Superman & Lois is new again tonight (June 21) with the penultimate Season 2 episode which is called “Worlds War Bizarre!” Superman has been stripped of his powers, and if that’s the case, how are they going to stop Ally Allston? You’ll have to tune in to find out – but one thing we can tell you is that characters like Jordan Kent and John Henry Irons are going to have to pick up the slack while the Man of Steel is grounded.
To promote “Worlds War Bizarre” KryptonSite has spoken with the actor who brings us Jordan Kent – Alex Garfin – who took a break from his hiatus to talk about tonight’s episode! You can find the interview below. Enjoy, and don’t forget new Superman & Lois June 21 at 8PM ET/PT on The CW!
How does it feel to now be playing the most powerful good guy on Superman & Lois?
I guess he is! I actually didn’t even think about it like that. John Henry’s there as well, but it’s a lot of responsibility, knowing that he’s faced with the world’s problems, but has barely the strength to deal with his own at times. He’s very young. He’s 15 years old. You see that kind of thing in history, where we have had 15 year old rulers, and it doesn’t go very well. When power is placed on someone that doesn’t know what to do with it, their intentions come into play. In lot of times they’re forced, so that the intentions don’t matter. But we’re very lucky that we also have some other really cool heroes around. They’re helping us save the day.
Do you think Jordan is being forced to step up way earlier than he was expected to?
I would say that he is being forced to step up. I think he has a little more ambition than he did before. He was mostly ruled by that ennui of that teenage restlessness that he had in Season 1, but towards Season 2, he definitely does have a little more ambition in his blood. However, I think by the time it reaches Episode 14, it just becomes a little too much. He’s not ready for this responsibility.
You saw him step up in Episode 9 when he thought his father might have died or was missing for those “30 Days and 30 Nights.” But this is different. The world is in a crisis and all of a sudden, there’s a 15 year old that can save it, and he doesn’t know what to do.
When you were reading this script, was there any part of you that thought, “Man, this would be a great time to get a costume?”
I’m already in a costume. That’s what they call my outfit! I know what you mean; a super suit. That would involve him needing a secret identity, and it would involve him being a more pronounced and a little more of a labelled force, in terms of image. I can see how it would help, [but] I could see how it would hurt. I don’t think he had time to sew a suit together himself, though. I think the world was in a crisis, and he just needed to put on a hoodie and see what he could do.
How does it make Jordan feel to have to fight people who have very familiar faces, looking like Jonathan and Lana?
I think he has a visceral reaction of being a little intimidated by the whole thing. However, he was conditioned to know what this was, right? He learned about Bizarro World a couple episodes back; he’s known about it for quite some time, so it’s not a complete shock like it is to Sarah or to Lana when Jon-El captured her. There’s a visceral reaction of being like, ‘That’s my brother. That’s my girlfriend’s mom!’
You know, that two-on-one fight scene [in tonight’s episode] is actually the culmination of a year and a half of fight training. It was all me. It wasn’t my double, which felt really great.
Would you like to talk about the fight training you’ve had this season?
Yes, I would love to! It all started a year and a half ago when I was tipped off that in season 2, I’d be doing a little more super stuff than I did in season 1. I went up to our head of stunts, who’s my dear friend, Rob Hayter, and I said, ‘Look, man, I’m a scrawny theater kid. I don’t know how to use the gym equipment. I don’t know how to throw a punch. I was the kid getting beaten up, I was never the kid beating people up!’ So he called in reinforcements. His friend – and now my friend/mentor – Kirk Jakes, and I’ve been training with him for quite some time. By the time we got up to 208, I did my first fight by myself. I actually fought myself to do it. They were going to do wide shots and use the doubles. I said, ‘No, put me in, I believe I can do it,’ and they let me do it. By the time we got to 214, I really got to flex those muscles, which is really great. It was one of those rare moments where that jaded crew – who’s seen everything under the sun, they’ve seen A-listers do their best performances – they all clapped. They were all very impressed and it felt really good to leave an impression on people whose opinions are so well refined.
How does Jordan feel about the notion that his dad could tell Lana everything, but he still can’t tell Sarah about himself?
I think that Jordan responded to the information that Lana could know, but Sarah couldn’t, with extreme frustration. All of a sudden, his dad could solve all of his personal issues, but he couldn’t solve any of his. It made him feel like his opinion and his life was somehow worth less than his dad’s, which is an ongoing raw nerve for Jordan. You see it since the early days of Season 1. His dad wasn’t around for his childhood. At the time, Jordan thought his reporting job was more important than him, but turns out, it was the weight of the world that seemed to outweigh him sometimes. So I think it touched a nerve, and it felt really frustrating for Jordan.
As an actor, is it jarring to see a character like Clark, who is normally portrayed as so powerful, being weak and needing help?
It was really interesting, seeing how Tyler would portray Clark being drained in that manner. He changed his performance a lot. He changed his posture and how he was speaking. It’s not often that we really get to see him play sort of an invalid in that way. It was slightly unnerving. Obviously, in real life, Tyler would get sick, like any human being, but seeing Clark in that manner, I think was definitely very disturbing for Jordan and Jonathan.
I’ve seen you’ve done some conventions over the hiatus. Do you have some coming up?
Yes, I do! As of now, I’m booked for two, one in Manchester, England and one in Wales. That will be really fun. I can’t wait to meet all our U.K. fans, because I hear we’re really big over there. We’re on the BBC out there. So everyone I’ve met who is a UK fan are awesome. I hope to get the Beatles treatment! What can I say?
Superman & Lois “Worlds War Bizarre” airs at 8PM ET/PT tonight (July 21) on The CW. See some preview images here!