‘Hawkeye’ Directors Reveal Hailee Steinfeld and Florence Pugh Improvised the Mac and Cheese Scene, ‘It Was a Really Fun Day’
After Hawkeye Episode 5 aired on Disney+, many fans took to social media to share their love for the iconic mac and cheese scene between Florence Pugh’s and Hailee Steinfeld’s characters, Yelena Belova and Kate Bishop. It was a moment filled with tension, humor, and outstanding chemistry between the two actors. And, according to the episode’s directors, the scene was partially improvised by Pugh and Steinfeld.
Yelena and Kate properly meet for the first time in ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 5
Florence Pugh and Hailee Steinfeld shared the screen for the first time in Hawkeye Episode 4. But they didn’t officially meet until episode 5. And although many Marvel fans were eager to see Yelena and Kate interact, the moment that they finally did blew everyone’s expectations out of the water.
Kate returned to her apartment to find Yelena waiting for her. And before Kate arrived, Yelena made some mac and cheese for the two of them. Kate eats some of it, and when she finishes, Yelena hilariously goes to town by pouring hot sauce all over the dish.
The two of them engage in some small talk, but it’s clear that the tension is thick between them. Yelena wants to kill Clint, while Kate wants to save him. However, the scene establishes that Yelena and Kate aren’t enemies. And once this whole mess is over, they have the potential to be great friends.
Hopefully, by the end of Hawkeye, there’s the promise that fans will see Florence Pugh and Hailee Steinfeld share the screen again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Florence Pugh and Hailee Steinfeld came up with adlibs for the ‘Hawkeye’ mac and cheese scene
The Hawkeye Episode 5 directors, Bert and Bertie, shared behind-the-scenes secrets with Buzzfeed. And, apparently, Pugh and Steinfeld are partly responsible for the mac and cheese scene.
“We did a rehearsal, but every single thing was just perfect between them, and the improvisation that they brought to it was dynamite. We could just sit back at the monitors and just enjoy every single take and their chemistry,” Bertie said. “It was a really fun day.”
She added, “There was obviously a script, and it was planned, and we knew we wanted Kate to kind of turn and throw something at Yelena … There was this hot sauce bottle, and we loved that. Then, Florence was like, ‘Oh, well, this hot sauce now needs to go all over the mac and cheese.’ Florence is hugely into hot sauce, but Hailee, not so much. So, the whole thing where Yelena basically says, ‘Are you done? Can I go crazy?’ That was not planned.”
Plus, the one fork aspect of the Hawkeye scene was also an adlib by the actors. Bertie said, “It was perfect, and it all went into the script, and we came out with this hilarious Yelena and Kate scene.”
Hailee Steinfeld reveals what it was like working with Florence Pugh in ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 5
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hawkeye star Hailee Steinfeld explained the making of the mac and cheese scene and expressed her excitement over working with Florence Pugh.
“Florence showed up, she showed out, and she was so incredibly prepared,” Steinfeld said. “And obviously, having spent some time in this universe as her character Yelena Belova, she came in and knew exactly what her objectives were, if you will. It’s a really interesting scene and one of my favorites in the show. I was just so excited.”
She continued, “Once I got over my excitement and the idea of working with Florence and having this moment between Kate and Yelena, we dug into this scene, which felt very fun, and the banter was amazing. It’s this ‘girls’ night in,’ essentially, over some mac and cheese with hot sauce, and you realize that there’s a lot of depth to this scene, to these characters individually, and now to the connection that they have with each other.”
“And we notice and pick up on the fact that they’re both yearning for this connection, and they find that, even though that’s not the task at hand,” Steinfeld shared. “They’re both living through these very high stakes and are trying to protect those that they love. So it pits them against each other in a way that they aren’t willing to accept, really.”
The Hawkeye finale, starring Florence Pugh and Hailee Steinfeld, airs on Dec. 22 on Disney+.
