyguard], who played my agent in a movie called Wimbledon, he said, ‘Look, I'm directing this thing called Iron Man and I need somebody who has no personality at all, and I immediately thought of you,” he related.
“How do you say no to that? So I was doing it, and it was a lot of fun and I turn up at the end and solve everybody's problem, solve what they hadn't been able to make clear [on] camera, I could just say, ‘The bad guys are coming, and they're right behind you!' or whatever… I think I made everybody laugh, and they went, oh, it'd be nice to have him on set. That's how I think it happened. I think they just thought I'd be fun to hang out with,” Bettany continued.
The actor also dove into how he was able to humanize Vision, who was created through the amalgamation of the Mind Stone and JARVIS.
“My plan for him was that he's sort of omnipotent when he's born. And then as he gets more and more sophisticated with the amount of data he's receiving, he becomes more human. I mean, I guess when you're doing robots or artificial people or whatever it is, I guess there are two stories [that apply] really… Pinocchio and Frankenstein – ‘I'm a real boy now or who made me and what for?' We were definitely in the Pinocchio camp,” Bettany expounded.
However, that meant moving from a recording studio — where he was for JARVIS — to the actual set for Vision. There's also Vision's look, specifically his color which is a cross between beetroot red and oxblood.
“I mean, that's the bit that I think my dresser should get paid extra for,” he said laughing.
“The process is arduous. I have a radiator, that's underneath [the costume] that just pumps cold water that I have to carry around in the bag. A little like being inside a gin and tonic,” the British actor stated.
With rumors swirling around about the OG Avengers returning, there could be a place for Bettany. Not as Vision, but as JARVIS. At least it would give him respite from being painted more than 50 shades of red.
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