Marvel Studios’ latest Disney+ original series, Hawkeye has picked up the torch by brilliantly telling the story of Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, following the events of Avengers: Endgame. It also introduces new characters like his soon-to-be protege, Kate Bishop, and others.
Cassius Life had the opportunity to speak with Fra Fee, who takes on the role of Kazi, the number two in the Tracksuit Mafia, and the calming voice that reels in Alaqua Cox’s Echo before she makes a mistake that would make their boss upset. His character is still being fleshed out in the show as we slowly learn his true intentions and place in this big mystery. While being careful not to reveal too much, Fee broke down what we can expect from Kazi as the show comes to a close, joining the MCU and learning how to sign to communicate with Maya, who in real life is deaf as well as in the series.
Step into the interview below.
Cassius Life: How does it feel to be a part of the MCU? How does it feel to be a part of this intricate universe?
Fra Fee: Man, I’m such a huge fan of this world. Anyway. I always have been a huge Spider-Man fan when I was a kid. And the MCU since watching Iron Man, and I have just completely fallen in love with this storytelling. I think it’s ingenious storytelling, and how the worlds are weaved together so ingeniously is incredible. So I’m just like mind blown and still am, to be honest. Getting to even think about the show again and revisit it to chat about it. It’s like, God, did that really happen? I’m so grateful.
Source: Disney / Marvel Studios
CL: Your character hasn’t been fleshed out too much yet. Without giving away too much, so you don’t get that email from Kevin Feig, can you break down who your character is?
FF: Well, Kazi is a member of this organization called the Tracksuit Mafia, and it’s an organization that is deeply, deeply important to him. How he managed to find his way into that world we don’t exactly know, but it was from a very young age, and it’s pretty much the only life that he can remember. It’s the only life that he knows. And as such, he feels safe within it and has an opportunity to work his way up and fulfill [his] ambition and strive. So it is a fiercely important thing for him.
At the same time, he has a relationship with Maya, who he met at a very young age, and they have a familial bond together that runs very deep. And somehow, she’s managed to find her way above him, which I suspect to Kazi is infuriating because it’s been his life’s work, this operation, this organization. So it’s a tough pill for him to swallow. And his motivations, and his passions, and his fire is going to unfold further in the leading up to the finale because there’s a lot simmering at the surface at the moment.
Source: Disney / Marvel Studios
His motivations, and his passions, and his fire is going to unfold further in the leading up to the finale because there’s a lot simmering at the surface at the moment.
CL: Now, this show does a magnificent job with sound mixing and by taking viewers into what it’s like to be hard of hearing and Maya’s disability of being deaf. Also, in the show, you sign, did you know how to sign, or did you learn on the fly?
FF: No, mate. I just learned for the show. Whenever I was cast, I could see that there was a real requirement for ASL. And initially, I was quite daunted by the prospect because I had this fear that in one week, I’m going to have to do this massive scene with sign language, and I’ve never done it before. And I desperately wanted to be proficient enough to make Kazi’s character believable as someone that would’ve known it for most of his life, would’ve been taught it since a young boy from Maya herself.
But thankfully, the way that the scheduling worked out, we had lots of time to rehearse, which was a blessing not only for me to have to be comfortable with it and to feel quite fluid and fluent with it. But also to get to spend a lot more time with the Alaqua than perhaps we ordinarily would have. On film sets, you don’t tend to get to do a lot of rehearsal time, but we did have a lot of time, and we were able to bond over it. And create a friendship, and feel comfortable around each other so that we could get on there and have chemistry. Which I hope is translated onto the screen, and I feel like we can make mistakes in front of each other and lift each other up. And all of those things that aren’t necessarily taken for granted were all because of having an opportunity to do the sign language. And I loved it. It’s the most beautiful model of communication, and it made me treat my performance differently. I felt so welcomed into her world. It was a real, real privilege.
Source: Disney / Marvel Studios
It sounds like Kazi got a surprise for us heading into next week’s finale.
Hawkeye is now streaming on Disney+.
Photo: Disney / Marvel Studios
