Wilson Bethel on Taking Aim at ‘Daredevil’ as Iconic Marvel Comics Villain Bullseye

Despite the infamous secrecy surrounding Marvel projects, Daredevil franchise newcomer Wilson Bethel knew he was taking aim at Bullseye when auditioning for the role.

“Yeah, I was aware,” Bethel told ComicBook.com. “I think they were doing their best to keep it a secret, but you know those secrets don’t get kept very long. So, yeah, I was aware, and of course, when I learned that that was the character that I was auditioning for, you know that was very exciting.”

Bethel admitted he wasn’t a Daredevil reader, but came to appreciate the never-misses supervillain’s place in the wider Marvel Comics lore.

“I also didn’t realize the full extent of who that character was and what he represented to fans and where he fit into, kind of, the larger Marvel Universe,” Bethel said.

“I read comics as a kid, but Daredevil was not my particular wheelhouse. So I was not too familiar with this side of the Marvel Universe. So, yeah, as I learned more about Daredevil [and] Bullseye and you know, just how iconic and how important he was in the universe, of course, that only made my getting the role that much more exciting.”

Marvel officially unveiled Bethel as Benjamin ‘Dex’ Poindexter at New York Comic Con earlier this month, and fan reception has since been “incredibly positive.”

“I think I’m as excited as other people are. You know, it’s such a fun character, and the show itself, this season, I think in particular, is just so well done,” Bethel said.

“I think everybody’s just going to be thrilled, to be honest with you. So far it’s only been a positive, a really positive experience of just kind of riding a wave of excitement… it was very exciting, obviously, to have the character be revealed at Comic Con and getting to see people’s immediate visceral response to that in the room. It was pretty exciting.”

Bethel debuts as Bullseye in Daredevil Season Three, available for streaming on Netflix October 19.