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#Smallville20: Catching Up With TV’s First Supergirl Laura Vandervoort

Laura Vandervoort looks back at her time on Smallville in a #Smallville20 20th anniversary interview at KryptonSite.

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While the first live-action Supergirl came our way with Helen Slater in the 1984 film Supergirl, the character first came to live-action TV on Smallville in 2007 where she was played by Laura Vandervoort. (Yes, we know, there was a “Kara” played by Adrianne Palicki in the Season 3 finale, but do remember she was actually a missing girl named Lindsay Harrison who thought she was a Kryptonian named Kara). Continuing on with our #Smallville20 20th anniversary content marking the 20-year anniversary of the Smallville series premiere on October 16, we caught up with the actress who played Clark’s favorite cousin who later went on to star in numerous TV and films, including a guest run on the Supergirl TV series when it was on CBS.

And on that note… this is only the second of several interview features you will see on KryptonSite in the coming days to celebrate the anniversary, continuing on past the actual date which is this Saturday, October 16. But for now… let’s go fly with “Kara Kent!” You can read the interview below or you can watch video of this interview on YouTube or embedded in this very post. You decide!

KRYPTONSITE’s CRAIG BYRNE: When you first auditioned for Smallville, did you know that you were auditioning for Kara?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I knew I was auditioning for the role of Supergirl. And at the time, I wasn’t into comics… I didn’t know if Supergirl was, like, his girlfriend, which I was very excited about, because it’s Tom Welling. So I did a bit of research. But yes, I knew it was Supergirl going in, and was pretty excited about it, and terrified.

How familiar were you with Smallville before getting the part?

I was pretty familiar with it. I had seen the show. I wouldn’t say like I was a hardcore fan…. I had seen some episodes and knew what it was about, but other than that, I didn’t know where they were at in terms of storyline when I was joining. I just sort of jumped in Season 7, which made sense because she’s supposed to be new to the planet. She shouldn’t know what’s been going on. She shouldn’t be familiar with the people. So it worked out that I wasn’t up to date with the episodes.

What do you remember about your first day at Smallville?

Nothing! I mean, I know that I was nervous. I know I felt uncomfortable in the outfit, and I knew I didn’t want to get fired… but I don’t remember what scenes we filmed. I remember the weekend before I started, I had my first flying stunt rehearsal and harness work. But the first day, I couldn’t tell you what scene I shot because I was just terrified.

Were you impressed when you first saw the visual effects of your character flying at the end of the season premiere?

Yes, especially on the the water tower that first time. It felt so epic, with the music when she stands up and… it was a Kelly Clarkson song, which was so cool at the time, and now, so I was very impressed. We already knew the show was great, and the quality of visual effects was at the time pretty remarkable.

Do you remember some of the first people you met?

I believe the first person I met was Tom, and he welcomed me to the show and was very lovely. I was a nervous wreck. And then I must have met either Kristen or Michael. It took me a while to meet Allison because we didn’t have any scenes together, really.

Michael was really lovely because it was my first time in Vancouver, and being away from home, I was still a teenager… so he took me out and showed me around and we went to a T-shirt making place. That was really nice and welcoming of him. And then I met the rest of the cast and Erica as time went on.

Was Kara supposed to spin off into her own series?

Hmm. Depends on who you ask.

I had heard that that was the intention. But no one ever spoke to me about it. And then I’d heard when this series ended that one of the episodes we did (“Supergirl”) was a test pilot, which no one had told me about, so I don’t know.

I was on set around the time that episode was shooting, and there were pictures of you in the costume at The Daily Planet, and [WBTV publicist] Susan Kesser was trying to shoo us away so we didn’t see them.

It was all very secretive. You know, when you’re on shows like that, you don’t want to give anything away. I mean, that was my first taste of paparazzi being on set at Base Camp – there were photos of me going into my trailer, and [the others] were all used to it. This show is such a hit that and people still are really interested in the process of making it.

