McKay Stewart: Flips, fights and facts One line, one hazmat suit, and my first day at S.H.I.E.L.D.

I Played Scientist #1 on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

· McKay Stewart

November 13, 2014. Evening, Pacific time.

I typed one line and hit send:

“Just booked a role on @Marvel @agentsofshield #agentsofshield! #Boom”

That’s it. No photo. No details. Just #Boom.

A week earlier I was in Seattle rehearsing fights with Manu Bennett on Beta Test (that post). Now I was going into the Marvel universe.

My part: Scientist #1. The episode: “Aftershocks.” Season 2, Episode 11 of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Here’s the story, plus every frame of it I’ve shared over the years.

McKay Stewart as Scientist #1 in a hazmat suit, holding an old camera with a flash, in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Aftershocks" Me as Scientist #1 in “Aftershocks” (ABC, 2015). Hazmat suit, glasses, old-school camera. Still from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., shared on X.

What is “Aftershocks”?

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ran on ABC for 7 seasons. It follows Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his team of agents inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Aftershocks” aired on March 3, 2015. It picks up right after a huge mid-season finale.

Quick setup:

  • Skye (Chloe Bennet) just got earthquake powers in an alien city under the ground
  • Raina (Ruth Negga) changed in the same temple, and she came out covered in thorns
  • Coulson wants payback on Hydra
  • Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) is getting ready to flood the alien city so nobody else goes in

That last part is where I come in.

The crew working down in that city wears white hazmat suits. Lights. Air hoses. Tablets. Cameras. Then Raina crawls out of the rubble and attacks the team.

Scientist #1 does not have a good night. When I posted about it later, I tagged it #deathtomckay. That should tell you how it ends for my guy.

Hazmat-suited scientists searching the dark alien city in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Aftershocks" The hazmat team in the alien city. Frame from my action/stunt demo reel, shared on X.

Who made it

The people behind this episode are a big deal in the Marvel TV world:

  • Written by: Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon (the show’s executive producers)
  • Directed by: Billy Gierhart
  • Original title: “Epidemic,” before Marvel renamed it

When Marvel.com announced the guest cast for the episode, my name was on the list: McKay Stewart as scientist #1. That list also had Kyle MacLachlan, Ruth Negga, Adrian Pasdar, Henry Simmons and Dichen Lachman.

Ruth Negga got an Oscar nomination two years later for Loving. So yes, I got taken out by a future Oscar nominee. I’ll take it.

The shoot day

The shoot was on Wednesday, November 26, 2014. That’s the day before Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving morning I posted:

“Great working with you yesterday @Lil_Henstridge!!”

I also gave a #yourebrilliant shout-out to Iain De Caestecker, who plays Leo Fitz.

Fitz and Simmons were fan favorites on that show. Getting a day in their world meant a lot.

Booked November 13. Shot November 26. That’s under 2 weeks. TV moves fast.

10 seconds of the “Aftershocks” hazmat scene, cut from my demo reel (full reel on X). Footage: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC.

The suit

Acting in a full hazmat suit is its own skill.

Your face sits behind a plastic visor. The hood and air hose hide most of you. So your body has to tell the story.

That’s where stunt training helps. You hit your marks. You move like a real tech who does this every day. Then, when the scene turns, you sell it. Fast. Big. Clean.

Scientist #1 is attacked in the alien city, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Aftershocks" The moment it goes wrong for Scientist #1. Frame from my demo reel, shared on X.

Air date

I counted down.

On February 23, 2015 I posted: “See me on TV series #AgentsofSHIELD March 3rd, woot! Playing a scientist :D”

On March 2, 2015: “Catch me on #AgentsofSHIELD ‘Aftershocks’ tomorrow 8PM/9PMC! I play a scientist :)”

It aired on ABC on Tuesday, March 3, 2015. About 4.48 million people watched that night, per Nielsen numbers reported by TV by the Numbers.

4.48 million. For a guy in a hazmat suit who said “#Boom” on Twitter a few months before.

The episode later went to Netflix (June 2015) and is now on Disney+.

“Hey! Remember me?”

In August 2016, I sent Elizabeth Henstridge that camera still with a simple line: “Hey! Remember me?” Hashtags: #aftershocks, #superscientist, #deathtomckay.

Two days later, I was inviting people to a screening of my short West Side Swordy at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood (the Swordy story).

Look at the invite. Under “Created by McKay Stewart” it says (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). One day in a hazmat suit, and it was on my billing.

Invitation to the award-winning West Side Swordy screening, August 17, 2016, TCL Mann Chinese Theatres, Created by McKay Stewart (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) Screening invite for West Side Swordy, August 17, 2016, 12 PM, TCL Chinese Theatres. Shared on X.

Why this one matters

Look at my 2014 run:

  • April: stunt doubling Scott Wolf on TNT’s Perception (that post)
  • August: wrapped For Blood as Dead Card Danny (that post)
  • November: Seattle with Manu Bennett on Beta Test
  • Late November: Marvel. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. “Aftershocks.”

That’s the working actor and stunt life. You train. You audition. You book. You show up and nail your day. Then you hit send on one line: #Boom.

And it wasn’t my last trip to S.H.I.E.L.D. In 2021 I posted that I still couldn’t get over working 2 roles on the show. The second one came in Season 5, and it had a fight with Ming-Na Wen. That’s the next post in this series.

The record

Check it yourself:

One line on Twitter. One day in a hazmat suit. 4.48 million viewers. That was my first day at S.H.I.E.L.D.

← All stories