Posted in: HBO, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: hbo max, james gunn, John Cena, John Economos, peacemaker, steve agee

Peacemaker: Steve Agee on James Gunn, Economos, Joking on Set & More

HBO Max's DCEU television series Peacemaker is currently burning up the streaming charts and a big part of the show's success can be attributed to this guy with two thumbs, Steve Agee. Based on the DC Comics character and executive produced and written by James Gunn, the action-comedy series follows Peacemaker (John Cena), who's dedicated to achieving peace no matter what the cost (or body count). Agee steals every scene he is in as ARGUS's top tech guy John Economos, who you may remember from Warner Bros' The Suicide Squad, Gunn's hyper-violent & triumphant take on the popular DC Comics team. A Gunn "regular" known for doing the motion capture for King Shark in The Suicide Squad, Gef the Ravager in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Agee has also had roles in Brightburn and Super (both projects helmed by Gunn). Additional roles include Outside Dave on New Girl, Isaac on Superstore, and Drunk History. You may also remember several appearances on Comedy Central's @Midnight, a show Agee felt was made just for him. Dropping new episodes on Thursday, HBO Max's Peacemaker picks up right where The Suicide Squad left off as we follow the titular superhero as a member of the black ops team 'Project Butteryfly' that violently protects the world from an alien invasion. Now, in the first half of Bleeding Cool's conversation with Cena's "Guy in the Chair," Agee shares how he met and befriended Gunn, how he is not that dissimilar from Economos, and how the levels that the cast will go to crack each other up.

Can you talk a little bit about how you originally hooked up with James Gunn to become his "lucky charm"? 

Steve Agee: I don't know if I'm his lucky charm or he's my lucky charm. I met James probably in either 2008 or 2009. We had a mutual friend, Shawnee Smith (Becker, Scream Queens), she called me one night and said, I'm going to a wine and cheese hangout at Sean Gunn's house. James had invited her, and she was worried that she wouldn't know anybody other than James. She asked if I would go with her, and that's when I met James. We immediately hit it off. I mean, we were joking around and by the end of the night he said 'We do this every Sunday, feel free to come by whenever you want.' I just kept showing up every Sunday. I don't know if he really thought I would take him up on that, but I showed up every Sunday. Not just James, but everyone. I loved all his friends, (Michael) Rucker and Nathan Fillion. I think that's how I met Seth Green, everyone was so sweet and nice, and it was so fun. I just kept going. Shawnee, coincidentally, never went back. 

What aspects of your own personality would you say that you're bringing to your performance as Economos? 

SA: He's not a lot unlike me. You can see the reluctance in his eyes and hearing his voice when he has to go out into the field, at the sheer possibility of having to confront somebody like a bad guy or fight. He's not into that shit. He likes computers. He likes being at his desk and snacking. That's not unlike me. I don't like confrontation. I don't like the idea of getting into a fight. But you can also tell this is a guy who is kind of a little bit jealous of people who can do what Peacemaker and Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) do. I think it is episode two when Danielle Brooks (Leota Adebayo) comes into the office, she says 'They shot at us.' and she's super excited. 'Have you ever been shot at?' You can just see it when I'm bummed out. He likes the idea of adventure, but he really does not want to step out of his comfort zone, and I'm very much like that. 

With all these hilarious people on Peacemaker, were there any practical jokes or fooling around on set? 

SA: It's really funny because we like to try to make each other laugh, but that usually doesn't come until we've got the scene. We have it in case we need to move on, we're good to go. James lets us keep doing takes. That's usually when we try to make each other start laughing. The biggest example of somebody breaking was Danielle Brooks in that first episode where we meet Cena in this trailer with the whole team. Danielle could not get through a take without laughing. Once she started laughing, I just pulled my phone out and started videotaping her, and that made her laugh more.  There's definitely a lot of us trying to make each other laugh. 

And here's a look at the complete Bleeding Cool interview:

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