Actor Carl Lumbly had quite a super resume before landing on Supergirl as M’yrnn, father of David Harewood‘s J’onn. Decades before Black Lightning or Luke Cage received their own TV series, he starred as one of TV’s first African-American heroes in M.A.N.T.I.S.; a few years later, he began his long association with the Martian Manhunter as the voice of J’onn J’onzz on the Justice League animated show.
And now he’s playing his father!
There are some big moments coming for M’yrnn in the next two episodes of Supergirl, airing April 16 and 23, and at a recent Q&A, we asked Mr. Lumbly what it was like to return to the Martian Manhunter legacy.
“In the first place, it was such a joy to have the opportunity to come back as ‘my father’,” he told a group of press at The CW offices following a screening of next week’s episode.
He also didn’t skip a beat in complimenting his TV “son.”
“In the reality, David Harewood is, for me, the definitive J’Onn. If I could have imagined what I wanted to see when I was voicing it, it would be him,” Lumbly said.
“Our relationship as characters and our friendship as men, being collegial in this journey, is a joy.”
Supergirl airs Mondays at 8PM (ET) on The CW. Take a look at some photos from “In Search of Lost Time” here!