Marvel’s Agent Carter Set Visit And Hayley Atwell Interview

Last week, I gushed over how excited I was to watch the premiere of Marvel’s Agent Carter. I couldn’t wait to learn more about who is Agent Peggy Carter. And Marvel didn’t disappoint — Agent Carter is my new favorite TV show. Seriously, love it. And I was giddy as a school girl the day of my Agent Carter set visit last fall. 

Oh that picture? That’s just me sitting at Agent Carter’s desk in the Strategic Scientific Reserve. Squee! Thanks to Marvel for all of the photos. (Our visit was so top secret I wasn’t allowed to take pictures!)

Marvel’s Agent Carter Set Visit

We didn’t just tour an empty set (which still would have been cool), we toured a hot set — that means while they were filming. We hung out on set in the Strategic Scientific Reserve office and in the cafe, we met with the costume designer and we chatted with the star, Hayley Atwell. And everything was super top secret, we even had security in dark tinted sunglasses — it was so Marvel cool. 

There’s so much to love about Agent Carter. It’s Marvel, has a strong female lead, fabulous 1940s style, great scripting and did I mention the fashion?! We met with costume designer, Gigi Melton, and it was fascinating to hear about all of the detail that goes into creating costumes for each episode.

To keep things authentic, a lot of the fabric is truly vintage. Gigi shops specialty shops across the country and even thrift shops searching for the perfect fabrics. Not just fabric, I loved hearing about how Gigi rebuilds old, period clothing to fix or create something new for the characters. Clothing that is literally falling apart is made new again. The ultimate upcycling!

To complicate the hunt for fabric even more, lead characters need several variations of every outfit. For example, we saw several of Agent Cater’s gold dress from the premiere episode hanging on the rack. Gigi explained that each costume has a specific purpose, for example a “hero” costume (for up close shots), a stunt costume (for Hayley’s stunts), a costume for the stunt double, an extra (just in case), etc. They don’t just have to make one of each outfit, they have to make up to five of each outfit.

Hayley Atwell Interview

After watching Hayley on set, we had a chance to chat with her about her role as Agent Carter. Hayley was perfectly lovely, and very much embodies the Agent Carter character. Describing Agent Carter Hayley said:

She’s capable, she’s intelligent, she’s vulnerable and she’s living this double life and having to juggle so many things at once. ~ Hayley Atwell

The poised Hayley also made us all giggle when she told us about doing some of her own stunts. 

On day one I kicked one of the stunt man in the balls. Kicked another in the face. I’ve made a lot of mistakes to make it look the way it does. ~ Hayley Atwell

You’ve seen the show, right? So you know what happens when the infamous red phone rings? Everyone stands at attention by their desks awaiting orders. Well, who do you think will get the next secret mission?

Tune in TONIGHT, January 13 at 8 pm EST, for the next episode of Agent Carter. In tonight’s episode, “Time & Tide,” watch as Agent Carter closes in on Howard Stark’s stolen technology, Peggy’s secret mission could unravel when the SSR arrests Jarvis and a secret is revealed. And Tweet along with the show using the #AgentCarter hashtag.

(Tip, if you missed last week, find it on Hulu.)