Brie Larson Is “So Happy” to Finally Be Able to Talk About ‘The Marvels’ and ‘Lessons in Chemistry’

Brie Larson was beyond thrilled to finally be able to talk about her latest acting projects since the SAG-AFTRA strike has officially ended.

The actress made an appearance on Friday’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she had a lot to tell about The Marvels as well as her Apple TV+ series Lessons in Chemistry. Before the union reached a tentative deal with studios and streamers on Wednesday, stars were unable to talk about any struck projects.

As for her return as Captain Marvel in The Marvels, which is currently playing in theaters, Larson said, “I’m back, and I brought some friends this time.” In the film, Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, gets her powers entangled with those of Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), forcing them to work together to save the universe.

“Being a superhero is like a weird, specific job,” Larson told Fallon. “Who else is going to be like, ‘And make sure you have extra zippers so you can go to the bathroom.’ … It’s just like very strange things.”

For the role, she had to learn all new skills as well as spend a lot of time strapped into wires. As a result, she had a warning “to anybody out there thinking about becoming a superhero, or you’re a superhero and suddenly you can fly, just know it means an eternal wedgie for everything you ever do after that.”

Fallon also noted that the Oscar-winning actress was the first The Marvels castmember to congratulate Vellani for landing her role as Ms. Marvel in the film. “I felt really lucky because the first time I played Captain Marvel was on Avengers, and so I had Scarlett Johansson as the first person who welcomed me, and I got to be there with all of them,” Larson said in response. “So, to have them not just welcome me in but to also just be like, ‘You got this,’ and answer all my questions, it was just invaluable. So, I just make a point whenever I read that somebody’s a superhero.”

Larson also has a special relationship with another co-star: Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Nick Fury. She called him her “bestie” and “soulmate,” and said they’ve done several movies together and “are planning their next five.”

“Yeah, he’s just my favorite, [and] I’m his second favorite,” she quips. “On The Marvels, there was a moment we were working together, and they’re like, ‘Can you do one more take,’ and he’s like, ‘Of course, of course, anything for my second favorite co-star.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean? What are you talking about? Who’s your first?’ And he was like, ‘Me!’ I mean, I can’t fight with that.”

Earlier in the episode, Larson also talked about Lessons in Chemistry, a series based on a novel by Bonnie Garmus that premiered on Apple TV+ on Oct. 13. The show, set in the 1950s, follows a woman, Elizabeth Zott, whose dream of being a scientist is challenged by a society that thinks women belong in the domestic sphere. But she accepts a job on a TV cooking show with the goal of teaching a nation of overlooked housewives way more than recipes.

“It was brought to me about two years before the book even came out. It’s a fabulous book,” the actress said of the project. “And it took about that long to get it off the ground, but, yeah, they asked me to be a producer, which has just been amazing ‘cause it helps me … like when I’m playing someone like Elizabeth, who’s just such rich character, it’s nice to help build her world and be there from the beginning.”

Larson added, “To be totally honest, I’ve been acting since I was like 7, and I’ve never really known what a producer does … actually they do a lot. Let me tell you, I learned that it’s hard.”

Overall, Larson said she’s just “happy to finally” be able to express her appreciation for all the cast and crew that worked on Lessons in Chemistry.

Earlier Friday, Larson also popped unannounced into a movie theater in New York City to surprise fans and celebrate The Marvels’ official opening.