Agents of SHIELD Star Open to Playing Deathlok Again

J. August Richards is back on television, portraying Victor Dashkov on Peacock’s Vampire Academy series which debuted on the streaming platform last week. But while August is currently deep in that series’ world of vampires, friendship, romance, and danger as well of privilege and glamour and magic, many fans came to know the actor for his portrayal of Mike Peterson/Deathlok on ABC’s Agents of SHIELD, which arrived on Disney+ back in March. And with the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuing to expand, many can’t help but wonder if Richards would be open to suiting up again if Marvel came calling. As it turns out, while August hopes to be digging into the role of Victor on Vampire Academy for the foreseeable future, he hasn’t let go of Deathlok either.

“I get so connected to the characters that I play,” Richards told ComicBook.com. “Without sounding cliche or anything, I never really let go of any character that I play because I put so much time, effort, and energy into it like I have with Victor. No character that I’ve ever played is ever… am I ever officially done with.”

Richards’ comments are actually not the first time he’s suggested that he’s not done with Deathlok. The actor previously said in 2019 that he would like a chance to play a more fleshed-out version of Deathlok on the big screen if the opportunity presented itself, and thanks to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, some fans think that could someday be a possibility. That film saw Anson Mount surprisingly reprise his role as Black Bolt from television’s Inhumans. For the moment, however, Richards said he’s enjoying playing Victor on Vampire Academy.

“What I most love about playing Victor is his sincere need for change and equality in his society,” Richards said. “He is a royal vampire, so that means he’s one of the heads of family of the 12 royal families, which means he wields a lot of power and he uses that power to gain equality for non-royals, like my children, Sonya and Mia, and dhampirs who are guardians to us. Victor is going to use his power to find equality for the whole society and I love that about him.”

Vampire Academy is now streaming on Peacock.