J. August Richards on playing 'Deathlok' on 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D'

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- J. August Richards has played various roles on television shows and in movies, but his latest role playing Deathlok, aka Mike Peterson, on ABC's "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." fulfills a childhood dream of sorts.

"When I was 9 years old, if you would have asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I would have said, 'a superhero.' And I didn't mean an actor, I meant a real-life superhero, so there's a real moment for me playing this character," said Richards.

With his fan base growing, Richards says his greatest reward as an actor these days is when families approach him and "the parents say, we know you from 'Angel,'but the kids know you from 'S.H.I.E.L.D.'"

The 41-year-old hopes his acting future includes a galaxy far, far away.

"I'm so desperate to be in J.J. Abrams' new 'Star Wars' movie or one of the ones to come, or any off shoot of it, or anything," said Richards, who credits the original film for inspiring him to become an actor.

"It is literally the reason why I'm in this business because it was probably the second movie I ever saw in my life and I knew that I had to be a part of that somehow," he recalled. "I thought it was a real place and I wanted to go there. Then when I realized it was a movie and that there was something called an actor, that's what helped me decide I want to be an actor."