The Punisher is a tough and violent broken man searching for answers. While Jon Bernthal has already proved to audiences he's more than a good fit for the character, he convinced Marvel in a radically weird and different way. Here's how Bernthal auditioned and ,with the help of actor Tom Holland, managed to secure the role in Season 2 of Daredevil:
They use mock scenes, but it was a man telling this young boy about shooting a deer --- describing the moment of killing a deer, I believe. We had to play that the deer was there and I see him getting ready to kill it. He was off camera and we were like, 'get in here and do it with me.'
This quote doesn't really do justice to how awesome this moment is. Both Jon Bernthal and Tom Holland were on the set of The Pilgrimage (which filmed in April 2015), and are auditioning to become Marvel superheroes. Bernthal helps Holland with his mock scenes, and then Holland turns around and plays a kid alongside Bernthal in the deer killing audition scene. Even better, Variety reports that actor Stanley Weber walked through the woods pretending to be the deer in an alternate take for the audition. Now two years later, both Bernthal and Holland are The Punisher and Spider-Man; apparently Stanley Weber's deer failed to impress quite as much.
All kidding aside, it's such an odd choice for Marvel to ask Bernthal to re-enact what I'm guessing is a father and son hunting experience. Maybe the Daredevil show writers were already convinced Bernthal could be a bad ass from his days on The Walking Dead, and needed to see something a bit more vulnerable. Frank Castle is definitely a complex character, and I'm curious as to what way Bernthal tackled the scene that made casting professionals see his version of The Punisher. It really makes you wonder what strange scenes other MCU actors had to do to get in their respective roles.
One thing is clear: if Stanley Weber lands a role as Moon Knight or some other hero, I'm petitioning the release of those audition tapes.
Jon Bernthal is currently kicking ass on set, and The Punisher series is currently in production aiming for a fall 2017 release. In the meantime, audiences will be able to start binge watching The Defenders August 18th.
Be sure to keep up with all show premieres new and returning via our midseason premiere guide and summer premiere schedule.
