SAGINAW, MI — A Saginaw-born Broadway and Hollywood actor just joined one of the most successful television-and-film franchises of all time: the comic book-inspired Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Brian d’Arcy James is featured in “Hawkeye,” a critically-acclaimed Disney+ series that released the first two of its six episodes earlier this week.
James’ role in the show begins in the very first scene. He plays Derek Bishop, father of Kate Bishop, the show’s lead heroine (portrayed by Oscar-nominated actor, Hailee Steinfeld).
“Hawkeye” takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a franchise that includes all-time box office hits such as “Avengers: End Game,” “Black Panther” and “Iron Man.” “Hawkeye” serves as part of the films’ streaming service-based companion pieces, which include other popular 2021 titles, including “Loki” and “WandaVision.”
“Hawkeye” follows the further adventures of Clint Barton — a.k.a. the bow and arrow-savvy Hawkeye — after he meets Kate Bishop, a 22-year-old archer whose idolization of the superhero puts her in harm’s way. The show features plenty of comic book-style action, but many critics praise it for its buddy-comedy energy. The storyline takes place in the days leading up to Christmas, injecting plenty of holiday themes into the plot.
According to IMDb, James appears in all but one of the show’s six episodes, which premiere each Wednesday until the Dec. 22 finale.
December will be a spotlight month for the 53-year-old actor. He also will star in the Steven Spielberg-directed remake of the popular musical, “West Side Story.”
The 2021 film will debut simultaneously in theaters and on the online streaming service, HBO Max, on Friday, Dec. 10.
The 1986 graduate of Nouvel Catholic Central High School in Saginaw Township was introduced to much of the performing arts world via Broadway. There, he donned green makeup as the titular character in “Shrek the Musical” from 2008-09, when he earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.
The performance later was captured for a feature-length film available now on Netflix.
Playing Shrek earned him the second of three Tony Award nominations for leading actor in a musical. The first was for “Sweet Smell of Success” in 2002. He also received a nomination for “Something Rotten!” in 2015.
His on-stage résumé also includes serving as an original cast member of “Hamilton,” playing King George III.
Perhaps his most notable movie role to date was in “Spotlight,” which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards after its release in 2015. He portrayed real-life Boston Globe reporter Matt Carroll in the drama about a team of journalists uncovering a community scandal.
He became even more of a household name when he appeared in the popular Netflix series, “13 Reasons Why.” In that show, he also played a father to a primary character.
Earlier this year, he was cast in a villainous role for the second season of “Evil,” an “X-Files”-style supernatural detective series available on Paramount+, another online streaming service.
As for “Hawkeye”: Within days of its premiere, the series earned high praise from critics. Review aggregation websites IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes scored it 8.3 out of 10 and 93%, respectively.
Per The New York Times: “As developed by Jonathan Igla, a writer and producer whose credits include ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Bridgerton,’ ‘Hawkeye’ in these early episodes is a light and pleasant watch, one that seems less concerned with Marvel pieties or high-concept games than with straightforward buddy comedy.”
Along with Steinfeld, the cast includes a lineup of actors who played leading roles in Hollywood movies, including Jeremy Renner, Florence Pugh and Vera Farmiga.
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