CultBox recently caught up with Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Iain De Caestecker to coincide with the DVD release of his new psychological horror movie, In Fear.

Here the Scottish actor chats about the film, his past and present career and what’s next for him…

Can you tell us what In Fear is about?

“The film centres around these two characters: my character Tom and Alice [Englert]’s character Lucy. The two are taking a trip to Ireland and they’re in the very early stages of their relationship. They don’t really know each other that well, or as well as they think.

“They end up travelling through these country roads and things start to get more and more intense. They end up questioning each other and who they are, and the fact that they don’t know that much about each other.”

How did you come to be involved in the project?

“I had met Jeremy [Lovering, the film’s director] a few times. I did a screen test and it went straight from there. We went straight into rehearsals and then we shot the movie. We were in Cornwall for about five or six weeks. It was a really amazing experience.”

Are you a fan of the psychological horror genre?

“Oh yeah, definitely. It was really cool to be a part of something like that, particularly the way Jeremy shot it. He didn’t tell us everything that was going to happen, so there are times when he would surprise us with something and we would be genuinely scared.

“We did almost all night shoots, down these country roads that all looked the same and that all kind of added to our performance and to the film itself. It’s the kind of the film that if I wasn’t involved with I would watch and to be a part of it, I’m really proud of that.”

What was it like to work with your co-stars, Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures) and Allen Leech (Downton Abbey)?

“With the subject matter of the film, while on set we tried to keep our distance to keep within the mood of the character, but off-set, we all just had the best time and became really good friends. It was an amazing experience.

“We were all staying in this one hotel together so we became very much like a family very quickly. I still remain close to Jeremy, Alice and Allen, which I feel very fortunate for. For me, that one was really special.”

Obviously a major part of your success over the past year has been your role as Leo Fitz on Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. – are you enjoying playing Fitz on the show?

“We have a great time. In a lot of ways it’s not as intense as a project like In Fear, and not as low budget. I mean with this [Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.] we have these huge set pieces, and to be a part of the Marvel world that they’ve created is amazing.

“There’s a lot of cool special effects… it’s all really exciting. What’s great as well is that you get to develop your character over a longer period of time, and learn more about him.”

Where do you see Fitz going as a character and how would you like to see him develop?

“Well, we only get our scripts the week before shooting, so we only find out what’s happening with our characters week to week. What’s interesting now is that where the first nine or ten episodes were very episodic, now we are starting to do more with each character’s story, which is a really interesting aspect.

“There’s some really exciting stuff coming up and with Fitz. Fitz’s journey is that he wasn’t battle trained, he had no field experience. He spent all his time in a lab and that’s what he knows and feels comfortable with. His weakness is his insecurity in that he doesn’t have that field experience and that’s what’s being explored this first season.”

How long would you like to see Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. run for?

“You know for me, I try not to look too far ahead, just as a general rule or I think it’ll spiral out of control in my head. I’m just trying to concentrate on episode to episode and not really think about that. We just have such a good time here, we all get on so well.”

You and Elizabeth Henstridge, in particular, seem to have a great chemistry…

“Yeah, those characters have a very special relationship as part of a team that was there before they established in this team. We have all genuinely become very good friends and we all hang out together and stuff… it’s a really nice thing to be a part of.”

Is there any chance we’ll see some of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters in The Avengers 2 or other Marvel movies?

“I ask these questions all the time and I don’t know! There’s a moment in Episode 2 where Nick Fury comes in, and as a result we all felt verified as part of the Marvel Universe. I mean, anything can happen, that’s the exciting thing about it. But as far as me knowing, I have absolutely no idea.”

Also now out on DVD is your 2013 romantic comedy Not Another Happy Ending with Doctor Who star Karen Gillan, where you played the comical character of Roddy. What was that like?

“I mean Fitz is definitely the closest that I’ve played to his character before. I do enjoy comedy, and Roddy, as one of the supporting cast, was a great comedy part. You try and adapt your persona for the character off-set and with comedy, what’s great is you can have a laugh and a joke and take that straight on set with you.”

What was it like to film in Glasgow, on a low budget, with a predominantly Scottish cast?

“Filming back in Glasgow was a great thing for me. It’s my home, my favourite place in the world, its where all my friends and family are. That was a huge impetus for me to do it. Stanley [Weber, who plays Roddy’s boss Tom Duval in the film] is coming over to Los Angeles quite soon. We became very good friends while we were filming that. Karen’s over here as well.”

Having worked with Karen Gillan on Not Another Happy Ending, with Matt Smith on Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut How To Catch A Monster and with Fitz having a TARDIS toy in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., what are the chances of seeing you on Doctor Who sometime soon?

“I suppose you can never say never, but I’m so involved with Agents that right now, I’m not sure. I watch Doctor Who and I’m a really big fan of Matt and Karen… the opportunity to work with them again would be amazing.”

What are your memories of working on BBC Three’s The Fades and are you sad that it only lasted one series?

“Am I sad? Of course, yeah, I think Jack Thorne [The Fades creator] did an amazing job writing that, so to work with him again would have just been amazing and cast like Daniel Kaluuya, Johnny Harris…

“I really wanted it to go on and I was so proud of the TV series as a whole… but unfortunately the powers that be didn’t really want it to go on so we had to leave it behind. But it’s always something that I’ve got there that I can be very proud of.”

Did you know what would have happened to your character if there had been a series two?

“I don’t actually, no. We found out not that long after it came out that they weren’t going to do a second [series], which is sad. So we just had to leave it blank.”

What’s next for you then? We’ve also heard word about a short film, Liam and Lenka?

“Yeah, that was with a Scottish director, Michael Keeler, who I’m very close to. We made that short film together, hopefully one day we can make it into a feature somehow. Shot that last year, before the summer. I really enjoyed that.

“I’ve got a movie called How To Catch A Monster which is out later this year, more S.H.I.E.L.D. and beyond that just seeing what happens I suppose.”