The actor talks about working with Lillard 26 years after they starred in the film “Spanish Judges.”

Vincent D’Onofrio on his Matthew Lillard reunion in Daredevil: Born Again and ‘the most human you’ve ever seen Fisk’

The actor talks about working with Lillard 26 years after they starred in the film "Spanish Judges."

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in Vanity Fair, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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April 1, 2026 12:25 p.m. ET

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Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk in 'Daredevil: Born Again' season 2. Credit:

- Vincent D'Onofrio argues that *Daredevil: Born Again* season 2 is 'the most human you've ever seen Fisk.'

- The actor talks about his reunion with Matthew Lillard (Mr. Charles), 26 years after the film *Spanish Judges*.

- "There are things that happen in the second season that affect my character, Fisk, intensely and in the most intimate way," D'Onofrio says.

As the war over the soul of New York City continues to rage, Kingpin becomes more lethal. "He's very, very dangerous," Vincent D'Onofrio agrees, but the actor argues that season 2 of *Daredevil: Born Again* is "the most human we've ever seen Fisk."

"That becomes very scary," he adds, "when you realize that he's just like you or me."

The masked Man Without Fear (Charlie Cox) continues assembling a resistance to fight back against Mayor Fisk's authoritarian control over the metropolis, with uniformed Task Force agents serving as a physical manifestation of his will. It's a one-step-forward-two-steps-back situation for Daredevil and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), and things are only getting more heated.

D'Onofrio speaks about playing Fisk this season, working with the body suit, impending events that "intensely and in the most intimate way" impact his character, and the upcoming Fisk-versus-Daredevil fight sequence.

Vincent D'Onofrio, Ayelet Zurer, and Matthew Lillard in 'Daredevil: Born Again' season 2.

Jojo Whilden/MARVEL

**: Given the success of season 1, did you get a sense that everyone was coming on season 2 with a new sense of confidence?**

**VINCENT D'ONOFRIO:** I think you're pretty much spot on there. Season 1 was tough. We had shot almost six episodes, and then we stopped. We reevaluated what we were doing and changed everything after that. We had to end up Frankenstein-ing a season. We were lucky that it came out pretty damn good. I think that got all the creatives excited about the second season because we knew then that we were gonna be able to do exactly what we wanted. Charlie and I really involved ourselves completely in every episode and in the prep of it and in the execution of it as actors.

**Do you remember your initial reaction when you finally got the scripts in your hands and you could actually map out for yourself what you needed to do this season?**

There were challenges ahead. There were things that Charlie and I both had to execute. So there was a lot of prep. The whole boxing match and then the result of that, there was a particular way that I wanted to do that. I didn't wanna be fully clothed. I'm wearing a fat suit for the character; I've been doing that since *Hawkeye*. We wanted somehow to figure out a way where I could at least show my arms and my shoulders because it's a boxing match. It would be weird if I had long sleeves on. So the task at hand was to build my upper body to a point where it matched the fake girth around my waist. That was a trip. It was an intense workout to grow a couple of inches on my upper body. So that was fun and brutal.

Then there was the emotional aspect of it. There are things that happen in the second season that affect my character, Fisk, intensely and in the most intimate way. Scenes like that for anybody in any kind of genre are difficult, and they require prep and you have to decide the choices that you're gonna make and where the emotion is gonna come from when you're reacting to all the devastation in this particular character's life.

And then there's the finale. The season starts off in a capsule. It's very contained, and then it grows and grows throughout the season. And finally, the crescendo is just big.

**Fisk feels more dangerous this season. What was top of mind for you in terms of performance? **

I recognized early on, when I actually got the scripts, that it was going to be the most human you've ever seen Fisk, who's extremely dangerous and an extremely broken human being. We've shown him and his humility before, his commitment to his wife, and his commitment to expanding his evil reach across the world, but I don't think we've shown this much humanity when it comes to the character. That becomes very scary when you realize that he's just like you or I, but he's very, very dangerous.

Vincent D'Onofrio in 'Spanish Judges'.

Matthew Lillard in 'Spanish Judges'.

**You and Matthew Lillard worked on the film *Spanish Judges*. Did you remember him when he came to work on *Daredevil: Born Again*?**

Yeah, of course. Back then, we played characters who didn't like each other either. It's always been that kind of thing with Lillard and I. It's funny, I was talking to Charlie about this the other day. We were all so committed to the project, it wasn't until we finished that I realized how much hatred I had for Lillard's character during the shooting of it. It's like, I love this f---ing guy, you know what I mean? He's one of our best actors. I was able to tell him that afterwards, recently, actually, how much I appreciate him and how much he's inspired me over the years.

**We've seen scenes of it in the trailer, this Fisk-Daredevil fight that happens later on in the season. I feel like this is the first Fisk-Daredevil fight that you guys have done since season 3 of the Netflix show...a full-on brawl. **

It's a fight scene that's very reminiscent of the original series on Netflix; that's what you might be feeling. It is more than we've done in a while in that kind of context, for sure...I'll speak for myself: I love those scenes. We hardly ever get to do scenes together, [Cox] and I, and he's just become so good at playing this character that it's a thrill to join him in scenes.

We do recognize that that's what the fans want, but I think that everybody realizes — the fans too — that we can't bring them together all the time because it wouldn't have as much power. Charlie and I have been doing these characters for a long time now, and the fact that we both still get excited, it says something about our love for these characters and getting them right for the show.

*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity. *

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New episodes of *Daredevil: Born Again* premiere on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

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