Charlie Coxis up for just about anything! While he’s best known for playing one of the MCU’s best superheroes in Disney+’sDaredevil: Born Again, the English actor has been showing us his range for more than 20 years across a wide variety of projects. From a charming adventurer inStardustto a gangster’s bodyguard inBoardwalk Empire, Cox has been quietly slipping into an eclectic mix of roles. But now he’s adding a new shade to his ever-evolving palette: romantic comedies with the upcoming holiday movie,Mervfor Prime Video.
As a man unafraid of genre-hopping, Cox will be sporting some serious Tommy Bahama-type board shorts on camera while trading witty jabs with the one and only,ZooeyDeschanel, under the Florida sun. But while he’s game for a lot, he tells Collider exclusivelyduring a sit-down for a Collider Signature profilethat there’s one area he refuses to fake his way through: Singing.
“I genuinely can’t,” he says flat-out with his face scrunched up when asked if musicals are something he’d ever explore after longtime friends,Jamie DornanandAndrew Garfield, went all out in their respective films —Barb & Star Go to Vista Del MarandTick Tick… Boom!“Musicals are not in the cards for me.”
This becomes especially hilarious when you learn thatMervactuallydoesinclude a musical moment for Cox. “I do have to sing inMerv, funnily enough. But I did say to them, ‘Before you cast me in this, I need to be clear about something, and this is not me being falsely modest — I am an awful singer. So you’re either going to have to rewrite that scene, or you’re going to have to lean into the fact that I cannot sing a note.’ So they’re like, ‘Great. We’ll lean into it,’” he laughs.
What Is ‘Merv’ About?
“I want to do anything that’s challenging.”
That willingness to embrace the awkward or unexpected is part of what madeMervsuch a joy for Cox. The Amazon MGM Studios film,set for release toward the end of the year,centers on exes Russ and Anna, who share custody of their dog,Merv. When the pup spirals into holiday-season heartbreak following the couple’s breakup, Russ whisks the pup off from icy Minnesota to sunny Florida, only for Anna to show up and complicate things with unresolved feelings.
“Look, I love movies, I love TV, I love acting… going to North Carolina and putting on a pair of board shorts and having fun banter with Zooey Deschanel was really, really fun,” he smiles.
When asked if rom-coms might be a new lane for him,Cox is thoughtful but casual about his process. “I want to do anything that’s challenging,” he says. “Interestingly, when it comes to choosing jobs, I’m not very precious about the character, funnily. I’ve discovered this about myself. I’m not very precious on how good the character is. I don’t really tend to look at the job and go, ‘Is this different? Is it challenging?’ It really is the script as a whole. Do I read the script and go, ‘Oh, I want to watch that,’ or, ‘What a great story,’ or, ‘What great chemistry or great dynamics between the people?’ I really care about the piece as a whole, so I’m not afraid to tackle characters that are similar to characters I’ve done in the past.”
That perspective explains whyMervmade sense for the 42-year-old, even if it didn’t look like a wild departure on paper. “Am I any good at it? I don’t know. We’ll see!” he says, laughing. “I certainly enjoyed it. I certainly learned a lot. I learned a huge amount.”
Charlie Cox Is Doing More Comedies
“It’s a completely different skill set.”
Mervisn’t the only place fans will see Cox flexing his comedic muscles. This month, theDaredevilactor also stars in the upcomingFX comedy seriesAdults, where he deliversone of his funniest performances yet — just wait and see!The experience was a new challenge as he worked alongside a younger cast and took a fresh approach to acting.
“I arguably learned more from them in those two weeks than I have on anything recently, because it’s a completely different skill set,” he tells Collider. The spontaneous nature of the show helped Cox experiment with a more fluid performance that let him get a bit looser. “I’ve just come from theater and dramas where you say the line that you were given, soit was really fun to have fluidity around that and experiment with a different type of acting experience.”
Forget ‘Daredevil: Born Again,’ Charlie Cox Masterfully Delivers Pain With This Heartbreaking Two-Minute Scene
I’m not crying, YOU’RE CRYING!
While comedy is a more recent chapter in his career, it feels natural to Cox, especially sincehis passion for acting was sparked by the theatre comedy,Dealer’s Choice,during his last year of high school. “I attribute that experience to what it was that made me reallyhaveto be an actor. It was because I was playing a character who was very funny at times, and I walked out on stage and delivered these lines, and 200 people laughed at somethingyou’vedone and said. It’s a very intoxicating feeling.It was that experience that I felt gave me no choice. I was like, ‘I have to try and do this.’ So, it was a comedy, ironically, that got me started, that made me want to do it.”
Adultspremieres May 28 on FX and streams the next day on Hulu.Mervis set to premiere on Prime Video later this year.
A contemporary comedy about ex-couple Russ and Anna, who discover that Merv – the dog they share custody of – has become depressed due to their breakup. Attempting to lift Merv’s spirits at Christmas, Russ takes him on a “boys' trip”, leaving freezing Minnesota for a dog-friendly beach in sunny Florida. Anna unexpectedly shows up, rekindling romantic feelings.