Was your contract always only for one season?

Um, gosh… I don’t know, because Michael [Rosenbaum] keeps telling people I was a guest star, or recurring, or whatever. I’m like “I did four seasons!” I don’t know about the original one. Realistically they probably had a contract for one season, just to feel me out, and then it turned into four, because they hopefully were happy to have me around. I think the chemistry with Tom and I was there.

Is there anything you wish Kara had been able to do on the series. Like a scene with Clark, or Martha, or anybody?

It would have been great to have [scenes] with Martha. That would have been wonderful. You know, some of the episodes I love the most… there was one called “Fracture” when Kara has memory loss, and so I had an opportunity to play a different side of her. That was a lot of fun. So maybe more of that – less superheroics in episodes and more just character-based drama would have been great. Also, I would have loved to have been at Clark’s wedding. I wasn’t there.

Clark didn’t even remember bring his glasses to his wedding, and they established it on the show only a few weeks earlier! Pete and Lana weren’t there either, so you’re in good company.

Yeah, I guess we were off doing something else. Something more important.

Did you think that Smallville would be something that you’d be talking about so many years later?

No, I didn’t know! I obviously knew how big the show was at the time, but you never think things will stand the test of time, but Smallville has. People are still interested today, and it’s great. It gives us an opportunity to relive those moments. We tell stories on panels that I had completely forgotten. It’s lovely. We can still go meet the fans and have a chance to talk about those stories we had 10+ years ago – 20 for some – I’m grateful. I’m grateful to have played the first version of her on television.

Did you see Tom Welling’s appearance in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover and had you wished that Kara could have shown up?

I did not. I don’t watch a lot of the this genre, but I’d heard about it. I knew Erica [Durance] did it with Tom… I believe they did it together. But no one approached me for it, so I was in the dark on that. I would have done it. Even the appearance on Supergirl was a lot of fun for me, just to play a villain and be in the same genre.

Do you have any plans personally to revisit anything for the Smallville 20 year anniversary, especially as the Blu-ray is about to come out? Are there any episodes you might want to see again?

I hadn’t thought about it, [but] what I would love is for us all the cast to get together and do, like, a DVD commentary, and watch them together and talk about shooting that scene and the antics and the interesting things that happened during that episode. It would be great to do commentary for it and watch it all together.

Can you talk about the recent films that you’ve been doing and how you’ve gotten into producing and I believe directing as well?

I just finished a thriller called Black Bags. It’s a it’s a double-hander with two women as the lead which is fantastic and the characters are so well written. Josh Brandon directed it, who I worked with on a show called Haven. He was a writer on that and he asked me to come on board for this. We shot that in Oklahoma. [We’re] hoping it’ll be out probably early next year, but I don’t know for sure. And I just wrote, directed, and produced my first film. We actually locked it two days ago which means it’s done.

Is that My Soul To Take? Where can people read more about that?

Well, we have Instagram at @MySoulToTakeFilm and we kind of do all of our updates there. We actually raised the funds for My Soul To Take on Indiegogo and I sold off all of my Smallville stuff to fund the film, so in a way, Smallville gave so much to me, but in this case, that also gave me the opportunity to direct and write and produce for the first time. So now people have my Kryptonian cuff, and my crew jacket, and comics… all of that stuff is gone. It was worth it, because I’m very proud of the film we made. My partner Jessica Patel and I worked our asses off. We have Colm Feore in the film, Jenny Raven… some really, really talented Canadian actors. And I’ve been producing a lot since then. I’m still planning to be in front of the camera, but I’m enjoying being behind it and having more of a control of my content.

Can you talk about where people can find you on social media?

I’m on Instagram at @lauravandervoort – I got my name back, finally! On Twitter but not really at @Vandiekins22 and I just joined TikTok.

I saw that you’re doing some episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale.

