Poor Peter Parker. He just wants to be a normal teen, seeing the sights and pining for his crush MJ on a school trip to Europe.
But there are a few obstacles on his road to romance: Nick Fury’s constant voicemails for Spider-Man, a scary water monster threatening Venice, and another student vying for MJ’s affections. Enter Remy Hii.
The Aussie actor, who played forensic pathologist Simon Van Reyk in ABC series Harrow and wealthy filmmaker Alistair Cheng in Crazy Rich Asians, makes his debut as that rival, Brad Davis, in the blockbuster Spider-Man: Far From Home.
“It’s so amazing to be a part of a franchise that’s so loved around the world by so many people,” Remy, 33, tells TV WEEK.
Yet Remy’s journey to the Marvel Cinematic Universe was just as action-packed as any super-hero movie.
“I actually found out that the role I thought I was going for was completely fake and made up,” he explains about the audition process.
“And so, after I got hired, they told me, ‘By the way, that wasn’t a real character, and we can’t tell you who you’re actually going to play until you get here’.”
With a laugh, Remy tells what happened following his 22-hour flight to London to meet the team.
“That’s when they said, ‘You’re going to be playing Brad Davis, and here’s the next five months of your life!'” he says.
Remy Hii with Zendaya in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Brad comes into the picture after the world has been restored to normal in the wake of the events in Avengers: End Game.
During “The Blip”, Brad grew into a handsome, smart teen, now part of the same Midtown School of Science And Technology class as MJ (Zendaya), Peter (Tom Holland) and Peter’s best mate Ned (Jacob Batalon).
En route to Europe, Brad sits next to MJ, sharing headphones and watching movies together while Peter’s jealousy grows. Throughout the holiday, both will do their best to get MJ’s attention.
As actors, Remy and Tom got to “collaborate and workshop that relationship and how far we’d push the rivalry,” Remy explains.
“Like, how far can we take it, to the point of are they actually going to get into a fight over it? But then if we did, Peter Parker would give away his identity, because Spider-Man’s too strong. So we had to find other ways.”
Remy with Tom Holland.
Getting close to his co-stars personally was also a treat for Remy.
“Apart from the fact that she’s an absolute superstar and known around the world, Zendaya’s a complete sweetheart and so down to earth,” he says, adding that Tom “is one of the best actors of his generation”.
Remy, who won the 2014 TV WEEK Silver Logie for Outstanding Newcomer for Better Man, says of going from TV to theatre to film, “For me, it’s the power of the story and where the story is. I try to juggle it all as best I can.”
WATCH NEXT: Remy Hii takes the TV WEEK 2 Minute Challenge…
Spider-Man: Far From Home is out now on DVD, Blu-ray and digital
