The biggest debut secret was undoubtedly that Supergirl's mother had a twin sister! Even more so, that the twin sister seems to be some kind of criminal and was sent to Krypton's maximum security. Laura Benanti has been on record stating that her drive for accepting the role of Supergirl's mother was the ability to play the duality of also being Astra. TVline.com managed to talk with the newest Supergirl villain about her role as Astra:
Regarding the character of Astra:
I never know how much I’m allowed to say, because she’s a pretty complicated and layered character. What I can tell you right now is that she is Alura Zor-El’s twin sister, who was obviously sent to Fort Rozz by her sister. I can’t tell you why and I can’t tell you what she’s been sent to Earth to do, but I can tell you that I punch a lot of people in the face.
Regarding Punching and Flying:
Like, two days before the fight scene the fight choreographers were working with me, they had me flying and landing — and they kept saying, 'A little less like Peter Pan and a little bit more like you’re scary.' The same thing with my punches — 'You’re not dancing, you’re punching somebody.' So, yeah, it took me a while to sort of get into the grittiness of it, but it ended up being really fun and looking really cool.
Regarding Laura Benanti's Excitement joining Supergirl:
This is so different from anything I’ve done. And I love that Greg Berlanti, who I’ve known forever, since I worked with him on Eli Stone, thought of me for this. When he called me and offered me this job, first he pitched me Alura and I was like, 'That sounds so nice and sweet. I can see why you thought of me.' And then when he was describing Astra, I was like, 'That is really cool. I’ve never done anything like this!' It’s fun not only to do something new but also be seen in a different light.
Will there be flashback scenes between Astra and Alura?
Yes — which is the craziest and coolest thing to shoot ever. It’s so insane. I got to see a little bit of it and it looks amazing. Basically, when we shoot it, it’s a person standing off camera reading the other lines, and I act into the air. I’m not looking at anyone, which is awkward and weird. But I’m actually proud of myself, it doesn’t look like I’m acting into the air!
Catch the full article here.
One of the really creative, and we think, successful elements of this new show is the addition of new, never-before-seen characters. Adding them to such a rich history of a beloved character gives a great opportunity to explore a known story in a brand new way.
What did you guys think of the snippets for the article? What are you thoughts about Astra? For that matter what about Alex? Are these two newly created characters adding to your Supergirl experience? Let us hear your opinions in the comments below and in the forum!
