Marvel announced today that young English up-and-comer Hayley Atwell will play Peggy Carter, love interest of Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, in Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger. [Deadline Hollywood]
Carter falls in love with the pre-Captain Rogers during the war effort in the comics, but who knows how it’ll go down in this adaptation.
This is big news for Atwell, and she’s well-deserving of it. While the role itself will most likely be fluff, it’ll earn her fans that will undoubtedly back smaller, more passionate projects of her’s in the future. The actress has put in solid, stand-out work in underwhelming fare that includes Woody Allen’s Cassandra’s Dream, two middling period pieces (The Duchess, Brideshead Revisited) and a nice little Christmas movie (How About You).
She’s beautiful and capable and due for a break. This is it.
Congratulations are due, most certainly. And good for Marvel of doing their research in this regard.
Do you know of Ms. Atwell? Do you like her work?