Kingpin Actor Vincent D'Onofrio Reveals How the Blip Affected His Crime Empire

By Charlie Ridgely

At long last, Vincent D'Onofrio's beloved villain Kingpin has made the move from Netflix to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. D'Onofrio reprised his role from Daredevil in the final episode of Marvel's Hawkeye this week, though he may have been a bit different than Daredevil fans remembered. The villain definitely still has the rage and strength that he established on the Netflix series, but he didn't have the control or power over the city of New York like he used to. He's operating out of broken down toy stores as opposed to corner penthouse suites.

Some of these changes might be leading fans to think that this is a different take on Kingpin that just happens to be played by the same actor. That's not the case. According to D'Onofrio, he's playing the character the exact same way, and there's a reason why this Kingpin is a little different. Wilson Fisk survived the blip, but lost some of his control over the city in the process. Now he's simply trying to get it back.

"Trust me in Hawkeye I'm playing the character as if the character from [Daredevil] survivor of 'the blip' is now set on getting back his city," D'Onofrio wrote. "The blip weakened his crown, his authority over his kingdom. Now he wants it back. He's in damage control mode."

D'Onofrio elaborated on the point while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter after the Hawkeye finale.

"That's the way we approached it – or the way I definitely approached it. Story-wise, the blip has happened. Kingpin has lost his city a bit, not completely, but he's lost some of his kingdom," the actor explained. "And in Hawkeye, the idea was that he wants his city back. He considers it his. So as the actor playing the character, I approached it exactly the same way I developed the character that I portrayed on Daredevil. He has the same emotional life. Everything that he does, everything that he says, every confrontation that he has, every emotion that he shows, comes through the events and the pain of his childhood. So that's still Fisk, to me. He's a bit physically stronger than he was. He has more strength and he can take a lot more physical abuse. But in Hawkeye, the thing that will continue to ground him is that he's based in an emotional foundation. That's what I think is the key to my portrayal of Fisk. You can do anything you want with him, but his inner self is that of a child and a monster."

What did you think of Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin return on Hawkeye? Let us know in the comments!

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