Actor Ruaridh Mollica has revealed how Marvel bosses allowed him to transform one of its superheroes into a Scot after Paul Bettany suggested he should use his own accent.
The 27-year-old Edinburgh-raised actor has landed his biggest role to date as Tommy Maximoff in new Disney+ series VisionQuest.
Tommy is the son of Wanda Maximoff and Vision and is better known to comic book fans as the super-fast hero Speed.
The character had previously been portrayed with an American accent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Mollica revealed there had initially been discussions about whether he should play the new version as English or American.
That changed during his screen test with Bettany, who has played Vision in the MCU since Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015.
Mollica told Variety that Bettany intervened during the audition and asked showrunner Terry Matalas: “Terry, what do we think about his own accent?”
The suggestion took Mollica by surprise. He recalled thinking: “Really? A Marvel superhero can be Scottish?”
Mollica was ultimately allowed to use his natural accent for the character. “It’s always such a treat to champion Scotland,” he said.
The actor has now spoken further about the decision in an interview with BBC Radio Scotland’s The Saturday Show, admitting he hopes Marvel’s huge global fanbase embraces the change.
“I want the fans to like what I have done with the character and accept that I have a Scottish accent,” he said.
“It threw a lot of people off at the start, but having my own accent meant I could put my own spin on the character.”
Mollica was born in Italy to a Scottish mother and Italian father but grew up in Edinburgh.
He made his television debut at the age of 12 in the BBC drama Case Histories and appeared as a background dancer in the movie adaptation of Sunshine on Leith.
His Scottish screen credits also include Stonemouth, based on the Iain Banks novel, and the short film Too Rough, which won the Scottish BAFTA for Best Short Film.
Mollica studied computer science at Heriot-Watt University before committing himself fully to acting.
He told the BBC that winning the Marvel role followed a five-month audition process which eventually took him to New York for a screen test with Bettany and Matalas.
When his American manager eventually called to tell him he had the part, Mollica said he “bawled my eyes out”.
The scale of the opportunity initially left him suffering from imposter syndrome, but he credited Bettany with helping him through the experience.
Mollica said: “Paul is very experienced and really held my hand through the whole process so I thank him a lot for that.”
VisionQuest follows on from WandaVision and Agatha All Along and centres on Vision as he attempts to rebuild his identity.
Tommy is now an 18-year-old orphan living in London after leaving the foster care system. He has memories of Wanda and Vision as his parents and possesses the superhuman speed associated with his comic-book counterpart.
Mollica stars alongside Bettany, James Spader, T’Nia Miller, Todd Stashwick, Emily Hampshire and fellow young star Joe Locke.
He told Radio Scotland: “Scots are always the underdog but I want to show the world we are a nation of creatives and incredible actors.”
VisionQuest launched on Disney+ on 14 October.