Brandon Routh: From Superhero to Superhero

VANCOUVER, Canada – Aside from Supergirl (featured in The STAR late last year), the invited journalists from around the world also visited the set of Legends of Tomorrow in the sprawling Warner Brothers Studios at the outskirts of Vancouver. The new seasons of both adventure series are available on HOOQ.

In DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, time-travelling rogue Rip Hunter (played by Arthur Darvill) is tasked with assembling a disparate group of heroes and villains to confront an unstoppable threat — one in which not only the planet is at stake but all of time itself. The question is: Can the ragtag team defeat an immortal threat unlike anything they have ever known?

On the set, some of the actors were pulled out for “quickie” interviews (lasting no longer than three minutes) between takes, among them Brandon Routh whom The STAR interviewed back in 2006 when he was launched as the new Superhero in Superman Returns. Asked at that time about the “curse” on actors playing the role, Routh, now 37, said, “I don’t look at it as a ‘curse.’ In fact, I think it’s a blessing. I’m excited to be this character for as long as I have the opportunity. Maybe the ‘curse’ is a superstition. I don’t believe in superstitions. What occurs to other people on the set will not necessarily occur to everyone.””

A blessing, indeed!

Since then, Routh has played other characters in other movies and TV shows, including playing recurring character Ray Palmer The Atom on DC-related projects Arrow and The Flash (in which the characters make veiled references to his turn as Superman), and is currently playing Palmer in Legends of Tomorrow.

Asked if the experiences of Palmer, a positive character, will change his eternal optimism, Routh smiled, replying before he rushed back before the cameras, “I do. I think there’s a different level of positivity that Ray starts to evolve into as the season moves forward. It’s not that he loses his positive outlook, he just becomes more grounded and more balanced understanding the other sides of life. He realizes that you still can remain positive, but it’s also important to get a better understanding about where everyone is coming from with their point of view.”

The Atom is just as iconic as Superman is, and that makes Routh happy. He still looked as hunky as he was back then, included by people magazine as “One of the 1200 Most Beautiful People in the World,” an honor that he found “pretty nice,” and adding, “I guess, I suppose” when asked how he felt about being called a sex symbol.

And, asked also at that time what part of him did he find sexiest, he smiled, “My voice. My mom and dad did a great job, so I thank them for my genes.”

That same voice, so friendly and so gentle, easily won the journalists over on the set of Legends, never mind if the encounter with Routh can best be described as, well, fleeting.

Ciara Renee, as Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl

On her thoughts about the relationship between Ray Palmer and Kendra: I think it’s really interesting. I also think it’s very human because they are stuck together on a small time ship. They are like, “Sure, why not?” everyone is trying to feel each other out, but I think that Kendra has gone through a lot of dramatic experiences in a very small amount of time, so she’s looking for someone to help her through life.

She figures out she’s a superhero and she is destined to be with someone. But then that someone dies and her son, who is older than her, also dies. All of this crazy stuff happens but up until now nothing in her life had been as traumatic or as crazy. She has been left to her own devices with a lot to handle, so I think she is definitely thinking, “Ray, help me out here.”

Franz Drameh, as Jay Jackson/Firestorm

On the most challenging aspect of playing Firestorm: I  don’t know what the most challenging aspect has been, but the most fun I have had has involved working with Victor Garber (as martin Stein, the other half of Firestorm). Getting to explore their dynamic has been great. It’s been a lot of fun to see their relationship grow. They started at loggerheads and they did not get on very well, but they soon understood each other and they understand what makes them tick.

Marc Guggenheim, executive producer

On his proudest achievement with Season One: In all honesty, getting through Season One is my proudest achievement. We did something that was not easy to do — a two-art crossover with Arrow and The Flash, which was really a three-way crossover. From a scheduling perspective, that was tough. And, by the way, this was all happening while we were producing a two-hour pilot of a show of this magnitude. So, honestly, I am probably proudest of the fact that we pulled it off.

Caity Lotz, as Sara Lance/The White Canary

On the differences between playing Sara in Arrow and Sara in Legends: In Arrow, Sara was really dark and there was no levity to her at all. It was difficult to move on to Legends because the tone of the show is totally different. Before, if we were saving the world, it felt like we were saving the world. Now, there’s an added levity to the scenes. She’s like, ”Alright, we are saving the world, but hold on…Let’s have some fun, too.”

There’s a whole levity that comes from the tone of the show and that‘s really fun to bring into Sara’s character. I think it makes sense, too, especially after everything she has been through. It’s like, “Okay, I have died and everything that has gone wrong has gone wrong, but I am still here and you can laugh about it.”

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