Alex Garfin & Jordan Elsass Interview: Superman & Lois

The first season of CW’s Superman & Lois recently reached its triumphant conclusion, which featured a battle for Jordan’s (Alex Garfin, The Peanuts Movie) soul against the Eradicator and teased a new kind of extended family with the arrival of his and Jonathan’s (Jordan Elsass, Panic) sister from another universe. While fans endure the long wait until season 2 picks back up next year, they will be able to enjoy a high-quality rewatch and bonus features in the home release, out October 19.

The series focuses on Lois  (Elizabeth Tulloch, Grimm) and Clark’s (Tyler Hoechlin, Teen Wolf) move from Metropolis to Smallville, where they head after the death of Clark’s mother in order to revitalize the farm and spend more time with their sons. Soon enough, Jordan began exhibiting powers like his father’s, and the super parents learned to juggle their heroics in battle and journalism with the needs of their family.

Elsass and Garfin spoke with Screen Rant about how much they’ve learned from their characters and time on set, how the Kent boys have grown individually and as a unit, and what might be in store for them next year.

Screen Rant: You’re now in the midst of filming Superman & Lois season 2. How much easier is it for each of you to step into the skin of the Kent brothers?

Jordan Elsass: Easier, for sure. It feels a bit more seamless. I get on set, and once I know the lines, I don’t even really have to rehearse except for during blocking. I’m kind of one with the character; there’s certain things I just know how he’s gonna say it.

But every once in a while – I don’t want to get lazy either, because I want to catch myself and want to make sure that I differentiate the character from me. Especially if it’s a very exposition-like [line], just moving along the plot and just you know setting something up, I want to make sure that I throw away the lines. In other words, I keep it casual and keep it natural without sounding like myself.

Sometimes I’ll catch myself, like if I have to ad-lib for something. I’ll be like, “Yo, what’s up?” or whatever, and it’s like, “Wait a second, is that the way Jordan would say it or the way Jonathan would say it?” I might change that a bit.

Alex Garfin: And the directors are new every episode, so they usually get it by the time they leave.

Jordan has had a heck of a year, coming into his powers and even dealing with the Eradicator. How are things different for him coming into the second season and what is his mindset now?

Alex Garfin: He beat Zeta-Rho, and I think there’s a certain amount of confidence that comes with a mental battlefield that you beat, just like anything else. Generally, when you see patients in remission – not to take it that far – from cancers that they felt would beat them, they come out of it with this new sense of life and this new purpose.

He was taken over by a full-fledged Kryptonian general, you know what I mean? It’s no small feat that he ended up beating it with Lois’ help, so I expect a certain amount of mental fortitude coming from that. I do believe the social anxiety is still coming into play. It’s not something that was exactly cured, and it’s not him overcoming anxiety – it’s him overcoming himself, and he did it.

As for the skin question, I do have several skins my closet. The Jordan one’s getting a little worn out, so I’m gonna have to go get another one. [laughs]

Jonathan has been such an incredible support system for his brother, but at the same time, fans would have expected him to get some powers. Is he getting a little antsy about what his place is, or is he still happy to be part of the non-powered family with Lois?

Jordan Elsass: Without giving anything away, I’ll say that this season there is something that occurs in Smallville that makes Jonathan even a little antsier about all that; about having powers. What’s my place in all this? Can I be as strong as everyone else? That is even more explored.

Because I think the thing is that it’s his family, so he’s not gonna feel jealousy or anything like that. He still feels supported, I think, and he always has – by his parents, but even more by his brother. I don’t think that there’s any kind of resentment there. There would be no reason. Jonathan’s a very kind kid and has been raised very well, but when it comes to somebody outside of the family, there could be some feelings there that are going to be explored in season 2.

It’s good. I’ll just say that.

Not stepping into spoilers, but living frozen in that moment at the end of season 1: after facing an alternate possibility of Lois’ life and family, in addition to her own miscarriage in this world, we meet Natalie (Taylor Buck). What is that feeling, seeing an alternate version of what could have been your sister?

Jordan Elsass: I would say a bit of shock; a bit of disbelief. But also, probably not the craziest thing that our characters have seen. We very quickly have to adapt in the show, and people do. People can withstand a serious amount of stress, both mentally and physically. And I think that’s something that’s important to keep in mind, even if you are 14 or 15 years old. There are people at 15 going through a heck of a lot more than some of us ever will. You do adapt to your environments.

They have seen a lot of crazy stuff throughout the entirety of the season, and so by the end of it, I think that is a shock but also something that they’re going to get used to pretty quickly – or at least get used to the idea of it. But maybe, as far as living with Natalie and John Henry [Wolé Parks], that’s a whole different story. That’s definitely going to be a different situation.

I love Jordan and Sarah (Inde Navarrette), while at the same time being like, “Y’all are 12.” Can you talk about the intensity of their feelings and what you think they really bring out in each other?

Alex Garfin: I honestly think Sarah Cushing, right out of the gate, is just the first person that understands Jordan. We start off with this character that feels isolated, alone, and misunderstood. And that’s generally why he’s so short-fused because he feels cornered. It’s like a natural, animalistic thing. And I think a big theme in the beginning of the season was that Clark was an absent father, even though he’s off saving the world. He didn’t have time for his sons.

