Paul Bettany Looked To Hugh Laurie, Dick Van Dyke, And Bryan Cranston As Inspiration For WandaVision

Paul Bettany is quite the vision (pun intended) in "WandaVision." You'd think a synthezoid won't have much to offer where emotional complexity is concerned, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe's resident android is a pretty well-rounded guy. Bettany's Vision is a riot alongside Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, whose sense of self-made justice propels her into holding an entire town hostage. The MCU's first-ever limited series is easily one of its best ... if not the best. The story is intriguing, and it helps that you can never guess Wanda's next move. As for Vision: he's a cheerful android who oozes hot dad energy and seamlessly fits into Wanda's WestView: a community where sitcoms become a reality.

Bettany nailed Vision: He was charming, likable, and had plenty of inspiration to drive his performance. The comic-book character holds excellent comedic timing in the limited series — thanks in part to "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and actors Hugh Laurie and Bryan Cranston.

"WandaVision" really leans into popular sitcoms of the past and adopts their structure for its episodes. It's as much a celebration of sitcoms as it is the love story between a witch and an android. An obvious inspiration is "The Dick Van Dyke Show" — the first episode of "WandaVision" is a homage to the classic sitcom and adopts its black-and-white design, among other influences. 

When it came to portraying Vision, Bettany took inspiration from past sitcom stars, telling ScreenRant:

"I drew from a few things, mostly 'The Dick Van Dyke Show.' I would be lying if I didn't say there was a little bit of Hugh Laurie sneaked in there, and later some Bryan Cranston. There's a lot of my favorites."

Bettany continued, suggesting how unique it was for the MCU that we're familiar with to clash with a 1950s black-and-white American sitcom. They're two different worlds you'd never think could come together as one, but "WandaVision" brought them together.

It's fascinating to hear about Bettany's inspirations for Vision. "WandaVision" certainly seemed like the MCU's most ambitious story to date; it worked as a strange version of a commercial from the '60s or so and still packed in emotional weight and incredible performances. It only helped that the events happening in the show were outlandish enough for them to work with "The Dick Van Dyke Show" as its setting!