I did! I played a character named Daisy. I had a chance to work with Elisabeth Moss, who is a huge role model for me, because she not only produces and stars in her projects and directsm but she’s just so kind and so talented. To work with her was just spectacular for me. She did not disappoint. The way she treats her crew, the way she treated me as someone she didn’t know who was just popping in… it was a lot of fun.

Is there any last thing you’d like to say to the fans who will be watching this or reading it?

There’s so much to say. Thank you for being not only fans of the series forever, but for continuing to support all of the actors in all of our endeavors, and being so kind to us at conventions, and online, and ultimately really propelling us into the other jobs that we’ve been doing. We couldn’t have had any of our careers without you guys or without Smallville, and I’m eternally grateful. I feel old – 20 years, but I joined in [Season] 7, so it’s okay! And also… thank you for growing with us. I know a lot of the people who started watching Smallville were practically the ages we were while shooting it, and they’ve they’ve grown up with us and continued on with us, ao that’s really rad. Thank you.

Follow @KryptonSite on Twitter for updates on when more #Smallville20 content will be posted! Our HUGE thanks to Laura Vandervoort for participating in this interview.

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Interviews

Superman & Lois: Full Interview with Inde Navarrette (Sarah)

Full interview with Inde Navarrette who plays Sarah Cortez on Superman & Lois

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Last week, we ran some preview questions for “Collision Course” with actress Inde Navarrette who plays Sarah Cortez. As a new episode airs tonight (June 6), it felt right to share our full interview with Inde. We’re starting with relationship talk since that’s where the previous piece seemed to leave off. Be aware some minor spoilers may be discussed within.

KRYPTONSITE’S CRAIG BYRNE: Sarah’s preference for herself with Jordan would be for them to just be good friends, right? 

INDE NAVARRETTE: For me as a viewer, I would love to see that friendship. You know what I mean? It’s definitely something that was there in the beginning, and then they went straight into a relationship. I think it’s important to see them as friends and good friends and being there for each other.

Was it fun to film that scene at the party in Metropolis earlier that the season where the two of them were working together as friends? 

Absolutely. Are you kidding me? Throwing a beer and saying ‘here’s your beer, bitch,’ and then going back and forth… that was one of the best days to film. Me and Alex had the time of our lives. I’m definitely wanting to do that again.

Am I imagining things and seeing some chemistry between Jonathan and Sarah? 

You shut your mouth! You be quiet! What are you saying that for? What’s wrong with you? Sarah would never do that!

Yeah, it’s funny… me and Michael have definitely picked up on that. And we’re like, what is this? What is this? It’s definitely a question. I don’t know where it’s gonna go, but it’s definitely a question.

I love this Sarah and Jonathan combination. In Seasons 1 and 2, Jonathan and Sarah definitely had a relationship that was so chemistry-filled, I think, and it’s so specific to the characters. Michael [Bishop] did such a good job coming in, and picking up on that, and doing it in his own way. And it seems so beautiful, to where it still is there. You know what I mean? It’s something that’s been there since day one that we still carry. I think it’s definitely something, for sure. As Inde, I’m  screaming at them like “don’t do the brothers trope!” But then me as somebody who reads books, I’m like “maybe do the brother trope.”

Do you as a cast have theories on where Sophie disappears to when she’s not in an episode?

That is the biggest joke on set! We’re like “she’s in Guatemala!” We have this joke where she’s the villain and she’s secretly the mastermind behind everything, because she’s so angry at her family. We’ll joke around about the fact that it’s actually Bizarro Sophie. We don’t ever stop talking about it. And the fact that they even wrote it into the script… when we got that script [where Sophie was missing], I thought I was gonna die laughing, because it was a joke that we made on set, and the fact that it’s actually in the script…. you can only see so many comments before you go “yeah, we should definitely address that. Where is she?”

Didn’t you do an interview at one point where you just went “Who’s Sophie?” or did I imagine that? 

