A lot of actors have taken on the iconic mantle of Superman since the Jerry Siegel/Joe Shuster character’s 1938 debut: Christopher Reeve, Henry Cavill, Kirk Alyn, George Reeves, Tom Welling and, most recently, David Corenswet, just to name a few.
Jack Quaid never thought he’d be lucky enough to count himself among that number.
“I know what I look like,” he told TheWrap. “I just never thought I screamed ‘Superman,’ but then I got this audition forever ago, it seems, and I remember my attitude was very much like, ‘Yeah, OK, sure, I’ll be Superman.’”
That audition was for “My Adventures with Superman,” an animated series created by Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment and, now, DC Studios that airs on Adult Swim. Jake Wyatt, Brendan Clougher and Josie Campbell serve as creators and showrunners for the series.
Of course, Quaid got the part (“I think the fact that I get to be very much Clark-forward in the show helps,” he admitted. “The fact that he’s younger, doesn’t really know a ton about Krypton initially”). Now, in its third season, “My Adventures With Superman” ups the ante, drawing some inspiration from a group of 1990s Superman comics, part of what was known as the Triangle Era.
The series takes interesting swings with its adaptations of the Superman mythos, depicting a more militaristic Krypton and giving Kal-El a greater number of tech-based foes. That continues into the first half of Season 3, where the show puts its own spin on (spoiler alert!) the iconic “Death of Superman” storyline, and also introduces viewers to a new version of Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s son, Jonathan Kent. Plus, the show introduces Jessica Cruz (Auliʻi Cravalho), who will anchor her own spin-off, “My Adventures with Green Lantern.”
With all that fun in store, Quaid is just happy to be along for the ride.
“Now it’s been so long since I’ve recorded it, I get to just kind of enjoy it as a fan,” he said. “Which is great. I just get to watch it, and I’ve kind of forgotten a lot, like, ‘Oh yeah!’”
Spoiler alert: This Q&A contains spoilers for the first half of “My Adventures with Superman” Season 3.
As a Superman fan, talk to me about stepping into the Triangle Era for Season 3.
Now he’s a full-on, he’s truly embracing being Superman this season, which I really, really love. I love that Kara is involved now, I love that Jimmy and Lois get to be fully part of the adventure. I know it took a while. I want to thank everybody for being so patient with us, but I’m so happy the show is back.
Well, there’s a lot that happens this season. One of the most rewarding aspects to me is the building out of the House of El. It’s not only Clark and Kara, but you also have Bizarro and Jon.
I get to voice Bizarro, which is crazy. Superman I never thought, but Bizarro is another one where I’m like, oh my God. There’s so much lore and incredible stuff with this character too. It’s fascinating. But yeah, I love that we’re expanding the House of El this season, and it’s so fun that we get to bring in all these incredible other voice actors. We’ve got Jessica Cruz in Episode 2. It’s fun. I’m glad that we’re expanding the world.
Yeah, talk to me as the cornerstone of this universe about seeing this “My Adventures with Green Lantern” taking off and being a show now only with a different hero, but with a younger hero, a teenage hero.
It’s amazing. I think that’s the perfect character for this team to develop a show around. I think that, I mean, it’s a joy to go into the booth for this show. I primarily work with Jake (Wyatt) and Brendan (Clougher). I know there’s a whole team of people that put this together, but they are so just true-blue Superman fans, DC Comics fans. They are incredible at this, and I am so, so happy that they get to play around with their own universe with these characters. They are the exact right people for the job.
Speaking personally, I have had the pleasure of — and I can’t believe I’ve been this lucky — but to be on the ground floor of two superhero universes that have now spun off into other things, and that is such a joy. That is so cool. I never thought it would happen once, much less twice, but the fact that they were able to take this character who has been around for so long and give us a fresh new take on not only him, but his surrounding characters and it’s taken off like this, all my credit to the people who have made the show what it is. It’s wonderful.
You guys never take a straight adaptation to any of these characters. How does it feel to you as a fan to get to work on these stories that are these interesting adaptations, like this fusing of Cyborg (Superman) and Metallo this season.
It’s unbelievable. It’s really cool to, I think, when it comes to adaptations, sometimes people want to see more or less the thing they know adapted again, but this time in a new medium, and I totally understand that. But we have so many versions of Superman that do that, and I’m really happy that this show really goes for it and takes chances. And there are things for fans to pick up; however, it still leaves room for fans to be surprised, like “Oh, I didn’t think they would take that direction,” or “That’s a nod to this but in combination with that.” I love that approach. I think it keeps fans on their toes in a nice way so that we’re not just doing the same thing again, you know, this time with an animated, anime show.
Speaking of, Episode 5 is called “The Death of Superman,” and it is adapting that story but also taking a new angle. Could you talk to me a bit about 4 and 5 and this story of Jon coming back for this last stand that Jon and Clark and Kara are making against Cyborg Superman?
That’s obviously a huge episode. What I love about the tone of this season is that you have episodes like that, but you also have Jimmy going on a speed dating thing. That’s what I love about the tone of it, that it can house both of those things. But yeah, I think we very much use the future Jon Kent, son of Superman, we get to play around with that as a way of, we’re not just doing it just to do it.
What I love is that it’s something for Lois and Clark to emotionally deal with. Clark very much wants to settle down. Lois does not this season. I think that having your kid from the far-flung future come in and all of a sudden having to be a parent when maybe you’re not ready — or maybe you are — I think is just such an interesting theme to put on these younger versions of these characters. It’s a really climactic couple of episodes there where Clark has to very much be a dad on the fly in the most insane circumstances, and recording those episodes, I just remember it being difficult on the voice. It’s a lot of fighting, it’s a lot of yelling. He’s out of his depth, and so was I in those moments. Going through that with Jake and Brendon and everyone was still a joy, but I’m really happy that we leaned into how devastating this is.
Speaking of the future, were you bummed that you didn’t get to join in on the musical number in Episode 3?
I was bummed about that. That is a bummer. But so happy the show can do that. *laughs* That’s wonderful.
The post Jack Quaid Breaks Down That ‘Devastating’ Fifth Episode of ‘My Adventures With Superman’: ‘He’s Out of His Depth’ appeared first on TheWrap.
