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Actress Laura Vandervoort, best known for her role as Supergirl on superhero series “Smallville” and the reboot of the classic “V”, talks to TV Sneak about her latest role, playing Mila Dubov, a woman turned vampire against her will, in Netflix’s “V-Wars”.
I thought of you just this week, actually – I was watching The CW’s ”Crisis on Infinite Earths” and wondered ‘hey! Where’s Smallville’s Supergirl?” Was there ever any talk of including your take on Clark’s Kryptonian cousin on it?
Not that I’m aware of.
What are your memories of working on “Smallville”?
For the most part, great memories. I say for ‘the most part’ because I mostly spent my time on set worried I’d be fired haha. I joined this talented cast in their 7th season, so I was the new kid in school. I definitely felt like it was an incredible opportunity but was terrified about the shoes (or boots) I was filling as TV’s first Supergirl. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get it all right. I do look back and feel grateful for the experience however, I also wish I had just allowed myself to enjoy the journey and the experience more and worried less.
Have you listened to Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast? It seems everyone from the show has gone onto some incredible and somewhat surprising new things.
Yes, I have. I actually recorded a podcast with him that will likely be released soon. The cast have continued to build on their careers and lives and we have all become closer now post show than we were during filming.
Speaking of, you’re co-starring with another CW alum Ian Somerhalder on “V Wars”. How did you get involved in it?
I had originally auditioned for another character on V Wars, however I was cast as Mila Dubov later on. We shot the series in my hometown Toronto. The sci-fi genre has always been very welcoming to me and this role seemed like a fun, complicated character. I knew Ian was involved and that the show would be well received by his audience and fans. It also didn’t hurt that I was able to be near my family during filming in Toronto. I’d been wanting to work with Netflix and everything just seemed to align!
What makes Netflix the perfect home for this one, as opposed to one of the free-to-air channels?
People’s lives are getting busier every year. The ability to binge a series has become essential for fans. V-Wars’ characters and stories are dramatic with suspenseful cliff hangers. With Netflix, fans can move quickly onto the next episode during their down time and not await the next episode. The tense war encompassed world in which our characters live in can suck audiences in. Allowing our audience to continue on that journey and stay with us during these high stakes, episode to episode, seems ideal.
And is this a character you can relate to?
I can’t say I relate to Mila on the surface. She’s out for revenge and blood. Mila feels the universe owes her. I do relate to her desire for normalcy and true love. I relate to her desire to right wrongs and step up for those in need.
We’d be remiss not to ask about ”Age Of Dysphoria”? I heard it’s one you’re very proud of?
Yes, very proud. After nearly 22 years in this business I wanted to experience the other side of the camera. I wanted to tell stories that I believe in. My production company and I developed and executive produced a film called ‘Age Of Dysphoria’ alongside Executive Producer Jessica Petelle, who also directed the film. The film is produced by Brad Turner, FilmCoop and written by Zoe Robyn. We shot the film in Toronto with an all Canadian crew and cast, starring Canadian icon Gordon Pinsent. We are so proud of the film and currently submitting to festivals. My production company is currently developing a comedy feature and a thriller feature with JB Sugar and Ella Myers from ‘No Equal Entertainment.’ It is safe to say I have been enjoying the development process and creating content from behind the camera.
“V-Wars” is now available for streaming on Netflix
Photo Credit : Irvin Rivera
