Earlier this year, Netflix invited a group of journalists to the Brooklyn set of Marvel’s Daredevil. The streaming network was deep into production on season 3, so we got a great sense of a story that seems to be a return to basics of sorts for the superhero series after the mystical, Hand-based madness of season 2 and The Defenders. In addition to getting a glimpse of Matt Murdock’s new church basement hideout and Wilson Fisk’s fresh-out-of-jail penthouse apartment, we got a chance to talk to stars Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, and Joanne Whalley—who plays a new character, Sister Maggie—who all seemed genuinely jazzed about the grittier street-level direction new showrunner Erik Oleson is taking the series.

Below, Whalley discusses joing the series in season 3 as Sister Maggie Grace, her character's relationship and dynamic with Matt Murdock, her first experience with a showrunner, a massive scene she shot with nuns and cops, and more.

Question: What can you tell us about your character?

WHALLEY: I play Sister Maggie Grace. I can’t tell you too much without spoiling it for you. She’s a really interesting character. She’s got a lot of strings to her bow. A few unexpected dark corners that we get to shine a light in. Her relationship with Matt is...eventful.

We hear her name called out at the end of Defenders, I assume they’re calling for her help to caretake for him. Is that what she’s been doing?

WHALLEY: She is a nun, and the place that he is taken to when he needs help is the old orphanage. That’s what she does. She takes care of people and children, and they take him in.

Is there anything about the character that was not in the script that was your suggestion or that you brought to the role?

WHALLEY: That’s a tough question because really, as an actor, your job is to fulfill the script that you’re given. Then why they choose one person over another, I never understand that because we could all play the same roles but we would all bring something different that you’re not always aware of. So I’m sure there are things that I maybe brought unknowingly just because it’s me playing it. The scripts, one thing that struck me is, I haven’t really done this genre before. I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve really enjoyed working on this because the scripts are so good. There’s a lot of action and all of that and those extra elements but it’s so character-driven. Everyone has stuff and baggage. Everyone has all of these things they’re wrestling with. Everyone has demons. That’s what drives all of the episodes. There’s a lot to play with in all the characters, not just mine. Everyone has these multifaceted storylines.

[Showrunner Erik Oleson] told us everyone is driven by their fears this season. Is that true for you as well?

WHALLEY: Yeah, it probably is. People generally are, just in life. It’s our fears, the unknown, the things we regret. Fear of failure.

Given her role in the church, how does Sister Maggie feel about tending to a vigilante? Or does she even know about that side of his life? 

WHALLEY: She learns more about him as we progress.

Erik mentioned that Maggie helped raise Matt in the orphanage and now she’s doing so again. Does Maggie know this is the same boy she raised, and how different is their relationship?

WHALLEY: In the very first instance, no. In fact, she’s really annoyed that Father Lantom has brought this mess into her finely tuned and finely running establishment. It’s the wrong place. There’s hospitals and there’s police forces, we’re not that kind of service. But then she finds out who it is and it’s a different story.

Who is Sister Maggie for you personally? How do you conceptualize her as a person?

WHALLEY: For me, everything is the script. What’s great about working on this is the quality of the writing. The writing is everything. That’s all you have at the end of the day. That’s all you can play with. It doesn’t matter how good an actor you are or how bad an actor, if you’ve got good writing that’s everything. So she is a creation by these amazing writers and my job is to fill it out.

But personality-wise, what’s she like?

WHALLEY: She’s had a life. She’s wise. She’s tough. She’s seen a few things. She’s not afraid. She has the strength of her faith. She runs an orphanage in Hell’s Kitchen so she ain’t no sissy. But she’s hugely compassionate. She’s brave. She is decent, which is a funny, old-fashioned word. But she strives to do the best and the right thing, and the main pillar of that is her faith. So she’s a fighter but she’s also vulnerable. She’s human, too.

Sounds like she’s a lot like Matt Murdock. Are they going to juxtapose?

WHALLEY: Yes, but we all question...we all have doubts and fears.

Can you tell us who you interact with the most other than Matt Murdock?

WHALLEY: There’s Father Lantom, of course, As we progress through the episodes I have a little more to do in Matt’s world, so beyond my own immediate concerns.

Do you have any action scenes?

WHALLEY: I actually have special powers! No, I don’t. Give me some action scenes, I want to fight the Kingpin. But no, I don’t get to fight the Kingpin.

Religion rarely plays a role in superhero stories and Matt Murdock is specifically coded as Catholic. How deeply did you dig into spirituality or faith for Sister Maggie?

WHALLEY: Well as it happens, I went to a convent school. So I’m no stranger to nuns. I’m quite comfortable around nuns. I went to a convent school from the age of about twelve to 18. Our headmistress was a nun—not the entire staff, but most of them were—and the school itself was in the old convent building. It was lovely. They were great. They were fantastic. I see them now that I’m older and obviously you always think back about your school with such different eyes. Sister Mary Francis, she terrified us all. She kept us all completely in line. And she was probably my height, which is 5’2”, which is not very tall, and she never said anything or did anything. I don’t remember her being any particular way. But she just had that authority that kept us all under the thumb. So I knew about that, but I actually wasn’t born a Catholic. I ended up at that school for school reasons. I think the Catholicism and religion aspect is highlighted in this, but in a broader sense, it’s any kind of faith. It’s the essence of something bigger than us.

What do you think it is about Sister Maggie that makes her keep her faith? Because Daredevil takes place in a universe where aliens fell from the sky.

WHALLEY: Because that’s what she knows and that is what carried her through and gave her life purpose. Comforted her when she was unable to cope. It’s been her everything. That’s who she is, the sort of very core of her. That’s always been her battle and her questions. It’s not always been a comfortable thing. I don’t think anyone’s faith is ever completely a comfortable thing. But it’s the tool with which she filters her life. It’s how she copes and it’s her crutch and her solace and her inspiration, too.