Yeah, that definitely happened. We talked about siblings, [and I was] like “I have a sister?”

Is there anything about Sarah that you wish the show had handled differently?

I think Season 1 a very big tell of who Sarah is. In Season 1, she’s extremely reserved, and really wanting to understand where everyone’s coming from. She’s still an angry child because of everything that she’s going through with her family and friends and everything, so there’s this understanding and connection between her and Jordan, because they have that understanding of feeling lost in a family and not knowing what to do, or having mental health issues. I think over the years, she’s kind of projected onto Jordan instead of taking care of her own things. I definitely love her arc this season, because she’s coming back to herself in the manner of who she was before, rather than solely focusing on on Jordan. I would say that we’re definitely getting there, for sure.

My personal head-canon is that Sarah is the coolest teenager in all of Smallville… so how did she not know who The Cure are?

I brought that up so many times! That is not a me question. That is a writer question. Call them, because I don’t know. Also, whenever they were talking about Alanis Morissette…. Are you kidding me? She doesn’t know who that is? Anyway…

Is there a particular storyline that you would like to see in the future for Sarah?

I would love to see her with the boys and Nat, and helping out…. maybe be the getaway driver.

She’s done a lot with her family. She’s done a lot with her parents. I would love to see her with the kids more, not being the emotional teenager or a kid.

There’s a scene, I think it’s in episode five, when they go to get Jon’s truck back… I remember watching the stunts and I remember watching it being performed and I just sat there like, “I so badly wish that Sarah was a part of this, because I think that she would be able to heighten that.” I think maybe that’s why her and Jonathan have such chemistry, because they’re the two in their families where they know that they’re capable of doing everything that they can, but the people around them kind of have a one up. Nat has her suit, and Jordan has his powers, but me and Jonathan can throw a punch. We can throw beer in people’s faces and can take care of something. I can be the getaway driver!

Do you think anybody’s going to let her be the getaway driver after last week’s episode, though?

That’s a good question. I would say her driving was phenomenal. It just was extracurricular activities that caused issues!

Earlier this season, you had a very charged scene with Emmanuelle [Chriqui] as Lana… you know which one I’m talking about. Was that hard to prepare for, working with somebody who’s your friend and getting in her face, and then her character slaps you?

That day was definitely something. Emmanuelle and I have such a good relationship. I just remember that time being so at peace with myself, and then we have to go film this scene. There’s a moment where I, as Inde, a 22 year old actress, have to really remove myself from Sarah because the things that Sarah says, as a teenager… my heart breaks. I hate those words, I hate them coming out of my mouth, and I hate saying them to Emmanuelle. That is, I would say, the most difficult part about being Sarah, saying those things. I, as an actor, have to make it to where I understand why she’s saying those things, so I could play it honestly, and during that day where I say stuff like “that’s why Dad cheated on you” I think the only way that could be is because she’s frustrated with everything that’s going on, and she’s trying to say everything that comes out. It doesn’t mean she’s saying it with anger, but sometimes you’ll say things when you genuinely don’t mean it, you’re just saying it, but it causes a reaction in the other person.

So to play it that way, and then to have Emmanuelle’s reaction, it was really tough. I let her actually slap me five or six times. Greg, the director was like, “okay, we’re not gonna do it on this one… we’re gonna do on this one…” There’s one time where Emmanuelle did it, and I was like “you’ve got to slap me harder. I love you, but you’ve got to slap me harder.” Then another time she fully clapped my ear, and as I was walking away, I was like, “I hear a symphony. There are bells ringing in my brain!” I didn’t say anything, because they would have been like “you’re done” and I was like, “no, we’ve got to get this.” Watch now me talking about it, they’re going to be like “you don’t do your own stuff anymore.”

We will see more friendship between Sarah and Nat?

I think so.

How good do you feel about the possibility of still getting a fourth season?

