Dallas Fan Expo: Jon Bernthal Talks `The Punisher…’ Sort Of
by Tom Smithyman
Don’t look to Jon Bernthal for any spoilers around Disney+’s upcoming season of Daredevil: Born Again.
When asked, Bernthal, who plays Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, the actor quickly changed the subject.
“How ugly is this beard man?” he said, stroking his shagging facial hair during a panel Saturday during Fan Expo Dallas. “My wife won’t even make out with me.”
While Marvel and Disney showrunners and lawyers have sworn Bernthal to secrecy, he knows, respects and embraces the character’s legacy.
“Frank Castle. You know man, he means a lot to me,” Bernthal said. “And the folks that love him mean a lot to me. The resonance it has with the law enforcement community, the military community. I think there’s a little bit of Frank in everyone. I hope we can do it right. If we’re gonna do it, we gotta do it right.”
While he has only played the character for a few years, Bernthal seems to grasp the Punisher’s resonance with the soldiers and cops. He referenced the fact that some from those groups have patrolled the streets or gone into battle wearing the character’s famous skull symbol. The logo has become so controversial, some groups that have opposed the Black Lives Matter movement have adopted it as their own. As a result, Marvel has replaced the human skull with something that looks more demonic in nature.
The anti-hero himself has always been controversial. After his wife and son are killed, Castle dons the skull and seeks his revenge. For Bernthal, getting into character takes some doing.
“I can’t be in a state of joy and ease when I go out and play that guy,” he said. “You have to get yourself in the headspace because it matters. It means so much.”
“There’s shit that you got to do when you get between action and cut,” he continued. “I take that vitally seriously. And any time I start to feel myself slipping, I tell myself to stop fucking around.”
Getting out of character requires a cooling-down process – usually driving home with his dogs.
Interestingly enough, Bernthal said he didn’t have any aspirations to star in a Marvel movie or series – until he saw the first season of Daredevil.
“I like to do things that scare me,” Bernthal said. “I’m so blessed that I get to choose. Things come to me, that’s insane. If I start thinking about it and I think, `Shit, I don’t know if I want to do that.’ That’s the stuff I have to do.”
In fact, when asked by a fan why she should watch The Punisher, he gave a long explanation, but ended with this interesting observation: “Start with Daredevil. They wrote it better.”
