John Economos may have hacked into ScreenRant’s Debunking AI for this week’s episode, because it scoured the internet for quite a few correct answers regarding Steve Agee. The actor may have once been best known for his role as Outside Dave in New Girl, but since he debuted in 2021’s proto-DCU film The Suicide Squad, he has become synonymous with John Economos.
Created by John Ostrander in the 1980s, Economos is a Belle Reve prison warden with multiple ex-wives in the Suicide Squad comics, but James Gunn expanded his role in more ways than one when he adapted the character for the screen. As a regular cast member on Peacemaker, John Economos has turned his tech-savvy skills into an asset for the team led by John Cena’s lovable antihero, cementing himself as a crucial part of the DCU.
In the latest episode of Debunking AI, Agee confirmed his own filmography before reflecting on the events of season 1, teasing the bigger scale of Peacemaker season 2, and correcting the record when it comes to his personal hobbies.
Steve Agee Looks Back On Peacemaker Season 1’s Biggest Moments
To kick things off, Agee applauded AI for its basic knowledge of Economos, while also providing his own context when it comes to the biggest change to the character from page to screen. “Economos in the original comic books has a much better, more authentic-looking beard than Peacemaker’s dyed beard,” he declared.
I will use a stuntman every single chance I get.
Economos’ arc in season 1 involved being “bullied by John Cena“, whom Agee declared to be “professional and giving and sharing” on set, before eventually earning Peacemaker’s respect. But that respect was not earned through his physical prowess, but rather his intellect and adeptness with technology. When it came to the more acrobatic activities heroes normally get up to, Agee had no choice but to laugh at AI’s incorrect assessment of his stunts and supposed fight scenes.
I will use a stuntman every single chance I get. In the season finale of season 1, I’m being chased across a field from a barn by hundreds of aliens. You’ll see it shot from a drone at a high angle. You don’t see my face, and that’s because I had a stuntman run for me. Also, I don’t have a fight sequence in the jail. That would be Vigilante, as played by Freddie Stroma — and played very well. I think Freddie actually did a lot of the fighting in that.
While AI was convinced he took stage combat lessons to prepare for his fight scenes, Agee reminded viewers that his gorilla fight was not real. “There was no gorilla there. That’s all CG.” Was actually was there was a giant wooden board with a vertical crack in it “for me to put the chainsaw through and move it up and down, and then it had a hose that was spraying you with blood. But you can’t really train somebody for that. You either have it or you don’t.“
Naturally, Agee was proud of his gorilla killing sequence, but his number one favorite memory ties back to the beard. “I’m probably proudest of my monologue in the season finale of season 1, where I have to justify why I dye my beard.” Given that it required a lot of memorization and actually veered into more dramatic territory, Agee had several questions for James Gunn about that moment.
I had asked James the Friday before we shot that… if it was more comical, or if it was emotional. And James said, “Just learn the lines. You don’t have to put an emotional spin on it or anything. Just learn the lines, and I’ll give you directions.” That was for that specific scene, but it also tends to be true for really everything moving forth from that point. Just learn the lines, and the rest comes to you. When you have a great director, the hardest part is learning the lines. The director really guides you through the rest.
What To Expect From John Economos In Peacemaker Season 2
AI seemed right on the money when it predicted that the plot of Peacemaker season 2 will scale up, potentially involving global or even cosmic threats, but then it hit a snag when it suggested that classic DCU villains such as The Reach or Brainiac would make cameos. Agee wisely responded, “I have never heard of The Reach. That’s a crazy name for a character,” although he did allow for the chance that he just didn’t do the research. “A lot of these villains and superheroes have insane names. Polka Dot Man was based on an actual DC character, so who am I to judge?“
The plot definitely scales up on a global, and I would maybe even say cosmic, level.
Nevertheless, he declared The Reacher and Brainiacf to be false prophecies before teasing, “The plot definitely scales up on a global, and I would maybe even say cosmic, level.” AI then assumed this would affect Economos’ storyline by forcing him out into the field more often, which Agee cautiously agreed with. “I am more hands-on than hacking from a safe location, so some aspects of this are true… I can’t give anything else away from season 2.”
Don’t Call Steve Agee A “Former” Bass Player
AI batted a much lower average when it came to Agee’s personal life, though it still got the gist of things right. While fleshing out the truth, Agee recalled how he lived in Ken Marino’s basement (“which makes it sound so Blumhouse“) for a couple of years, though he made it clear that “he had a big house, and the bottom was its own ensuite apartment, if you would.”
He was also taken back to his first onscreen role, which AI pinpointed as the 2000 parody, The Bogus Witch Project. Agee, however, considered his first acting gig to be a Pacific Bell telephone commercial for call waiting: “Pacific Bell is now, for you kids, AT&T. I think that might’ve edged out The Bogus Witch Project, but it’s pretty close.”
Perhaps the most egregious falsehood was that Agee insisted on eating exactly three gummy bears before every audition. “I hate gummy bears, so this is just overwhelmingly false,” Agee laughed. “I don’t insist on anything… I know you wouldn’t know to look at me, but I’m not a big sugar person. I’m a big carb person. I like pastas and breads and stuff, but I don’t like candies. Give me some pasta or a chicken parm sandwich.”
Last but most certainly not least, AI erred by calling Agee a former bass guitarist whose apartment is full of half-recorded songs about bizarre topics.
The actor (and current bass player) had plenty to say on the subject. “That’s not really true. I’m still a bass player, not a former one. I will always know how to play the bass. Also, it doesn’t make sense for the apartment to be full of half-recorded songs. My computer is full of half-recorded songs. But, yeah, I still make music.”
Agee currently has an album out called Scab, and promised to record more songs in the future for the world to enjoy. Despite this misstep, the actor gave AI an A for effort. “I was expecting it to get a lot more wrong than it did, but it could have gotten a lot more.”
Peacemaker season 2 premieres August 21 on HBO Max.
Source: ScreenRant YouTube
