Candice Patton: Making A Change On The Flash

By James Mottram

What were your expectations when you began The Flash? “I didn’t have any expectations when I got the show. I had no idea that it would be as successful and have the reach that it’s had. The biggest surprise was San Diego Comic-Con…when you get on the floor for the first time, you can really see the impact that the show is having. It’s only when I go to these conventions that I really get to meet the fans. They’re in tears and they’re shaking! I was really just trying to pay my rent, but to be on a show that’s really touching people is amazing.”

You’ve had roles in Heroes and Entourage, but when you got The Flash, did you feel that it would be a bigger thing for you? “For sure. Only because this was a series-regular role. I knew that I was signing on for several seasons, and that was exciting. Before I’d just been guest-starring and jumping from TV show to TV show, which is also quite cool in the sense that you’re always expanding and doing something different. But I was ready for a series-regular role. I’d had smaller moments on TV before to maybe screw up, and maybe suck a little! I could put my training wheels on and figure out how the TV world worked. The Flash came at just the right time.”

Before you started the role, did you read any comics? “I was not a comic-book reader. That was not something that was available to me as a child. I was into animated cartoons, so I watched Batman and Superman every Saturday morning, Obviously I watched the films – I’m a huge Batman fan – but as far as The Flash goes, I didn’t know much about him. Geoff Johns from DC gave me some of the omnibus editions of The Flash, and that’s how it started. And now I still read them. I come home from work, and if I’m bored, I read Flash comics!”

Did they send a truck-load of comics? “Oh, no, I wouldn’t have been able to deal with all that – there’s a lot of comics! But I guess I do have access to free comics. I should use that more, right? What’s so nice is that Iris is so prevalent in so much of The Flash’s history, and it’s cool just to see all of the incarnations of her. Then there’s me – I look nothing like that. So it’s really cool.”

How have you experienced fan reactions to the show and your character? “Everyone has an opinion these days, which is quite interesting! The great thing is, the overwhelming majority has been excited and pleased with me being cast as Iris and my interpretation of it, so I feel very lucky. We live in a social media age, so I’m definitely on all of those platforms. There’s a way to keep yourself safe as an actor. I don’t read everything. I don’t spend every day on Twitter reading what everybody has to say. If you read the good, you have to read the bad. Like I said, the majority is really kind and positive. All of us actors on the show have a really great fan-base. The fans are passionate and they’re responding really well to the two seasons that we put out there. It’s great to connect with them online and hear their feedback.”

Have you had any strange interactions with the fans? “Oh, sure! Some things I don’t think I could put in print. There are things that take you back. But no-one is really throwing rocks, right? They’re all passionate, and it comes out in strange ways sometimes. What’s at the heart of that is that they’re really enjoying what we do, and that’s the most important thing to me. I’ll take a weird fan any day. I’m good at figuring that out.”

How do you feel about being part of an on-screen interracial couple? “It’s great. It’s indicative of the world in which we live. Our world is very coloured. There are a lot of different types of relationships, and I don’t think we’ve seen that on television…I feel like it happens more in the UK. When I come to the UK, and I watch television, there are a lot of interracial couples on TV. That was shocking to me years ago, because it wasn’t something that we were really doing on American television. We’re finally moving in that direction now. It’s good. People grow up watching their parents in interracial relationships, and it’s important to represent all different types of families and relationships. It’s really an honour for me to be a part of a movement in American television.”

Are you surprised that it’s happened? “It’s awesome. I sometimes can’t believe that I’m here. Most ingénues don’t look like me on television. It’s not lost on me. And it means a lot to a lot of people watching our show. When I do conventions or travel around the world, that’s what a lot of fans say to me: it’s so nice to see someone who looks like you in a role like this. I’m very honoured.”

How did you react to the kiss at the end of Season 2? “It was a long time coming. Fans have been waiting for a long time for that – it was a symbolic moment of them solidifying that they’re both on the same page, and that they want to be together. It was the right time. As far as Barry’s actions…I justify them only in that his father was just murdered right in front of him, and his father’s doppelganger comes back as Flash on Earth-Two, so he’s dealing with a lot. He just made the best decision that he could in the moment, which was to go back in time. The thing with time-travel is, we all know that you can’t time-travel without shifting certain elements in your own time-line. It will be interesting to see what’s changed on our time-line, when and if he comes back.”

