In VisionQuest, Vision, rebooted and having escaped from those who sought to weaponise him, has been in hiding. Searching for new meaning, he consults the AI personas embedded in his programming, including the villainous Ultron.
When a bounty is placed on his head, Vision is forced to go on the run with Thomas Shepard, a mysterious boy who may be his son, reincarnated. As Vision evades capture, he must confront his nature, resist Ultron's influence, and unravel the enigma that is his young companion if he’s to survive.
The Disney+ series introduces several new characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but few make quite as memorable an impression as Lauren Morais' Lisa Molinari, aka Coat of Arms.
Her complicated relationship with Ruaridh Mollica's Tommy is at the heart of the Disney+ series, and Morais has helped make her a standout addition to the MCU. In our VisionQuest review, we singled out the actress for her "star-making turn."
In this exclusive interview, the Welsh actress opens up about bringing Lisa to life, revealing how she convinced showrunner Terry Matalas to let her use her own Cardiff accent, a decision that adds a welcome bit of Welsh representation to the MCU. Morais also reflects on her chemistry with Mollica, learning to wield Lisa's formidable robotic arms, and sharing the screen with MCU veterans Paul Bettany and James Spader.
With VisionQuest marking such a significant milestone in her career, Morais also discusses the lessons she's taken from the experience, the fan response to Lisa, and where she'd love to see the character's story go next (and what that would mean for her and Tommy).
Check out our full conversation with Lauren in the player below. Make sure to also give the actress a follow on Instagram @laurenmoraisss!
I’ve been lucky enough to see the entire series, and I know how great it is. I’m also Welsh, so to hear a Welsh accent in the MCU was very cool. Were you surprised that you got to use that, or were they looking for a regional accent?
Well, I auditioned in an Essex accent for almost the whole thing until my last one, and then we tried different ones. I did a northern accent, did an American accent and then Fran, our makeup and hair designer, said to Terry, "I think you should try the Welsh." And I did it in the room, and he liked it. But then I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue in it because I got the job, and then I went to the cast on, and the next day I was in the reading of it, and I was like, I’m going to take a chance. I’m just going to do it in my Cardiff accent, and then I went up to Terry. I was like, "Can I do it in the Welsh accent?" He was like, "Go for it." Loved it. So then now Lisa Molinari is Welsh and from Cardiff, which I absolutely adore.
That is awesome. I mean, you know, coming on board a project as big as this one, it must be quite special to you to have your Welshness front and centre.
Yeah. I mean, it’s so special, and I’m so happy that they let me do it because, like, I went to Welsh medium schools and I did the Eisteddfods. I did the acting and singing, and it was nice to have a bit of that culture that really sprung me into the arts being Welsh itself, and it was so fun to have now a Welsh character in the MCU, and where will that go? Do you know what I mean? And doing it alongside Ruaridh with a Scottish accent, and Orla has an Irish accent. I think it’s so sick that we have so many people from different walks of life in VisionQuest.
I’m originally from just down the road from you in Abergavenny, so as soon as I heard that Welsh accent, I was like, "Oh my God, finally in the MCU, we’re hearing one." It’s very cool.
Yeah. It’s so sick. And in the first episodes, I got a little mention of Cardiff town in it. I had to do it.
With Marvel, there’s going to be a lot of secrecy as well. So, I’d love to know: how did you come to be involved with VisionQuest? And at what point did you learn that you were auditioning for this massive MCU TV show?
Well, at first I got a tape in, and all it said was Untitled Marvel Project. And you know, you get those ones in and as an actor you audition all the time. So, you’re like, "Okay, will I get it? I don’t know." I just saw it, and I was like, "Oh, I’d love this." And then I read the sides, signed all the NDAs, read the sides, fell in love with Lisa and her wit and funness. It was the scene on the bus, which is one of my favourite scenes of hers. So, I did that, and then I got a call to go in with the casting director, and we did so many different takes, and I actually came out of that audition like I don’t know if I did well on that. And then I was working at cinema at the time, and Captain America was coming out. So, it was always in the background. I was like Marvel’s in the background, and I was just like, you know, you hope for things like this. And then I had a chemistry reading at Pinewood, which was an amazing experience in itself. And I was proud of myself for getting that far. And I did that with Ruaridh. And then I had a fourth round. And in that fourth round, the producer showed me a photo of Lisa Molinari and her many arms and her really cool coat. And I was like, "Oh my god, this is so cool." And I kind of figured out by then it was VisionQuest because I really liked Agatha All Along and WandaVision, and I knew something was coming out in the trilogy. So I freaked out, and then when I got it, it was an absolutely joyous whirlwind from there.
Coat of Arms is a character who’s only been around since 2009, which in comic book terms is pretty short. So, were there any particular aspects of the character from the page that you wanted to bring to the show, or did you rely more on Terry’s writing and what he wanted to do with Lisa?
I think a bit of both, especially with me adding my Welsh accent, but I think from the comics, what I really loved was her quick artistic side. She’s an artist in it, and her ability to wrestle through the morality of villains and superheroes and what that means. And I think that comes out of her in the series anyway, like figuring out this father figure called Vision, who’s a robot that’s suddenly into Tommy’s life. And Tommy’s obviously going for it because he’s searching for his family. And Lisa’s a bit at first a bit dubious of this at first. And I think her ability to question things is apparent in the comics, and then working with Terry, with the incredible script and bringing, you know how it is being Welsh yourself, bringing that Cardiff girl to it, walking around thinking, and I also brought that kind of vibe to it.