We’re really looking forward to it. We haven’t heard anything back. If I get to work with them again, I’m happy. We all keep in touch, and it was such a beautiful set to be on. So hopefully, hopefully, hopefully. If not, I had a phenomenal time.

How excited were you when you heard the show was going to be getting Michael Cudlitz as Lex Luthor?

It’s been a lifelong joke between me and Todd Helbing, the showrunner, about shaving my head. I’ll joke like “Sarah’s gonna shave her head in this episode!”

It’s a lifelong dream of mine to shave my head, and not only to do that, but to do it for something that I love, like my job. So I get on set, and I [met him], and I said, “what did you do today?” And he was like, “Well, you know, we did the scene where we shaved his head.” And… I couldn’t stop it from coming out of my mouth… I was like, “you m$#%$^$&#$%@$.” It was the first time I ever met him, so I think we got off to a really good start of getting to really know each other. It was amazing.

Do you think she could be his bald minion?

I hope so! Sarah needs to just be taken under his wing, and fully become his protege.

Regardless of if there’s a fourth season or not, are there certain friendships and relationships that you will take with you?

Everybody. This entire set… it’s one of those things where it’s so specific. We went through something like COVID together. We became a family. We got to know each other, snd it’s such a beautiful thing to be able to experience. I’m really close with Erik who plays my dad, and I’m close with his family. I’m really close to Emmanuelle and Wolé and Sofia and Tayler and Michael and Alex… it was such a beautiful experience, and I’ll hold it very near and dear to my heart.

Superman & Lois has a new episode titled “Complications” airing TONIGHT at 8PM ET/PT on The CW.

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Superman & Lois: Inde Navarrette on Tonight’s “Collision Course”

Inde Navarrette offers some previews of the May 30 episode of Superman & Lois titled “Collision Course”

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Sarah Cortez gets herself into some trouble in tonight’s episode of Superman & Lois… and when we asked the actress who plays her, Inde Navarrette, about this when we spoke to her this afternoon, she asked us “When does Sarah not get in trouble?”

Without going into specifics as to what happens in the May 30 episode, Inde tells us that it’s an “important learning lesson” for Sarah to realize that “everything is fun, until it’s not.”

“Even if you don’t think that something is as serious as it is, it is serious. Growing up, you learn that your actions have consequences. That’s really important for people to learn, especially Sarah,” she says.

And going into tonight’s episode, we also asked how much, on a scale of 1 to 10, Jordan (Alex Garfin) has been on Sarah’s nerves.

“I would say that it’s a solid 7, maybe 8 and a half,” Inde says about the lovesick teen character. “She’s really trying to work with him, and I think that tonight you’re going to see them come at a crossroads, and either figure out how it works, or go completely the opposite direction. But we definitely see a new dynamic of their relationship,” she teases.

Superman & Lois “Collision Course” airs tonight (May 30) on The CW.

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Superman & Lois Interview: Talking to Wolé Parks Before “The Dress”

Interview with actor Wolé Parks about Season 3 of The CW television series Superman & Lois

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Tonight’s (May 23) episode of Superman & Lois is called “The Dress” and it is an emotion-filled hour with great moments for many of the show’s characters. One of those characters is John Henry Irons as played by Wolé Parks. We spoke with the actor earlier today in anticipation of tonight’s big episode, especially about issues involving John Henry and the father of his daughter Nat’s new boyfriend Matteo. You can read the interview below, and you can look forward to more from Wolé on KryptonSite in the near future!

KRYPTONSITE’S CRAIG BYRNE: Considering John Henry himself has lost his wife, does he have any sympathy at all for Bruno Mannheim, especially knowing Pia’s situation?

