‘Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Star Henry Simmons Explains Why Mack Is His Favorite Character To Play

As Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comes to an end, Henry Simmons is talking about his character and reflecting on his journey, according to a report from ComicBook.

On the Marvel series, Simmons plays the role of Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie, a former member of the engineer division who eventually moved through the ranks to become the director of the organization. Throughout his acting career, Simmons has played many roles, most notably Detective Baldwin Jones on NYPD Blue, but the actor recently admitted Mack has been his favorite role so far.

“It’s one of my favorite characters, and maybe the most favorite that I’ve ever played because there was a range of things, with comedy, action, drama and so many things, involved in that character and the progression of the character,” he said.

“It actually is my favorite character that I’ve ever played.”

Simmons said making the decision to be a part of telling a superhero story was a no-brainer.

“Every day, stepping on set was fun. You dress up and get to carry a shotgun-ax. It was like I was a kid again,” he said.

Speaking of the shotgun-ax, Simmons said it was one of the only things he wanted to take home on the last day of filming. The actor said he asked the show’s production team for the prop, but they turned him down, saying they needed to have it for something. However, months later, he received a call and someone showed up with his favorite shotgun-ax prop.

“My wife was like, ‘What is that?’ I said, ‘This is my shotgun-ax,’ and she saw how happy I was,” he said. “I have to tell you, I was so overjoyed, having that.”

The actor also shared his first memories of walking on to the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. set, and how emotional it was for him at the time. Simmons said when he joined the show’s cast for Season 2, he felt a bit overwhelmed from a personal standpoint. He said, at the time, the show’s episodes weren’t available on Netflix so he didn’t know exactly what he was getting himself into. The actor said he even made the mistake of thinking “FitzSimmons” was one person instead of realizing it was a combination of two names, Leopold Fitz, played by Iain De Caestecker, and Jemma Simmons, played by Elizabeth Henstridge.

As for the series finale, Simmons was careful not to give away too many details of the plot but said he believed fans would be happy with the way things wrapped up for their favorite characters.