By Travis Johnson
You’re in Australia for the Gold Coast and Melbourne Supanova exhibitions. Have you had much experience with these big fan events?
This will be my largest one outside of the actual San Diego Comic Con, but I’ve done a couple here and there, and it’s been really good. It’s been really fun, actually.
What’s the vibe like at these things, from your perspective?
Oh my god, it’s amazing! It makes what we do worthwhile, of that makes sense. You almost never get a chance to see your fans – you almost never get a chance to see the people who you’re doing this for. We feel like we’re in a bubble a lot, because we have these 14 hour days, 15 hour days sometimes, and we’re filming up in Vancouver, which is a city none of us are really native from, and we only know the other actors on the show, or other actors on other series, and we all work so much that we never really get a chance to hang out – it’s very sporadic. So we feel like we’re in this bubble, right? And then you have this opportunity all of a sudden where you see someone who reminds you of you when you were 10 years old. And it means everything to them when they meet you. And I cannot tell you how good that feels – it’s surreal, and it’s also humbling. So I get a kick out of it.
Were you into comics as a kid?
You know what? The thing is, I read a lot of Archie comics. I didn’t read a lot of superhero stuff – I was more into the comedy, the lifestyle, of Riverdale, Archie and all of that kind of stuff. I love Jughead – I like Archie, but I love Jughead, though. I watched a lot of the Batman cartoons, the Superman cartoons, and the movies, so I was more of a fan of the movies and the TV shows.
The obvious question now is have you been watching Riverdale?
You know, I’ve only seen a couple of episodes, but I think it’s brilliant. I think it’s taken these well established characters and putting them into the vibe of The OC – so smart. Just so smart. And it’s really timely – its really about time that somebody took these characters and revamped them. I wish them success. The show is really sexy, the actors are great, the production value is really fantastic. Greg’s got yet another winner on his hands – he’s really figured it out. [Greg Berlanti is the executive producer of both Riverdale and Supergirl].
Given Greg’s involvement, you’re in a perfect position to angle for a guest role.
Honestly, I completely fangirled out one time. We share a studio space with them, right? So I went over to their set and I was just kind of hanging out in the malt shop, going “This is amazing! Are you kidding me?” Sent some covert pictures back to my brother, who’s a huge Archie fan – it was really cool, man. I got to fangirl out a little bit to myself.
Speaking of fans, you get to work with one of the most famous comic book fans in the world – Kevin Smith, who’s been directing numerous episodes of Supergirl and The Flash.
I want to take Kevin Smith home with me and have him direct my life. Kevin Smith is amazing. He brings such a needed positive energy to set. He’s so amazing, he’s so smart, he knows exactly what he wants – the guy is the best! And you can tell he’s a fan. It’s not a joke. He gives us gifts every single time, he makes us t-shirts or hats every single episode – it’s crazy! The guy is super generous, super nice and cool, and we love him. We’re lucky to have him.
Now, in Season 2 of Supergirl, your character has taken on his own superhero persona – The Guardian. How have you found that new dynamic?
I feel like a hungry kid in a candy store, or a French fry shop, or whatever analogy you want to use. Since I was six years old I’ve been jumping off of couches with capes and all that. Now I’m kind of dong the same thing, but the production value is better. So it’s a dream come true, man, it really is.
And what else have you got coming up that we should know about?
I signed a record deal with Sony Red, so I’ve got some music coming out this year. I’m really excited about that, man. It’s been longtime dream of mine, so I’ve got some really good, feel good music, some good summer music coming out really soon, man.
Mehcad Brooks will appear at the Melbourne Supanova Pop Culture Convention at the Melbourne Showgrounds from Friday, April 28, until Sunday, April 30. For tickets and info, go to the official site.
