Any film and television creator would be lucky to have one hit long-running series.Emily VanCampis now up to five of them. It all began with her breakout role inEverwood, then it was on to the ABC seriesBrothers & Sisters. Next up was headlining four seasons ofRevengeand when that wrapped up, she found yet another show that would go the distance -The Residenton Fox, which is in its fourth season. All of that and I haven’t even mentioned that VanCamp is also part of one of the biggest film franchises of all time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
With VanCamp’s latest MCU installment,The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, now available to watch in full on Disney+, she took the time to join us for an episode ofCollider Ladies Nightto dig into everything that happened on the show, and also to recap the steps she took to get there and how her priorities evolved from gig to gig.
Having kicked off her career in the arts by studying ballet, VanCamp suspects that might have had something to do with her ability to handle so much hard work when her focused shifted to acting. But even then, she didn’t quite know what it would take to “make it” in Hollywood. Here’s how she put it:
“I guess coming from a ballet background you understand hard work - and coming from where I come from and with my family, hard work, good work ethic, all those things. But I don’t know that I truly knew what it would take to continue and really make it in this kind of big, bad industry. And so now, I would see it as a much greater challenge than I did as a young person. But it’s almost good that I didn’t know that then I think!”
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As she started racking up television credits, VanCamp had a slew of veteran actors to show her the way, immensely talented individuals like herBrothers & Sistersco-star,Sally Field:
“My career had a very lucky, wonderful progression early on as you say, getting to just watch and observe some extraordinary people. I remember on Brothers & Sisters specifically watching Sally [Field] and just her work ethic, her presence, everything about her was like a master class for me. I think I was in my early 20s when I started that show. There are people that you learn all of the ways in which you want to behave, how you want to be within your work environment, and then there are the people who teach you all the ways which you do not want to behave and I’ve had those, too. But specifically these really powerful women who taught me a lot about how I wanted to present myself and the responsibility that comes with having that extra sort of power, which you inevitably have as an actor on a show or in a film, to take that responsibility seriously and to use it wisely and never to abuse it. And also to lead by example.”
While many lessons learned in the TV sector likely applied to VanCamp’s work on film sets, joining the MCU came with a rather unique learning curve - understanding what it’s like to sign a multi-film contract. A lot has changed in the MCU since VanCamp made her debut inCaptain America: The Winter Soldier. The story has evolved significantly, there are so many more characters involved and, on top of that, there’s a new storytelling format courtesy of Disney+. While discussing her early expectations for her involvement in the MCU and how they compare to where she is now, VanCamp highlighted a key lesson learned when it comes to multi-film contracts:
“The biggest thing that I’ve learned is to not really have any crazy expectations and to just let it all play out as it needs to, and that’s sort of what’s happened and it’s been so much fun. Having that gap in between, I did think, ‘Okay, well we’ve put Sharon to bed and that’s fine,’ and you sort of just know that you’re really there to service the greater story of what they want with all of the stories that are happening within the MCU, and so I just assumed and, of course, here we are so it’s just so much fun.”
Eager to hear more from VanCamp on her journey fromEverwoodtoThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier,including loads of spoiler-filled thoughts on Sharon’s current status and why her screen test withChris EvansforCaptain America: The Winter Soldierwas one of her best audition experiences? Check out VanCamp’s episode of Collider Ladies Night in the video at the top of this article!
And if that’s not enough and you want to hear about things like VanCamp’s take on the kiss inCaptain America: Civil War, you can listen to the entire interview uncut using the podcast below:
Emily VanCamp Video Interview:
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