The two actors are longtime friends off screen and now play even longer-time lovers in Marvel’s latest tentpole.
Real-life friendsGemma ChanandRichard Maddenstar as Sersi and Ikaris in Marvel’sEternals, an ambitious epic from Oscar-winningNomadlanddirectorChloe Zhao.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you two first become friends?
Ikaris (Richard Madden) and Sersi (Gemma Chan) in ‘Eternals.'.Sophie Mutevelian/Marvel Studios
GEMMA CHAN: I think just socially.
RICHARD MADDEN:Because we have so many friends in common.
CHAN: It’s a small world in London.
Brian Bowen Smith/Marvel Studios
MADDEN:Somehow we ended up just spending lots and lots of time together.
[Laughs] And we never ever talked about work!
How did you react when you both were cast inEternals?
“Eternals” begins a new chapter for Marve.Sophie Mutevelian/Marvel Studios
MADDEN: Over the moon.
Because we’ve known each other so long, we already have this trust and rapport.
We know how to push each other’s buttons.
We know how to make each other laugh.
Gemma, you’ve joined the MCU before, as Minn-Erva in 2019’sCaptain Marvel.
What was your reaction when they asked you back forEternals?
CHAN: I was not expecting to be asked back so soon.
[Laughs] Like, maybe at some point in the distant future, if at all.
But it was a nice surprise.
And to be working with this one was a treat.
Obviously I wasn’t going to turn that down.
What was it about this millennia-spanning epic that first hooked you?
What is it about the world around them that they find joy in?
She’s a free spirit.
She’s not your typical warrior-fighter kind of superhero.
Richard, yourGame of Thronesbrother Kit Harington also stars inEternals.
How was that reunion?
MADDEN: Just great.
For each of you, what was the biggest challenge of playing these immortal, seemingly untouchable heroes?
MADDEN: I’d say the same.
What was the superhero training process like?
CHAN: [To Madden] Oh my gosh, you have to do so much.
[It helps] having a friend to say, “Hey, does this look dumb?”
And they’ll say, “Yeah, you look like Peter Pan.”
That helps, having someone to tell you where you fall on the scale of dumb to cool.
MADDEN: Gemma is great at telling you if you look dumb.
CHAN: [Laughs] Hey, you do the same for me!
MADDEN: But she always looks cool all the time, so that’s easy.
