New 'The Avengers' Clip: Agent Coulson Getting Creepy With Captain America

Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. has always seemed such a cool, collected customer. That's why seeing him go all fanboy is at least a little amusing.

Actor, writer and director Clark Gregg has played Nick Fury's right-hand man in roles of varying screen time across Marvel Studios' entire five-film set up to May 4's "The Avengers". He's often somewhat of a man making moves just off-center of the plot, but generally has it pretty well "together."

OK, so there was that one time in New Mexico....

But that aside, he just doesn't come across as star-struck by Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Then there's this clip, shown recently when he dropped by PBS' "The Tavis Smiley Show" on the hype train's home stretch. In it, Coulson lets Chris Evans' Captain America know just how (uncomfortably) up-close and personal (also, a little rapey-sounding) the S.H.I.E.L.D. suit got while Cap enjoyed a very frozen respite.

It's maybe not that far off the mark, as Gregg intimates to Smiley in the interview that follows that he brought being genuinely, personall geeked at the role to Coulson being momentarily inspired with awe.

"What Marvel did with some of these characters when I was reading them in the '70s was to re-examine the concept of heroism," Gregg said. "When I got a call to be in 'Iron Man', I thought 'Really?' . . . I couldn't sign on fast enough."

Watch Actor-writer-director Clark Gregg on PBS. See more from Tavis Smiley.