A Scottish speedster joins the Marvel universe
Ruaridh Mollica, a 27-year-old actor raised in Edinburgh, has taken on the role of the speedster Tommy Maximoff in VisionQuest, the new Disney+ miniseries built around the superhero Vision. In the story, Tommy is an 18-year-old orphan who has just left London's foster care system yet retains memories of his parents, the Avengers Wanda Maximoff and Vision. The eight-episode run is being presented as the final chapter of a trilogy that began with WandaVision and continued through Agatha All Along.[S1][S2][S3]
The cast places Mollica alongside Marvel regular Paul Bettany, award-winning performer James Spader and British actor Joe Locke, with whom Mollica once made his West End debut in London. Mollica said he wants the audience to enjoy his interpretation of the character and to welcome the fact that he performed it with a Scottish accent. He acknowledged that the choice unsettled some people initially, but argued that using his natural voice allowed him to shape the role in a personal way.[S1]
Five months of auditions and a tearful phone call
Mollica recalled sending in a self-tape without much expectation of being chosen. After an audition process lasting five months, he found himself flying to New York for a screen test with Bettany and Terry Matalas, the creator of the series. He described the moment his American manager called to tell him his life was about to change, saying he broke down in tears while sitting on a wall as rain began to fall.[S1]
Born in Italy to a Scottish mother and an Italian father, Mollica grew up in Edinburgh and worked intermittently as an actor through his teens and early twenties. His first television appearance came at 12 in an episode of the BBC One series Case Histories, and his first film work was as a background dancer in the adaptation of Sunshine on Leith. He later appeared in Stonemouth, based on Iain Banks's novel, and in the romance Tell It to the Bees.[S1]
In his final university year he took a leading part in the short film Too Rough, which earned a Scottish Bafta. He graduated from Heriot-Watt University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in computer science, and said he considered a master's degree before acting won him over. He added that he still finds his career hard to believe.[S1]
Bettany's advice and a message for Scottish talent
Mollica said that when he was first cast he placed heavy expectations on himself and struggled with imposter syndrome. He credited the experienced Bettany with guiding him through the production, recalling that the older actor sat him down and explained that when he played Vision he was portraying genuine human feeling beneath a robotic exterior. According to Mollica, that remark was the point at which the approach became clear to him.[S1]
With the series now streaming, Mollica said he feels excited and eager to demonstrate what Scottish performers can achieve. He described Scots as perpetual underdogs and said he wants to show the world that the country is a source of creative people and accomplished actors. He also passed on Bettany's view that the finest superpower is self-acceptance, which he said captures the theme of the show.[S1]
