Agents of SHIELD’s Henry Simmons Breaks Down Mack and Coulson’s Dynamic

As Agents of SHIELD gets close to the end, the Marvel show's cast has been reminiscing about their [...]

By Jamie Jirak

As Agents of SHIELD gets close to the end, the Marvel show's cast has been reminiscing about their time on the series. Recently, Henry Simmons, who has been playing Mack on the show since its second season, shared what it's been like to go from mechanic to field agent to the Director of SHIELD. During the same interview with Collider, he was also asked how he's enjoyed Mack's dynamic with Coulson (Clark Gregg) and how his character feels about the new LMD version of the former leader.

"What I liked about the relationship between Mack and Coulson was that, in the beginning, there was quite a bit of friction because Mack would push back on Coulson," Simmons shared. "Coulson was using the team for his own personal missions, and Mack didn't like what he was doing. Mack was the voice that was against him, in terms of questioning his leadership. And then, it settled into something where we both had a mutual respect for one another, to the point where he entrusted me with more and more, when he would go away. There were times when he would leave me in charge because he trusted me. There was a respect. And when Mack became director, you would see, in the very beginning, that he would lean on Coulson's wisdom to get through. He didn't have time to step into it. He was thrown into the situation. And in terms of Coulson coming back for the seventh season, I think Mack eventually gets to the point where he likes him being there and he can see the value, but at first, he did not like it, not from a personal standpoint, but because Coulson didn't wanna be bought back, in any way, shape or form. Really, it was out of respect for Coulson and trying to grant him the wish that he wanted. But I think we settled into something pretty good, later on."

Recently, Gregg gave new insights to the LMD version of his character, and after speaking with TV Insider, he's revealed how the team will react to the new Coulson. "Initially, they range from intense relief to outright discomfort," Gregg says of the other agents. The show's executive producers also weighed in on LMD Coulson. "He feels the same, but he's not," Jed Whedon explains. "[Coulson wonders], 'Are [my] feelings real, or am I programmed? What am I?'" Jeffrey Bell added, "We're so happy to have Coulson, in any form." Maurissa Tancharoen agreed, saying, "Coulson is the heart of the show."

Agents of SHIELD airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 10 PM EST.

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