Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Geraldine Viswanathan Explain Val & Mel’s Complex Dynamic in ‘Thunderbolts*’

When the Thunderbolts* finally premiere, and that is going to happen soon, the focus is, of course, going to be on the heroes. But the MCU has proven itself capable of adding interesting supporting and non-hero characters to their stories as well.

Among these characters are certainly Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the director of the CIA, and Mel, her assistant. The duo is played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Geraldine Viswanathan, respectively.

The two of them have an interesting, but complex interpersonal dynamic and that is something that will be explored in the upcoming movie. In light of that, the two actresses have been asked to explain it a bit.

As said, the two actresses recently had a chat with the media, and one of the things they discussed was the relationship between Valentina and Mel. It is a complex one, for sure, but there is a lot under the surface, as well.

Viswanathan considers Valentina a “very powerful, successful woman,” and explains that Mel “looks up to her in a lot of ways, but she’s then confronted by the more complicated, darker sides of that and the reality of how to get to that position. I thought that was really compelling for me. I feel like a lot of young people can identify with that. Yeah, I thought her inner struggle was really interesting.”

She also added that their on-set relationship was quite interesting. “I think Mel really comes into this with a lot of big ideas and big dreams for the future. I think she’s really smart and ambitious, and she knows that she will do something great, but just doesn’t know exactly where she fits in with that yet.”

Louis-Dreyfus added that it she “loved peeling back the layers on Val and figuring out what makes her tick, why she’s built the way she is, and to see her in action in lots of different ways.”

She also praised Valentina, saying: “She’s three steps ahead of people, and then all of a sudden the ground shifts underneath her and she has to pivot, and she does it. So, it’s fun to see her find her way through in a very powerful way in the film.”

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