You mentioned Ruaridh Mollica, and the relationship between Lisa and Tommy is such a huge part of the series and such a great arc for you as an actor. How was it working with Ruaridh to find that dynamic? And did you find that it evolved as the weeks and months went by working on the show?
Absolutely. I mean, we started, actually, I believe, with the bus scene, which is our meeting anyway. Yeah. I remember being in rehearsal. So, we were getting to know each other in real time, which I do think Chris did on purpose. And we were both starting this cool MCU journey together. So, I think that was really lovely to have that experience with him, and we just had a lot of fun. And we were so passionate about our characters, and we talked to each other about the backstories, and I think it was so easy working with Ruaridh. I mean, he’s an amazing actor, and he’s just a fun person to be with. And then as the series gets on and you’ve seen it and you know the scenes in Madripoor and all the cool things, we were just like kids in a toy shop in Madripoor. It was really fun.
I obviously need to be careful about spoilers at this point, but the trailers have shown Lisa with her robotic arms. What was that side of things like for you, with the VFX?
I mean, that was so fun because I had sessions with the fight team in Pinewood. We did like a bit of boxing, and I trained with stage combat as well. So, it’s really fun to use those skills as well. And it was funny because I had to imagine this robot arm coming out of myself, and they would be like, you need to think about where you’re aiming and where the power’s coming from. I felt really cool doing that. And also, I had really good advice from Paul. He came up to me one day when it was one of those scenes where I had to pretend I had these robot arms in front of everyone, and he was like, "You’re going to feel very silly, but if you go for it and if you commit to it, it will look sick." And I can confirm it does look sick. Paul Bettany is right, to be fair to him.
Talking of Paul, you work with him and James Spader, and James in particular, I imagine, must have been quite an experience in and of itself, but what did you learn from those two? And were there any standout kind of moments you got to share with them?
I think what I’ve learned from them both is the ability to be on set and how to have fun and have relationships with the crew, and you know, you can be a bit mischievous, but when it comes down to it, know your stuff and know the world. They are passionate themselves about the MCU, and they’ve been in it for a long time. So, it was nice watching them, and they’d have so much fun with us, but they’d come so amazingly prepared. They knew exactly the beats, the story, and how this scene would affect scenes to come in a couple of episodes. I thought, you know, as an actress starting out in this huge world, it was a joy to watch. I really admired that about them. They can have fun, but when it comes down to it, they know exactly what to do. I think that’s really cool of them.
This is such a big role to land so early on in your career and, you know, the character just takes you to so many places. There are lots of surprises on the way with how her story plays out, but what do you think you’ll take from this experience into your career moving forward?
I think, wow, that’s a really good question. I think a lot of what I take is the sheer commitment and how it pays off, and also the lessons I’ve learned from Spader and Paul Bettany of being able to have fun and create a family on set but also be dedicated to your work and be passionate about the work. I think it's definitely something that I’ll take with me for a long time. And learning to be on bigger sets and not being scared of it. I feel a lot more braver now, I’d say.
Like a lot of actors, you now have to wait for Marvel to get back in touch about where you might show up next. But what would you like to see from Lisa? I know that there’s the Young Avengers people keep talking about. Maybe that’s something that could happen.
I mean, as you’ve seen in the comics, her complicated relationship with Tommy and how they wrestle the two groups they’re in, like Dark Reign and how she questions him, he questions her. I think that’ll be such an exciting dynamic to explore. And again, what I was saying earlier about her villain and whether she actually believes in it and superheroes, and I mean how we started this journey of Lisa in VisionQuest being a pickpocket on the streets. I think it’s a very interesting conversation to have, and I really like the dynamic between Tommy and Lisa in the comics because it’s so complicated and it goes on such a journey. I think it’ll be so fun to see that.
The reviews for the show have been great. You’ve had a really positive reaction to your character from fans. What does it mean to you to see that?
Well, I think Terry’s done such a good job bringing all the Easter eggs and bringing the things that the fans love and have wanted. I think it's such a lovely trilogy because you have so much humanity in it and so many themes between fathers and sons that we don’t see too often, and grief and love and the complexity of being a human, but also wrapped up in incredible wit. I mean, E.D.I.T.H. is incredible. And I can’t wait for people to see Tania as Jocasta because that’s such a complicated character as well. So I think it’s been great that the fans can have such a dichotomy of these huge themes, but also they get to have lasers and robot arms and mind spaces and callbacks to WandaVision and Agatha. I think, you know, Terry obviously, as someone who’s worked in science fiction, deeply cares about the fans, and he, as a fan himself of science fiction, I think that he’s done such a good job of remembering who it’s for.
Thank you so much for your time. I thought your performance in the series was fantastic, and it’s so great to have another Welsh actor out there in something as huge as the MCU. You must be so proud and so happy with this one.
Thank you so much. I am. It’s been such an incredible journey. I can’t believe it. It’s been lovely to speak to a fellow Welshy.
VisionQuest is now streaming on Disney+.