Thunderbolts Interview: Geraldine Viswanathan Explains Why Mel Pushed the Button

[Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Thunderbolts*.] One of the very best parts of having a returning guest on Collider Ladies Night? Realizing how much they’ve accomplished during such a short period of time. Geraldine Viswanathan made her first Ladies Night appearance in 2020 for The Broken Hearts Gallery and since has completed a four-season run on Miracle Workers, starred opposite Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks and Sarah Snook in The Beanie Bubble, headlined Drive-Away Dolls with Margaret Qualley, made Oh, Hi! with Molly Gordon which secured distribution out of Sundance 2025, and now she’s part of one of the biggest film franchises of all time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Viswanathan makes her first MCU appearance as Mel in Thunderbolts*. She’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) extremely attentive and diligent assistant. Initially, she seems quite loyal too, but when Bucky (Sebastian Stan) suggests Mel secretly slip him information on Val in hopes of having her impeached, eventually, Mel concedes. While that choice may suggest Mel’s willingness to double-cross her boss, ultimately, she changes course again, pushing the button that saves Val’s life from the Sentry (Lewis Pullman). So where does Mel stand? Does she skew more villain than hero? Does she still admire Valentina? That’s exactly what I dug into with Viswanathan during her second Collider Ladies Night interview.  00:00 Dicey Questions 03:13 Introduction 04:15 Finding Confidence as an Actor 05:45 First Trips to Hollywood 07:37 Acting Techniques 09:03 Working as a Casting Reader 10:46 Drive-Away Dolls 12:48 Blockers 13:38 Picking Projects After Blockers 14:47 The Broken Hearts Gallery 15:36 Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Margaret Qualley 17:40 Miracle Workers 20:56 Thunderbolts* 37:48 What Is Geraldine Proud Of? #thunderbolts #interview #mcu #marvel #acting BREAKING NEWS, REVIEWS & MORE: https://collider.com SUBSCRIBE: https://youtube.com/collider FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL https://twitter.com/collider https://instagram.com/collider https://facebook.com/collider