Brendan Gleeson Turns Gangs Of New York into a Tennis Match in Spider-Noir
Brendan Gleeson said acting opposite Nicolas Cage in gangs of new york-adjacent Spider-Noir felt like a “tennis match,” even as their characters played sworn enemies across all eight episodes now streaming on Prime Video. He described the scenes as a back-and-forth exchange built on trust, not static antagonism.
Silvermane and The Spider
Gleeson appears in the series as Silvermane, the sharp-tongued antagonist, while Cage plays Ben Reilly, also called The Spider. The show is based on the Spider-Man Noir comic book series and also stars Karen Rodriguez, Lamorne Morris, Abraham Popoola, Li Jun Li and Jack Huston.
“The joust was always fun,” Gleeson said of the characters’ clashes. He added that Cage is “very generous, very easy, very inventive, fearless, all that stuff,” and that the performances worked because “you just know when you can go have a little bit of a tennis match with this now and pitch it up back and forth, almost come back with a different spin on it and give back as good as you can.”
Eight Episodes, Two Versions
All eight episodes of Spider-Noir are now available to stream on Prime Video, and the series is also available in both “Authentic Black & White” and “True-Hue Full Color.” That gives viewers a choice in how they take in a show that debuted domestically on MGM+’s linear broadcast channel before moving onto streaming.
Gleeson said the characters were “kind of sworn enemies” with “a mutual kind of enjoyment about getting into it with each other,” and compared the dynamic to “two boxers or something” who end with “a big hug.” That is the series’ real hook: the conflict is written as friction, but played by two actors who seem to be treating every scene like a live volley.
What Viewers Get Next
For anyone starting the series now, the practical takeaway is simple: the full run is already online, so there is no wait for the rest of the season. The black-and-white and full-color options also make Spider-Noir more flexible than a typical rollout, which matters for a title trying to stand out after its domestic broadcast debut and during its broader streaming push.
