I think every time you take a female character, a black character, a Hispanic character, a gay character, and make that the point of the character, you are minimalizing the character.
Every character thinks differently, and every character has a different energy and way that they tick. But to find a character like Kai, who is so far that he doesn't even feel things, he is so different from me. That is the most exciting part.
Where does a character come from? Because a character, at the end of the day, a character will be the combination of the writing of the character, the voicing of the character, the personality of the character, and what the character looks like.
Every character is so different, if you put the photos next to each other, you see how different I looked and how different I tried to be. And that's what I really enjoyed, that I could really be a different character every time.
The (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) stories were great, for one. The thing that makes him a remarkable character is how he can withstand all of these different interpretations and different styles and, that's what makes a classic character a classic character; they keep coming back and you see them in a new way every time.
You can't take on the qualities of a character that you'd never be cast in - and no one would ever cast you in.
Each character requires different language, and these issues become inseparable. You have all these balls in the air: language, character, narrative. For me, the primary focus must be words, sentences, paragraphs.
There is no one-size-fits-all process. It differs from character to character and priority to priority. Every project has a different priority, and you have to be agile enough physically as well as mentally to shift from one character to another. I think I am fairly decent in that.
I consciously think about the ethnicity of every character that I create and cast. But one thing that is equally important is quality representation. It's not enough to put an African-American in there, a female in there, a gay character in there: How significant is their contribution? Can they drive the story?
I've done many body scans. Every time your character fights in a different look, they'll rescan you. Because my character has taken so long to get a super suit, every time Mon-El fights, he's in something different.
When writers don't know what to do with a character, they build up the supporting cast and universe to kind of hide that fact. After a while, you can no longer see the character for the underbrush. When that happens, you need to bring out the weed-whacker to clear some of that away so you can focus on the main character.
It's my chance to challenge myself to the fullest, which is one of the great joys about my job... I love it when a character requires me to look less than my red-carpet best. It's more fun playing a character that requires you to look like dog s - t.
Taking on an iconic character is difficult, sure, people associate different actors with a character that you're playing, but there's something in rehearsing and developing a new character.
My character should not be ordinary, cliched, and if I feel that it's difficult to do this character, I take up that challenge to get into his character.
I make a playlist for every character I portray. Music plays a huge part in helping me understand a character. Every time I get a new role, I will take a chunk of time to just sit and listen to a bunch of songs and select the ones that make sense in my mind for that character. I can't even explain how much it helps me.
I strongly believe that when you are cast in a role, there will be similarity in the character and you - why else would you be chosen for the character?