The Winchesters and Zombies breakout star Meg Donnelly first played Supergirl in Legion of Super-Heroes and has since reprised the role for Warner Bros. Animation's Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy.
The Maiden of Might plays a significant role in these movies, with the recently released Part Three putting her centre stage for an epic sacrifice we're sure the comic book readers among you will be all too familiar with.
Earlier this month, we were fortunate enough to sit down with Meg to learn more about how she approached the role across multiple DC projects. The actor also shared some fascinating insights into how she crafted the Tomorrowverse's take on the iconic hero and what she's enjoyed most about playing Supergirl.
Finally, the Crisis star also talks us through her Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow audition (she was a frontrunner to play the DC Studios' live-action Supergirl alongside James Gunn's eventual pick, Milly Alcock) and her future DCU hopes.
You can check out the full interview with Meg below.
What did you enjoy most about delving into Supergirl’s story arc across four movies, including Legion of Super-Heroes?
It’s been incredible. I think playing Supergirl from a teenager on Krypton to Part Three where she’s very jaded and ends up making the ultimate sacrifice…she’s gone through so much! From being able to play here, I felt like I understood her way more which is really cool to be able to portray her in so many different movies going through so many different things. She had an incredible arc so I was really happy.
Supergirl’s sacrifice is a huge part of the story, as people who have read the comics will know, so what was it like recording that sequence?
It was very, very emotional. It was also really emotional just knowing how in those comics, that is just such an iconic moment where she makes the sacrifice and then Superman is holding her and screaming. It’s such an iconic illustration so to be able to build that up with dialogue and to talk to Superman and say those lines was just really emotional and special because we had been doing these movies since before COVID. It’s been a very long time working on these movies and building relationships with everyone involved, so it was really emotional in that way too as it was like closing a chapter. Good vibes.
When it comes to stepping into the recording booth, what’s the fun for you as a performer to let loose as Supergirl or any other character?
It’s really fun! I have really enjoyed playing her because I feel like she goes through so many different versions of herself. The fighting scenes are always so much fun because I feel like the crazier you go, the better it is. Just to be able to make a fool out of yourself doing running sounds and getting hit or punching and screaming a lot, it’s therapeutic in a way but also really, really fun to let your imagination go wild. And to have as much fun as possible because you record it before you see the animation. You can imagine whatever you want, so that’s pretty cool.
This take on Crisis is unique, though it does still borrow a lot from the comics. Did you find it necessary to turn to those for any research or were the scripts more helpful in finding who the character is?
I definitely dove into different iterations of Supergirl just to help, but honestly, the scripts were so great. Wes and Butch, who were in charge of recording, were so great in terms of context and are so knowledgeable on everything DC Comics. Any questions I had, or sometimes I would just want to know a lot and ask them more context than was needed because I was curious, they’d talk about all these comics and would open it up and go through it. Especially with this one as in Part Three, there are so many different and beautiful illustrations of this specific comic. It was really helpful, but honestly, just being with Btch and Wes was the most helpful.
A big part of these movies has been Supergirl’s dynamic with The Monitor. What was it like to explore that and how did you find those scenes to perform?
It was really interesting. Her relationship with The Monitor…that arc was really beautiful. At first, she obviously wasn’t a huge fan of him and felt like she was being held captive but as she got to know him and learned more of his story, he was almost like a father figure. In order to help the fact she got manipulated to ultimately kill him was really, really heartbreaking but a really fun, interesting thing to find with The Monitor. It was really, really fun. I enjoyed it.
In terms of approaching a character like this, there are decades of history and a long list of other Supergirls in animation. How did you approach the character in terms of bringing your own personality to her?
At least for me, I think being able to play her as a teenager on Krypton and then coming to Earth and not really understanding…playing her backstory really helped as well because, at the end of the day, she’s just a kid who wants to fit it and feels very broken because she lost her family and unfortunately keeps losing the people in her life she loves. She’s just a very broken person but wants to be good and constantly is fighting to be good. That’s really rare but it’s why superheroes are so incredible. They go through so much, but the fact they’re so good is what makes them a superhero. Having that in the back of my mind was really helpful. Also, it was helpful for me as a person because I’d say, ‘I want to be more like her!’
A few months ago, much was said about you being in the mix to play Supergirl in the Woman of Tomorrow movie. What can you tell us about that process?
It was something that I really had to fight for to get an audition because I wanted to be a part of [it] and be Supergirl in any way. That was a dream of mine, to be a superhero on screen as well. So, I really fought for the audition and the fact that I got one and they liked it and I was then able to go and screen test. I was able to do stunts and do scenes on camera as Supergirl. That was really all I could ask for; the fact I was able to do that. I still don't really feel like it was real, so it was just an honour. I think they're just going in a different direction and that's totally great but everyone there was so nice and incredible. It was surreal how nice they were [Laughs]. It was cool to get so close and hopefully be in the DCU in any way, that would be really cool. It was a great experience.
I’m glad to hear that and there were so many fans rooting for you. There are still tonnes of other great characters in the DCU, though, so is there anyone else you have an eye on?
I think, yeah, it's a case of waiting and seeing who ends up coming into the DC Universe and the cinematic universe. I'm definitely keeping an eye out on that because just being a part of James Gunn's team in any way was really cool and felt really great. Hopefully, there is a space for that so, honestly, it would be really cool to play any superhero on screen. There are just so many to choose from!
Justice League Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Three is now available on Digital, 4K UHD in limited edition SteelBook packaging, and Blu-ray.