Daredevil: Born Again Stars Reveal Why They Share So Little Screen Time [Exclusive Interview]

First impressions can be deadly, as "Daredevil: Born Again" proves quite emphatically as early as its premiere episode, and the same holds true for its two main stars: Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. Throughout the course of Netflix's "Daredevil" series, the two leading men have built up a superhero/supervillain dynamic to rival the likes of any other in the comic book legendarium. That's partly the result of familiarity breeding contempt in the best possible way — spending over a decade acting opposite each other since the first season of "Daredevil" goes a long way towards refining the prickly chemistry between these two characters. More than that, however, there's the matter of actors taking ownership of their respective roles and going out of their way to ensure that less truly is more.

That's the key point that both Cox and D'Onofrio wanted to emphasize when I recently spoke to both of them over Zoom in an exclusive interview. It might be somewhat startling to realize that, despite bobbing and weaving against each other in a boxing match for the ages throughout three entire seasons of "Daredevil," the two hardly ever spend any scenes sharing the actual screen together, aside from a few notable interactions. Was that a source of frustration for the two dynamic performers this time around, or was there power in restraint and leaving us wanting more? "I think Charlie and I both feel the same about that question you just asked," D'Onofrio replies, smoothly deflecting the question as if he were Fisk himself in a mayoral debate. Still, even that implicitly confirms both actors actually have discussed this very topic together in the past. According to Cox:

"I think that, on a personal level, we love working together. It's such fun, and those days ... I long for them. Bringing these two iconic characters together and the fun we have as actors portraying them is the best. I think that you're right insofar as — you have to think of these characters as when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. When they collide, it is explosive. And we have to maintain those stakes. So if you bring them together too often where nothing happens, other than just a conversation, then you start to lose those stakes that we talked about."

If "Daredevil: Born Again" is working overtime to keep the fire burning between Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock instead of flaming out, then it should come as no surprise that the first two episodes of the series dedicate a fair amount of narrative space to Fisk's campaign to run for mayor of New York City — and, in the process, shine even more light on exactly who this fearsome antagonist really is deep down. Of course, his new pivot in strategy to help save his city (from his point of view, at least) also means a dramatic shift in what he can and can't do anymore. Gone are the days of smashing henchmen's heads on car doors or throttling blind lawyers while in prison. Instead, Fisk now has to take a more subtle approach to navigating the ins and outs of a life as a public servant. That's tough when half of his constituents seem to worship the ground he walks on, while the other half wants him in prison. (Remind you of anyone these days?)

Yet even in these unfamiliar waters, his true identity as the Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen and his penchant for sudden violence still lurk just beneath the surface. I asked Vincent D'Onofrio about the character's new focus this season and how that factors into the barely-suppressed "rage" he's tapped into previously ... and, surprisingly, the actor pushed back against the notion that he feels that specific emotion in the first place. As he eloquently put it:

"In my execution of the character, it's part of the execution to have something simmering underneath — a strong emotion of some kind — that I'm suppressing. It's usually ... I wouldn't exactly call it 'rage,' but it's reactionary to events that have happened before in my life, so that is all simmering underneath, it's true. That character, when he speaks and when he does things, I think it's vital that there is that kind of ... his foundation is broken, and that can be turned dangerous."

That's certainly putting it mildly, as we're sure to find out as the season progresses. "Daredevil: Born Again" streams new episodes on Disney+ every Tuesday.