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Miriam Margolyes Turned Down Half A Million Pounds For Marvel's Agatha

In the introduction to her autobiography, Miriam Margolyes writes "I even had to turn down Marvel because... the money wasn't enough."



Article Summary

  • Miriam Margolyes reveals turning down Marvel's half-million offer.
  • Autobiography excerpt discusses increased fame and work offers.
  • Marvel's role involved witches, filming in Atlanta for Agatha series.
  • Desire for a million pounds, and not liking America, led to declining the Marvel role.

In the introduction to the second volume of her autobiography, Oh Miriam!: Stories From An Extraordinary Life, actor/writer Miriam Margolyes OBE of Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and Blackadder writes "I thought this would be a peaceful period, but it isn't. For reasons which I will attempt to analyse, in the past decade I have become much more well known – even referred to as a 'National Treasure' or – more cruelly accurate – a 'National Trinket'. And the corollary of that is that I now receive appalling remarks in the comment pages of the Daily Telegraph, a nasty newspaper for nasty people I much enjoy reading. (I do get the Guardian online too.) I have never been older or busier. Suddenly, I am overwhelmed with offers: documentaries, radio plays, theatre events (The Addams Family, to play Grandma), voice-overs, the whole range of work available to performers. And many films, all over the world, in New Zealand, in Prague, in Australia. I even had to turn down Marvel because the timing didn't work and the money wasn't enough."

Miriam Margolyes Turned Down Half A Million Offer For Marvel's Agatha
YouTube screencap of Miriam Margolyes

So what was the Marvel gig she turned down? Miriam Margolyes was asked that on an Australian TV show last year, the country she has recently made her own, and stated, "this was only about two months ago, they rang up my agent and I didn't know, I hadn't really heard of Marvel because, when I was little Marvel was a comic. They just contacted me and said we're doing a story witches. I thought, oh God, not witches again, because I've done that with Harry Potter and they said we're filming in Atlanta, Georgia in America and that of course was a bit disappointing because I don't like America. And I didn't want to be in Georgia for four months, so I just said, well I want a million pounds and they said well you can have half a million and I said no I don't want to do it so I just stopped it. I mean really it's a story about my own greed…"

A Marvel project about witches being filmed in Atlanta last year? Well, that would be Agatha. Created by Jac Schaeffer for Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics character Agatha Harkness created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1969 for the Fantastic Four. And a spin-off from the series WandaVision, with Kathryn Hahn returning as Agatha Harkness, as well as Aubrey Plaza, Joe Locke, Patti LuPone, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, and Miles Gutierrez-Riley… but not Miriam Margolyes.


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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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