Azie Tesfai Interview: Supergirl

Azie Tesfai’s Kelly Olsen has had an incredible journey on Supergirl, starting from her introduction in the season 4 episode “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” While she first became part of the team’s lives through her brother James (Mehcad Brooks, Mortal Kombat), she eventually became a permanent part of Alex’s (Chyler Leigh, Grey’s Anatomy) life and a beloved character in the fandom.

But however valuable a member of the Supergirl community she was, Kelly often fell prey to the same issues that befall DC’s other Black female characters. Though the CW’s Arrowverse has expressed a commitment to diverse casting, that dedication does not always lead to equal opportunities when it comes to storylines – nor does it protect the actors from racist abuse online. Thankfully, Tesfai broke through the former barrier at least by championing a storyline for Kelly that she herself was able to write into the season 6 episode “Blind Spots.”

The final season of the iconic superhero show has been good to Kelly in other ways, finally showcasing her superhero adventures as Guardian and putting her new job as social worker front and center for a few episodes. With two episodes left, both airing Tuesday, November 9 starting at 8/7c on the CW, Kelly and her fiancée Alex must rescue their newly adopted daughter Esme from the clutches of Nyxly and Lex Luthor just in time for their happily ever after.

Tesfai spoke to Screen Rant in preparation for this grand event, sharing her feelings about unlocking important issues in her episode, Kelly’s story so far, and where she hopes to go next as an actress and creator.

Screen Rant: Esme has been such a joy for the show these last few episodes, and of course she’s such an important part of Kelly and Alex’s story. What was it like exploring Kelly’s maternal side?

Azie Tesfai: Working with Mila [Jones], the actress who plays Esme, has been such a joy. She’s so sweet, and I was surprised by how much I loved working with her.

We had a storyline where Kelly is a social worker now, so there’s a lot of children, and it was such a breath of fresh air. You don’t expect it to be when you’re working with kids in a set environment in a pandemic in the rain, but it was the most fun I’ve had this year. I was working with the kids, and they’re so funny and fun. And Mila in particular, I think Chyler and I crack up a lot on set just from the things that she says.

There’s been a lot of nurturing that’s come out of myself, just being with a young sweet person on set and making sure that they’re okay. Especially when we’re shooting the finale since there are big stunt scenes and explosions with her around. I think I also became more maternal in the way that Kelly did.

And then for Kelly and Alex, it did feel more intimate having this new step in our relationship and enacting that for the two of us. We have a being that we’re responsible for, and it immediately makes you feel closer.

I love how meeting Esme dovetailed with Kelly getting involved with the community onscreen and taking on the Guardian mantle. So much of that kicked off with the incredible episode you actually wrote. What discussions did you have with the team leading up to that episode and how mapped out was Kelly’s story beforehand?

Azie Tesfai: During the pandemic, I started writing a lot. I wrote a spec script idea that I had for storyline for Kelly that was – I don’t know if I’ve ever said this, but essentially it was focusing on the PTSD part of war and how we treat our veterans when they come home. I wrote something that I thought would be interesting, they really liked it and sent it off and got approval that I could write.

Then a bunch of things happened with the show with it ending, and the whole season was kind of restructured. But they committed to letting me write an episode, and they stuck with it. I joined the writers room for a month, and I was there every day to break that whole arc with them. It was amazing. I had the full experience, so I wasn’t in a handful of episodes earlier in the season, because I was doing that and made the choice. It felt really important to be a part of the whole arc, and not just my episode.

For me, coming out of that summer with Black Lives Matter and so much that I had repressed and not honored about my feelings, it was very cathartic. A lot of the things that Kelly was saying were very much part of me, and it was very personal.

It was cathartic for the audience too, after watching Kelly being the one counseling others for so long without being comforted herself. Now, of course, Alex is the central relationship for Kelly on the show. But who else have you enjoyed exploring a dynamic with in the most recent seasons?

Azie Tesfai: Katie [McGrath, who plays Lena,] and I don’t have much together, but we ended up doing this thing. We make up our own storylines together, so we touch each other a lot in scenes.

There was a scene the other day where she’s rubbing my back, and the fans were like, “What is going on in the corner over there?” We like to create a story where we’re very good friends, so we’ll figure out ways to do that. Looking back, there’s stuff that maybe people didn’t notice, where she’ll wink at me in a scene or something. We create little silly moments to try to make a backstory that Lena and Kelly are actually really great friends off screen, and we just hoped it would manifest itself onscreen. The times we work together, it is a joy, because I love Katie so much.