Do you watch your own show back? “No! Watching yourself is a very hard thing. I’ve seen episodes for sure, and I’ve seen bits and pieces, but I do not make it a regular occurrence to watch the show. First and foremost, I was there – I know what happened. And it’s a very special experience, coming from theatre…I like the moment of shooting something. To watch it back is difficult, because it’s gone through so many hands – it’s been edited, with visual effects and music added. It’s a different experience that I had shooting it. I do like seeing the visual effects…our visual effects guy is incredible. But as far as watching myself, it’s still a little weird for me.”

How long do you want the show to go on? “We’re all hoping that it has a long, healthy life. I’m here as long as they’ll have me, and I’m hoping to stay as long as they have great stories to tell. As long as we can create a great show that people are enjoying and responding to, then I’m all aboard.”

How do you feel about the Flash movie that has nothing to do with your show? “It’s a little weird. It’s weird when you know there’s a possibility that your character could also show up in this Flash movie, but it’s great – there’s room for everyone. I personally don’t have a problem with there being a Flash movie. I knew from the outset that DC Film and DC TV were very separate entities. I’m just lucky to be a part of any entity that’s The Flash. I tell this to fans who sometimes get upset about the fact that there’s a Flash movie that we’re not in…we get to be in their homes every single week hopefully for years to come, and that’s a very special experience. With TV, you really fall in love with those characters – and those actors – because you see them every single week, and that’s something that a film can’t necessarily do.”

What are your inspirations when you act? “I watch a lot of TV in my spare time. I’m watching Game Of Thrones, The Man In The High Castle, Grace And Frankie, The Affair…all different sorts of stuff. I love television. Daredevil is the only other superhero show that I watch; they’re doing incredible stuff on that show. On Episode 2, they had this long fight sequence that they did in one shot. Cinematically, it’s so beautiful. I don’t think anything has been done like that on TV before. It was incredible.”

What about superhero movies? “Yeah…Batman v Superman I saw. I haven’t seen X-Men: Apocalypse. I do love X-Men and Bryan Singer. That’s something that I need to see. I’m really behind on Marvel – really behind!”

What other movies have influenced you? “I love lots of independent film. Growing up, movies like American Beauty were a big influence for me. There’s lots of films…I feel like I retain films in a smaller way than I do TV, but I do watch a lot of films.

When did you first think of becoming an actress and who did you look up to? “I was very young. It started for me watching I Love Lucy. I was introduced to that show when I was very young. Every night, after school, I finished my homework and then there was a two-hour time-block on the Warner Brothers channel at the time, and they would play I Love Lucy every single night. So I did that every day growing up. There was something about her and the way that she made me feel. I knew that I wanted to do that…she was a huge, huge inspiration for me wanting to be an actor. And then growing up, Kate Winslet and Halle Berry were very important. Seeing her win the Oscar, I remember that moment thinking, ‘That door has opened for me to walk through.’”

Did your parents encourage your dream of becoming an actress? “Yeah, strangely enough. My dad is an FBI agent, and my mom worked in finance, so they were not familiar with this world at all. But graciously, they paid for me to go to school and get my BFA in theatre, which was very generous and I’m grateful for that. They were incredibly supportive.”

Your dad must be a great research tool, right? “For sure! He’s retired now…I think he really wants to get in to be an advisor on a television show. He’s always watching TV shows saying, ‘That’s so wrong! We’d never do that!’”

It must be odd being the daughter of an FBI agent? “No, it’s very cool! I mean, not cool for my boyfriends! I felt very safe growing up. I have an unhealthy sense of security. It’s great – it’s great having a dad who has a gun, always!”

What will you do in your downtime? “Sleeping. Working on that power-napping thing. A lot of travelling. It’s time to see family, travel around the world, conventions, friend’s weddings…”

The Flash: The Complete Second Season is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital.