"David Tennant Is Magic" - Marvel's Jessica Jones Stars Rave About Their Charming But Scary Villain



David Tennant may have been absent from last weekend's Marvel / Netflix panel at New York Comic Con, but it didn't stop his co-stars from his new show, Marvel's Jessica Jones from having plenty of praise for him. 

The 13 part Netflix exclusive series stars Krysten Ritter as the eponymous retired superhero Jones. Still suffering from the effects of a trauma that ended her heroic life, she's a brittle, wisecracking alcoholic just trying to pay the bills through working her private investigation agency. However, a new case re-opens old wounds and sends seismic waves through her world. David Tennant co-stars as the evil Kilgrave, with Mike Colter as Luke Cage, due to be the subject of the third Defenders miniseries. 

Talking during the packed out Main Stage panel on Saturday afternoon, Krysten was asked by Marvel's Jeph Loeb about what it was like for her working alongside David.

"David Tennant is magic!" she enthused, "And watching him work I learned so much from him. His performance and his range - he could be funny and then incredibly vulnerable, scary, all of those things in just one small turn. He's also a joy to be around and one of the best scene partners I could have ever asked for." 

Erin Moriarty plays Hope, a student who is at the centre of Jessica's first major investigative case. She was asked by IGN what she thought about David's portrayal of Kilgrave.

"What I loved about the way that David Tennant played it is, I feel that the best villains are the ones that have a little bit of charm to them," she explained. "That's how he played it. He's very scary in it but he's also very charming and he's a very manipulative character so that charm factor's really important. So you can see how you would kind of be drawn into him, but it adds to that creepy factor." 

"You kind of get seduced by [Kilgrave]," she added. "He's charming and he's got an edge to him that's actually kind of sweet. You kind of think, oh maybe he is a good guy, and then all of a sudden you see how evil it is and it tricks you. So that's what I thought was really brilliant about the way he played it."

Also talking to IGN was Wil Traval who plays NYPD Officer Will Simpson. When asked about David, his immediate reaction was to bow down in his honour.

"I'm a Doctor Who fan from way back when!" he revealed, going on to add. "David Tennant brings life to Kilgrave, he's so eerie and so scary and so utterly charming. You're like, why am I falling in love with the bad guy? But you can't help it, he brings a real depth to the character."

The preview of the first episode at the convention has caused a huge positive buzz and Marvel's Jeph Loeb warned the audience that this show certainly isn't one for the kids. The character of Kilgrave made a powerful first impression despite barely appearing in the pilot; he's described variously as a Freddy Krueger-like haunter of dreams and truly terrifying. 

The show also stars Carrie-Anne Moss and Rachael Taylor and launches on Netflix in its entirety on November 20th. 

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