And then probably the Esme stuff. I think it’s so different, and she’s just so adorable. She speaks, and you just melt. I like to prepare as much as I can, but I never had to [with her]. It was just reacting off this cuteness; all that stuff just came out when she opened her mouth. I think just even me feeling so maternal, after not feeling that way before, was really fun when working with her.

Going into the two-part finale, we are thrilled that Kelly and Alex are engaged. But now William is dead, and Esme has been kidnapped. What can we expect, and what is Kelly going through right now?

Azie Tesfai: I think as moms, it’s their worst fear realized. Any parent would feel horrified and powerless, but it’s interesting to see superheroes deal with that, because they actually have the power to fight back. We’re seeing them navigate the emotional turmoil that they go through, even while they’re physically strong.

The thing I love about them is that everything makes them stronger, and our finale ends in the best way with the two of them. The last hour is really beautiful.

Speaking of superheroes, many fans would consider you one for bringing to light important conversations behind the scenes. Along with other black DCTV actresses, like Candice Patton and Javicia Leslie, you’ve spoken about unequal treatment on and off-screen. How do you hope to see the landscape change from here on out?

Azie Tesfai: I think people are surprised, just because it’s become more public. We’ve been more public, but I’ve never had a group of women who were so supportive of one another. We’re constantly in communication, and there’s group chats with all the Black DC actresses.

It’s such a specific experience being a Black woman on a comic book show because a lot of our characters are written white – for me, my brother was written white in the comics. There’s a lot that happens in the fandom that can be really jarring. I joined Supergirl, and one of the first people I told was Anna Diop, who’s on Titans. She’s an old friend of mine, and the first thing she said was, “Are you sure? This is going to be a lot.” I did it, and I still was surprised with the initial reaction just to the announcement of me joining the show.

It’s important to have people that you can talk to, where you don’t have to explain it because they get it. With Candice, we were really close because she didn’t just get it; she already lived it. It wasn’t just like, “I see you,” it was, “Here’s some advice on how to handle it.” And when Javicia came on board, I felt very much like I wanted to do the same for her. It is like a sisterhood, and I think we all felt that this year.

For every person of color, getting validated is huge. It opens up this world of unpacking stuff that you suppress or push past. It’s having that community to be like, “Am I crazy? this doesn’t seem right,” and then they’re like, “No, girl. You’re right.” It’s massive, and I feel really lucky.

I got everyone on a Zoom during the pandemic to record a video, and it was an hour of everyone just hashing it out. It was such a shared experience, and it was like therapy. Everyone just wanted to talk and relate, and that’s a long-winded way of saying it’s incredible. Even with how public we are, I don’t think people realize how much of a sisterhood it really is.

I hope that also inspires other actors to speak and demand the treatment they deserve, so I thank you for your efforts. Supergirl is coming to its end, but have there been any discussions about Kelly popping up in the Arrowverse in the future? If she did, who would you want to hang out with?

Azie Tesfai: I would love to be on Batwoman. For me, would be great. I love Javicia, I love Cam [Johnson], I love Meagan [Tandy], Rachel [Skarsten], and Nicole [Kang] – they’re all wonderful. And then Bridget Regan, who was on Jane The Virgin with me and who I’m really close with, is now on it. That would be my dream. And there’s a couple of writers on the show – one in particular, Natalie Abrams from Supergirl – I’m really close with.

Also, Batwoman and Guardian are two Black, gay female superheroes. What does that look like with them interacting? And if we could throw Nafessa [Williams from Black Lightning], that’d be great too.

You just made your A Million Little Things debut this season. What has that experience been like, and what more can you tell us about Cassandra and your dynamic with Rome?

Azie Tesfai: It’s complicated, and it gets more complicated. Their dynamic is complicated.

It’s been interesting because Romany [Malco] is so amazing to work with and I adore him so much. We’re having the best time, but it strikes up a lot of conversations. I think it will with the fans too, in the next couple of episodes. Not everything’s black and white; there’s gray, and that doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person. I think that it’s going to be a conversation starter.

What other roles are you looking to play in the future? You’ve tackled a superhero, a cop, and now you’re a publicist. Who will you be next?

Azie Tesfai: Yeah, that’s funny. I did a telenovela, then a superhero show, and now I’m just sitting and acting with nothing exploding and no one flying over my head.

I have been writing a lot. I’m developing projects and working with some people that I’ve worked with on other shows that you’ve listed. I’m big into my culture, and I’m first-generation, and I think there’s so much that’s been unexplored. Representation and diversity are really important to me, so I want to continue to write and develop projects that are based on that and then be a part of them.

That’s kind of vague, but it’s happening and it’s a dream to be able to tell stories that I don’t feel have been told yet.

Supergirl‘s series finale airs on November 9 on The CW.

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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