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"Cobie Smulders has said she is proud of her performance as SHIELD agent Maria Hill in The Avengers. The actress explained to the Los Angeles Times that it was a major accomplishment for Maria Hill to stand out in a film that also featured Hollywood stars Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L Jackson and Mark Ruffalo.   &amp;quot;I feel like I was able to hold my own quite well\u00E2\u20AC\u00A6 That was really important to me, because I was quite intimidated,&amp;quot; Smulders commented. &amp;quot;Not only is it a different genre for me, but it&amp;#039;s with some of the most talented actors in Hollywood!&amp;quot; She went on to say that she grew to truly admire Maria as she researched the comic book character. &amp;quot;I really got into her. She&amp;#039;s like this ballsy chick who comes from this intense, tough background, military background,&amp;quot; Smulders recalled. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s cool playing a woman who has to be in this really tough world.&amp;quot; The How I Met Your Mother actress has previously appeared in a comic book spinoff as Shannon Bell in Smallville. The Avengers is now playing in US and UK cinemas. Watch a trailer for The Avengers below:  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/the-avengers/news/a380989/cobie-smulders-i-held-my-own-in-the-avengers/>