Sarah understanding Jordan was a giant step towards his character development and possibly could have been bigger than finding out his Kryptonian heritage. He just felt understood by another human being. What Inde and I really wanted to instill – and also Lee Krieger, the director of the first couple of episodes that really set the tone for all this – we really wanted to ensure that these characters are really awkward. We’re 14 years old, it’s a first love situation.

I think the whole time what’s going through Jordan’s head is like, “Oh my God, I like this girl so much. She likes me. Oh my God.” It’s less of a profound chemistry, and more a bumbling teenage awkwardness that I think hopefully people just find charming. We explore that enthusiasm coming into the next season.

Jordan Elsass: Exactly. Jordan and Sarah get married in season 2.

Alex Garfin: We move to Massachusetts, where it’s legal.

Jonathan’s romance has not blossomed quite as much, but he’s taking baby steps with Tegan (Kayla Heller). Why is he drawn to about her?

Jordan Elsass: With Tegan specifically, I think that it’s a little early to tell. Here’s the thing: I think that Jonathan just got out of a relationship in Metropolis. It was long-distance, and he’s got a lot on his plate. He’s got a lot going on. So, he’s definitely skeptical of what her motives are, especially after her kind of shakedown. He’s skeptical, but he wants to give it a chance.

And I think that he’s definitely looking for that distraction. He sees Jordan with Sarah, and he wants somebody along those lines that’s going to be there for him and listen to him. Maybe, honestly, just an escape – somebody that you can have a good time with and joke around with because Lord knows he has enough on his plate. He went through lots during the season, so he’s definitely looking for that escape.

Alex Garfin: He has a lot on his plate. A lot of foul-smelling eggs. They made you eat all the eggs!

Jordan Elsass: That was so early! And then there was the Chinese food in Metropolis. They built this whole set just for the Metropolis house. And we ended up using that townhouse set, like, twice or something.

Alex Garfin: Generally, towards the pilot, you have that dump of money that we were allowed to do that. We rented out that townhouse, and it was like we never went back to it.

I think the most impressive, though, was Smallville. They built us that backlot just for our show. They paved the road. It was in the middle of an old rodeo ground from the late 1800s that turned into a fairground now. They paved the road, they built all those fake buildings – they’re all fake, and the diner and the Smallville Gazette are the only real buildings there. And we’re actually building more there. Eventually, we’re just gonna have a town. I think Todd is gonna come out, and he’s gonna be the official mayor.

Obviously, you guys have an incredible dynamic going on here, and the chemistry is free-flowing and easy. What is it like with your onscreen parents, and how weird is it to switch on and off with Tyler and Bitsie?

Alex Garfin: I think Tyler is very interesting. He’s the only adult in the cast that’s not old enough to be your dad.

Both of them have their moments of being somewhat parental. Bitsie is a mom, and she has her own little Vivian back home. Vivian’s the cutest little baby, walking around and giving love out to everyone. But I think it’s impressive on Tyler’s part – and Bitsie’s, but mainly Tyler because he’s not a parent – to portray a parent in such a convincing way.

Think about it like this: a scene that’s maybe two minutes long would take probably all day to shoot. Two full minutes would take all that issue. 16 hours of time for a 2-minute scene, so that is like 0.00-something percent of the time that you see. There’s just so much going on behind the scenes that the tip of the iceberg can’t necessarily indicate the bottom.

The Blu-ray isn’t going to have any bloopers or deleted scenes, but are there any you wish were captured?

Alex Garfin: There’s one really funny one between Tyler and Bitsie, and I happened to be there that day. It was the first time they did [a freeze frame] when Tyler walks out. He walks out and then they blow air on the face of the person that’s there. They just were figuring out the levels, so they blew Bitsie way too hard and it went [woosh]! It’s also super loud, so they give you earplugs, and her hair literally looked like she touched one of those Magneto balls. She was just standing there [shocked]. You saw makeup just splashback, like a cartoon.

And there’s a bunch of times when everyone kept falling. That was a little bit ridiculous. In the beginning of the season, when it first started raining here in Vancouver every day and the mud was really thick.

Jordan Elsass: One time this drone crashed. It was this huge, giant drone. It just went out into a bush.

Alex Garfin: The Kent house is here, and then there’s that little tiny bush in front. It went here, and then all of a sudden it hit the bush or something. And it went down. It was the last scene of episode 1, where we’re all just walking out into the sunset. It flipped out… and Tyler – actually Superman – dives in front like, “Get back!”

Jordan Elsass: He should be hiding, because he’s the most important.

Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season is coming to Blu-ray & DVD on October 19.

About The Author

Tatiana Hullender
(641 Articles Published)

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Tatiana Hullender is a writer at Screen Rant, focusing on film and television, as well as a co-host of several podcasts. In the interviews she conducts for Screen Rant, she seeks to learn what drives each creative mind and how different experiences influence the same narrative. As a graduate of Columbia University in New York City, Tatiana studied theater and comparative literature. She has been passionate about all manner of storytelling since being exposed to Jane Austen and BBC adaptations of her work all at once. But Regency satire of manners isn’t the only genre she loves, as a love of comic books naturally developed into a love of cinematic universes and their superheroes. So long as a story has heart and humor, there’s a chance of finding something to enjoy in the telling of it.
Visit @myrcellasear on Twitter to follow Tatiana’s articles, interviews and podcasts including: The Flash Podcast, Pop A La Carte and Ladies With Gumption. Subscribe to them on the Podcast app, or contact her directly at painted(dot)out(at)gmail.com.

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