How will she use that to help Matt deal with what he’s going through?

WHALLEY: You know what I particularly liked in the writing? The way Maggie handles someone who doesn’t necessarily share the same faith. She’s not judgemental about that. She knows that people call things by different names. It’s no reflection of whether you’re a good person or a bad person. She has a great sense of humor, which is one of the things I love about her. She has a little bit of a sharp tongue and she’s very quick-witted sometimes. She’s been around the block. She knows a good person when she sees one. And she’s generous. Of course, she’d love if everyone were Catholic and came to church. But you take what you can get. She’s wise enough to know that if you force something down someone’s throat they’re not going to choose it willingly.

Is she going to have her own storyline outside of Matt?

WHALLEY: I’m hoping that when I get the spin-off series and take on the Kingpin she will have all of that. And superpowers.

When we first meet Maggie and then when we leave Maggie, however that may be, is there a clear journey that you take that surprised you in any way?

WHALLEY: She does change because she’s intelligent. She doesn’t go into situations with a hammer thinking this is the only way to do something. She’s not self-satisfied. She doesn’t get smug about her religion or her faith or herself. She’s no stranger to self-examination or self-doubt, so she takes it on. She’s always taken it on. So I guess it's all the developments because I didn’t have any prior knowledge to the character or the show, to be honest. I don’t really know the world of the show. So it’s all been a bit of a surprise. But the big surprise is how enjoyable it is. Because it’s so driven by the characters. And all the characters have stuff. Talking between us, the actors, and they’ll say, “Ah, did you see what happens to me?” We have these table readings as each episode is handed out, hot from the press we get it. We get to sit down and read together, which is a really great thing. Normally, you can do entire shows and never meet some of the other actors that you’re in that world with because you don’t have scenes together. But this, it’s a really great experience to work that way. Because like I said, they don’t let me out of the church that often. But I feel very involved, and very involved with everyone’s journey, when we get to have these readings.

Why an orphanage in Hell’s Kitchen? Is it something she’s passionate about, or…

WHALLEY: I think there’s always a need for an orphanage. That’s something that her parish that she joined was there and she gradually took it over, ended up running it. I don’t think she started thinking, “I’m gonna’ run an orphanage.”

Is it something she enjoys doing, though, or is it something that sort of fell in her lap?

WHALLEY: I think she likes making a difference. As nuns do.

How much of what we’re going to see of you is what we traditionally think of nuns and how much is more relaxed costuming?

WHALLEY: There’s some of both. Because at the end of the day she’s quite practical. Nuns get their hands dirty, they roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. There are times when there’s certain occasions where they need to be more traditionally dressed. But you’ll see her in different things, not got that thing on my head all the time. When I’m fighting the ninjas I’m in leather.

Once you did get the job did you feel like you had to go back and watch the earlier seasons?

WHALLEY: I did, because you obviously want to know the world. It’s a bit like music, you have to know where to pitch it. You can’t just start singing. There’s an orchestra, you have to know what the tones are.

The leads have had the chance to bounce off each other for two seasons but you’re a new character, is that challenging for you as an actor?

WHALLEY: Actors always get that. Often you’ll go in to something and you’ll have like two days on a job and everyone’s been together for years. But usually, other actors, everyone is pretty kind to each other. We know how it feels. Everyone’s great on this. And having that sense of a real team, I didn’t expect that. The thing, too, for me that I haven’t had a lot of experience with is we had the whole showrunner setup. How you have the showrunner but different directors every episode. Often when you get hired on to something you tend to work through the director. That’s your all-points connection and everything else surrounds that, supports that. Sometimes [on Daredevil] you don’t meet the director until that read-through and it’s a done deal and you’re like, “Oh, hi.” But then there’s Erik, who is incredible. He is the heart, soul, and showrunner. He is the solid rock that carries all the strands through. It’s been really interesting.

Did you ever go to Erik and say, “I don’t like this about my character”?

WHALLEY: I don’t think I would say “I don’t like this” because that’s not my job, I have no right to say that. But I do feel absolutely able to say, “I don’t think she would say that.” Or maybe, “Are you sure she would do this?” I might have one of those opinions about how she might react. Especially now, we’re at episode 11, no I would feel like, “Okay, she’s been mine long enough.” But the writers are great. They write great stuff.

What were your conversations like with Charlie about what you wanted the dynamic between Sister Maggie and Matt Murdock to be? Is that something you talked about or something you found as the story went on?

WHALLEY: It’s funny because a lot of these things are instinctive. Sometimes it’s really good to know things and sometimes it’s really good not to know. Sometimes that’s the best thing you can do, is let it unfold and react to it and have your instinct. You unfold along with it and explore it as you go along. We did talk about things, obviously, but more often than not we work on the scenes, “What are we revealing here? What do we know from the past? Where are we going?” It’s all malleable, it’s always changing.

What’s the most fun moment you had on set?

WHALLEY: Last night was really fun, last night was epic Marvel night. We were out on the Lower East Side and we had FBI, NYPD, ambulances. Troops everywhere. Church. Nuns. Heroes. All night and all madness, it was kind of fantastic. That was really fun because it was just so exciting.

To catch up on all of our Daredevil Season 3 set visit coverage, peruse the links below:

• ‘Marvel’s Daredevil': 40 Things to Know about the Dark, Deadly Season
• Charlie Cox on ‘Daredevil’ Season 3, His New Costume, and Matt Murdock’s Demons
• Deborah Ann Woll on ‘Daredevil’ Season 3 and Karen Page’s Dark, Violent Past
• 'Daredevil' Season 3: Elden Henson on Foggy's Life After Matt Murdock