Wilson Fisk actor Vincent D’Onofrio reveals the exact moment when he realized Daredevil: Born Again co-star Charlie Cox was the perfect fit for the role of Marvel’s Matt Murdock. Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox have developed Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock’s feud for ten years, from Netflix’s 2015 Daredevil season 1 to Marvel Studios’ 2025 Daredevil: Born Again. Although Daredevil and Kingpin agreed to a truce in Daredevil season 3’s ending, another confrontation is inevitable at some point in Daredevil: Born Again.
In an interview with GQ, Wilson Fisk actor Vincent D’Onofrio recalls the moment he met Charlie Cox on the set of Daredevil season 1. According to D’Onofrio, hearing Cox deliver his lines off-camera in Daredevil season 1 episode 6 reassured him the series would succeed. D’Onofrio’s first thought seeing Charlie Cox play Matt Murdock was “My God, we’re gonna be okay.” Read Vincent D’Onofrio’s full comments below:
“He’s talking to me on the walkie, and I’m off camera. And we’d never worked together. So I had no idea, he could have been the shittiest actor I’d ever worked with. So, I was hiding behind some crates or something, doing off camera, so he couldn’t see me, but I could see him. And we’re talking, and he’s doing really good with the dialogue and stuff, ’cause he’s a great actor.”
“This is Kingpin and Daredevil, and it’s gonna be great. And it was my first real feeling of ‘My God, we’re gonna be okay.’ Because Daredevil works. It was amazing.”
Wilson Fisk And Matt Murdock’s Chemistry Was Make Or Break For Netflix’s Daredevil
All three seasons of Netflix’s Daredevil hinged on Matt Murdock’s feud with Wilson Fisk, not just in terms of physical fights, but especially in their battle of wits. Wilson Fisk is one of the few archnemesis villains in the whole MCU, having made Matt Murdock’s life a living hell for several years at this point. Daredevil and Kingpin’s enmity wouldn’t be as effective if Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio didn’t have a natural chemistry.
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Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox’s performances stand on their own as well, and they’ve been praised since Daredevil season 1. Cox has shined solo in the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home as lawyer Matt Murdock, in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law as vigilante Daredevil, and in Daredevil: Born Again as both. D’Onofrio’s Kingpin showed a different side of himself in Hawkeye and Echo, where he proved he can be just as interesting when Daredevil isn’t around.
Daredevil’s First Kingpin & Daredevil Moment Is One Of The Show’s Most Important Scenes
Daredevil Pulling Off The Pair’s First Interaction Set The Stage For A Truly Great Show
The moment from Daredevil season 1, episode 6 that Vincent D’Onofrio is referencing in these comments comes towards the end of the episode, as Charlie Cox’s hero speaks to Wilson Fisk on a walkie-talkie he apprehends from a police officer. The scene sees Kingpin reveal to Daredevil that he intends to frame him for a series of crimes, and turn the people of the city of New York against him – unless Daredevil kills Vladimir Ranskahov, leader of the Russian mafia and someone with intel on Fisk and his criminal empire.
At this point, the show has built up intensely to this point, with one person Daredevil talks to even driving their head into a metal spike after revealing information about the villain to the vigilante in fear of what Kingpin will do otherwise. Given this setup, anything less than a first interaction between hero and villain that expertly builds suspense for their later in-person confrontations could have sabotaged the entire pacing of Daredevil season 1, and the rivalry between Daredevil and Kingpin that plays out over the course of the entire original series.
Thanks to the acting talents of Cox and D’Onofrio as well as the talented writers involved in building the story of the show, though, the scene comes off as dramatic and suspenseful even though the pair haven’t even properly come eye-to-eye yet, showing how much of a master manipulator Kingpin already is, and just how determined Daredevil is to do the right thing even when it seems guaranteed to result in his own death. With this in mind, D’Onofrio’s reaction to the scene and Cox’s acting in it makes a lot of sense.
Charlie Cox Is Among Marvel’s Most Popular Casting Choices To Date
Charlie Cox immediately made a positive impression back in Daredevil season 1, and he kept winning audiences over throughout seasons 2 and 3. At this point, it’s difficult to imagine any other actor playing Daredevil as masterfully as Charlie Cox. Surely, Cox’s performances played a central role in Marvel Studios’ integration of Netflix’s Daredevil and Defenders lore into the MCU.
Source: GQ