‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Star Wilson Bethel Explains Why Playing Bullseye Required a Very Different Kind of Training Than You’d Expect

Marvel’s stable of live-action villains has produced plenty of physically demanding roles over the years, with actors regularly logging months of stunt training to convincingly throw a punch or land a kick on screen. For fans watching Wilson Bethel terrorize Matt Murdock as Bullseye across ‘Daredevil’ and its revival series ‘Daredevil: Born Again,’ it would be easy to assume he went through the same grueling martial arts bootcamp so many of his Marvel castmates have.

Bethel has spent recent months making the convention circuit alongside his ‘Daredevil‘ co-stars, using these appearances to open up about the physical and emotional demands of playing one of Marvel’s most unpredictable villains. He’s previously admitted to feeling intimidated stepping into the role and has spoken candidly about wanting Dex Poindexter to feel human rather than a straightforward comic book monster.

That conversation continued at Soda City Comic Con, where a fan asked Bethel directly whether he had to train in martial arts to play Bullseye. His answer immediately drew a distinction between his character and the kind of hand-to-hand combat expertise audiences typically associate with Marvel’s best fighters.

“I am not Shang-Chi. I don’t need to know Kung Fu,” Bethel said at the Soda City Comic Con panel. “What I need to know is how to throw things.”

The comment lines up closely with how Bullseye has always functioned within Marvel lore. Rather than relying on traditional martial arts, the character’s signature skill is a near-supernatural precision with projectiles, capable of turning virtually any object into a lethal weapon with pinpoint accuracy. That distinction separates Bethel’s training needs from those of Marvel heroes built around disciplined combat styles, such as Simu Liu’s martial arts-driven performance as Shang-Chi.

Bethel has previously offered glimpses into just how unconventional his preparation for the role has been, at one point crediting an ordinary household vacuum cleaner with helping him settle into Dex’s mindset after feeling like the character was initially a stretch for him. That kind of unusual, character-specific approach seems to extend into the physical side of the performance as well, prioritizing precision and control over conventional fight choreography.

Bethel’s convention appearances have also given fans a clearer picture of where he’d like to see the character go next. When asked about potential MCU opponents for Bullseye, he’s named Jon Bernthal’s Punisher as a dream matchup, describing the pairing as potentially “bananas” and brutal, while also floating Spider-Man and Hawkeye as intriguing stylistic contrasts given their different skill sets.

That willingness to imagine Bullseye colliding with other corners of the MCU speaks to how much the character has grown since his introduction in the third season of the original Netflix ‘Daredevil’ series. What began as a secondary antagonist has since evolved into one of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’s’ most consistently praised elements, with Bethel’s performance frequently singled out by critics and fans alike.

With ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ continuing to expand Dex’s presence in the story, Bethel’s comments suggest the character’s danger will keep coming from precision and unpredictability rather than any traditional fighting style. For a villain built around turning ordinary objects into deadly threats, that approach seems exactly right.

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