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Conviction's Hayley Atwell Talks Putting Peggy Carter Behind Her as She Embarks on Her Next Big Role

Atwell stars as Hayes Morrison in ABC's new procedural, premiering Monday, Oct. 3

By Billy Nilles Oct 03, 2016 7:20 PMTags
Watch: Hayley Atwell Spills on New Show "Conviction"

Fans of Agent Carter may not yet be over the demise of the little-watched ABC series after just two seasons, but star Hayley Atwell (who's been playing the Marvel character on TV and in films since 2011) is ready to put the character behind her as she takes on the new role of Hayes Morrison in ABC's new series Conviction.

"Not necessarily to say that I will never play Peggy again. I hope one day, if it's right, that she can come back, but I do feel as an actor, part of the experience of going from job to job is the freedom to absolutely kill off the part you've just played in order to inhabit a new world. I think that's kind of been essential," she told E! News. "I want to start again. Every time I do a new job, I want to start again of not knowing what I'm doing, how to do it, who this person is. And that stops me from just repeating Hayley Atwell every time and just giving the audience the same thing because I would find that boring, so they must find that boring. So I was really thrilled to be given a new opportunity."

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In her new role, Atwell finds herself taking on a character with a few more shades of grey than our beloved Peggy. For instance, when we first meet Hayes, a lawyer and a former first daughter, she's facing jail time for drug possession. "They're going to see...quite a naughty heroine on the verge of self-destruction, but kind of being saved by you," she said when asked what fans could expect from her new role, pointing to co-star Eddie Cahill.

Cahill co-stars as New York D.A. Connor Wallace, Hayes' nemesis who offers her a get-out-of-jail-free card to avoid marring her mother's Senate campaign: Head up his newly-assembled team at the Conviction Integrity Unit. With each case selected, Hayes and her team will have five days to determine whether there is credible suspicion of wrongful conviction, getting to the bottom of some pretty complex cases as only they can.

Of course, Hayes' new start doesn't mean that she'll immediately be free of her demons. "It's so great to think of this strong whirlwind dynamic force of a leading character who really is in the middle of an identity crisis," Cahill said. "It's so compelling."

Something tells us Hayes just may turn out to a heroine who would make squeaky clean Peggy Carter proud.

For more from Atwell and Cahill, including the new co-stars asking each other the one question they've been dying to get an answer to, be sure to check out the video above.

Conviction premieres Monday, Oct. 3 at 10 p.m. on ABC.