Agents of SHIELD: Clark Gregg and Chloe Bennet Reflect on Their On and Offscreen Relationships

The last seven years of Agents of SHIELD have seen everything from space travel to time travel, but it’s the show’s grounded relationships that brought so many fans returning year after year. One such relationship is that of Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Daisy (Chloe Bennet). After bringing her into SHIELD in the first season, the two developed a bond that has been compared to fathers and daughters. During a recent Agents of SHIELD press event, Gregg and Bennet explained that their relationship goes beyond just that, both onscreen and off.

“From the first interrogation scene with Skye, after we pulled her out of her van, there was something just different about Chloe Bennet,” Gregg explained. “The way she has a realness and a fire to her as a performer that… A lot of great actors to work with on that show, but the through-line of that relationship, that friendship, that family-type relationship. Which people say ‘father-daughter,’ and it definitely has that in it, but I think, like my relationship with Chloe, it has so many permutations. There are ways where it isn’t that simple, where she’s helping and teaching and rescuing me as often as I’m doing that for her. To have that part of the show was the one where I grew the most as an actor and as a human, I would say. In spite of Chloe.”

“It just hit me right now that this is our last round table for SHIELD ever,” Bennet replied. “Then that answer just kind of gets me a little emotional. People do say ‘father-daughter’ all the time and I think what’s one of the… most rewarding parts of the show was having probably one of the most dynamic relationships with someone in my life. That relationship was with Clark. Where it mutates in it. There’s so much growth and there’s so much openness and there’s so much respect. I don’t think most people get the privilege of having such a dynamic relationship that you can’t quite put into any sort of box of ‘it’s this, it’s that, it’s that.’ It’s only something that you would get in an environment like SHIELD.”

Stay tuned for more from the interviews with Agents of SHIELD‘s cast and executive producers.

Agents of SHIELD‘s series finale airs tonight, August 12th, at 9 PM EST on ABC.