WOLÉ PARKS: I think he would have more sympathy if we didn’t have Bruno try to kill him at the end of episode 8. [Laughs] That’s the whole thing! That’s the interesting thing, to me, about this season and the way it’s going. I think the writers have done a brilliant job of making Bruno and Pia sympathetic in some ways, so people understand them. But with John, he’s like, “hey, guys, you remember this guy? You know what he did? He killed me in this world. And remember how he strapped a bomb to my sister? Yeah, that’s still him.” I understand he’s going through a rough time. Clark and Lois are going through rough time, but we don’t see them killing people. That’s the interesting thing about what’s going on with John, and how he perceives everything.

Did John know Bruno at all in his own world?

That’s a great question. I think not. It’s never answered, but I don’t think so, because I think he dealt with Lex Luthor, and in that world, Lex Luthor was still in power. Therefore, that means Bruno Mannheim didn’t take him out, so, I don’t think they interacted.

Speaking of that other world, how is John Henry process processing Lois’ cancer knowing that she could die, just like her counterpart had?

I think that was really hard for him. That was the whole idea of the episode with the watch and seeing John Henry dealing with it with Natalie. I think John as a person, maybe because he’s a former soldier, he’s one of those people who “acts now, feels later.” I don’t think he’s the best at processing emotions, and with Lois, it’s interesting, because this is not something you can fight. It’s interesting because you also see Clark deal with this, as well. This is not something that Superman can save her from.

So, the people in Lois’ life have to figure out how they can process, and realize they’re kind of powerless to help in this situation, and for someone like John Henry… he’s a selfless person, he always wants to be able to help, and he can’t. I think it’s taken him a while to learn and to come to accept that.

Cn you talk about having a scene partner as great as Tayler Buck?

Oh, I love me some Tayler. Tayler can do no wrong. She’s so fun. She’s cast so perfectly. I love that she brings such a strength to that character, and self-awareness that I 100% believe that [John and Nat] are related. It’s great, because she doesn’t cower to him. I love that she’s so strong in her point of view. It’s great.

Now that he knows who Matteo’s father is, is John going to be even more protective?

100%. Anything that Bruno touches is radioactive, so therefore, that includes his kids. For John, it’s like “I get you’re in love. I get you feel like you’re happy. You’re 16. You’ll grow out of it. I’m trying to keep you alive.

Can you talk about what it’s like to work with Chad Coleman as Bruno?

Chad’s the man. Chad and I play around all day long. Chad’s crazy, but in a good away. I’m crazy too, so that’s the fun of it.

I love an actor who’s willing to take risks. You know, you come up with an idea, but then you play ping pong with each other, and a scene goes in a completely different way. I only wish that people could see the multiple different versions that we have of the scenes we take together. It’s really all over the place because we get to play. I love that kind of acting. It was so much fun. And for me, that flip of seeing the version of Bruno in the restaurant, and everything’s happy, then is like “is this John Henry? I’ve gotta kill you!” He turns that quickly, and I love it.

Can you talk about working with Emmanuelle Chriqui so much recently?

It’s so cool. I just love Em. She’s so sweet, and I think that comes out through the character. Em’s just a joy; one of the most pleasant and also emotionally available people I’ve ever met. She’s just a genuinely good and kind, giving person, and it’s fun to see that, because I feel like Lana is bringing out a little bit of that lighter side of John. It just that he has to juggle that with the whole “oh, this guy’s trying to kill me” thing. It’s an interesting juggle.

Would you say that John and Clark are on very opposite sides of the Mannheim issue?

100%. I think they both personalize it, but in different ways. I think Clark has personalized it because he’s seen the cancer struggle up close. He’s seen Lois’ bond with Pia, which has clouded Clark’s judgment. But for John, he’s on the other end, where he’s like, “guys, this guy’s a killer. He strapped a bomb to my sister! He beat me up and was about to shoot me in his restaurant!” I’ll say this: I think they’re both doing the best they can; they just have different experiences with Bruno that are clouding their judgment.

Come back soon for more of our interview with Wolé Parks! Keep up with @SupermanLoisTV on Twitter for updates on when we will be posting more. “The Dress” airs May 23 on The CW.

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