If you've been with us since the days of Supergirl.tv first getting started, you know we do these sites as a labor of love. While some of our sites do include minimal advertisements, we try and keep them off as much as we can. So when an opportunity like speaking to Alex Garfin, our very own Jordan Kent comes up, you know that not only are we excited for the site, we are excited as fans! Alex was kind enough to give us a big chunk of his time so we could explore out those yet unfound Easter Eggs, seek out behind the scenes hilarious moments, and boldly go where all fans want to go (to the Kent farm just North of Bellingham, WA). Our sincerest thanks to Alex Garfin! Follow him on Instagram at @alexgarfin. Our full conversation below:
Supermanandloistv.com: All shows had to deal with the pandemic, but Superman and Lois had to go so far as to shut down for a while. What is filming in a pandemic like? How did you all adapt?
For me, being in the pandemic was definitely difficult. I feel like doing anything in this pandemic, especially workwise, it's a lot like running underwater. It's just something constantly dragging you down. Kind of like in a dream where the scary guy shows up and you never seem to get away. So, it really did make it all a bit more of a drag, but in that time the cast got to know each other better.
I think the physical burden of COVID ended up landing on the crew a lot because they all had to wear N95 masks during hot days, cold days, and also not able to see because the eye protection would fog up from the masks. I think the mental and psychological burden definitely was rough on the cast, and the fact that we were away from my family so long. In the end, we all got together just to make something good, and so happy to be a part of this project because it's Superman! And really, you can't beat Superman, right?
I mean we have all these IPs, but I do think Superman has something special. It has this cool place in society.
Supermanandloistv.com: Could you elaborate on that?
Superman goes back almost ninety years now, and it was such a central figure in Americana history. The thing about Superman is that I always thought that he adapted well to his times. He came out of the Great Depression, a time when one needed hope, as this hero. Then through World War II became a symbol of patriotism. Through the 1950s, he became very nuclear, and represented that nuclear household that was the ideal at the time.
As we progress into now, I really think this show shows the complexities of Superman because we have an identity crisis in America—we aren't exactly one identity anymore. So, it's Superman dealing with the personal problems in small town American, which I think was really cool.
Supermanandloistv.com: Tyler Hoechlin has said he is more of a Batman fan, which has allowed his version of Superman to shine. Were you a Superman fan going into the show's production?
I’m in Tyler's camp, although, I do have to say Tyler has never seen any of Superman properties in order to keep Superman his own. With Jordan, Indie, and my brother (he was up there with us), the four of us frantically watched the original Donner film because everyone kept referencing it, and we had no idea. Like, we really did not know every single shot of that movie because we saw it maybe when I was like, ten?
The truck getting lifted up? In the script Superman lifts up the truck, a lot like the original shot from the Donner film. I didn’t realize what that necessarily meant in the fact that in the Donner film, baby Superman is looking over Jonathan Sr. and Martha. In this Superman, it is full grown Clark lifting it over his wife and kids.
There's a lot of really cool things that I got the reference to after doing that. I think the comic book fans got a lot of that at some level as well.
Supermanandloistv.com: Yeah, it was. It's really fun. And even if you don't know all of the Easter eggs, you can Google it and it's something new to find out.
You know, I don’t know if this is online yet, so this is an exclusive right here! The set team and I are messing around in the pilot when we're in the Brownstone. If you look on the blackboard with the chalk, the phone number for Dr. Donner, actually, Dr. Don, the phone number was the original release date of Superman. Maybe it was a directorial decision? I'm not exactly sure, but I remember them telling me that and I was like, “Oh, that's really cool. Let me underline dates.” So yeah, no one seems to have noticed that yet. That's an exclusive right there!
Supermanandloistv.com: That’s amazing! I'm going to have to re-watch it because Easter eggs are really fun to find.
Eventually it started getting less related to comics. Jordan Elsass and I are super close in real life. There's sometimes when he has a screwball idea on set, and we just wanted it to show. Like in episode six, when they're doing the Jordan training scene, I punched the log. I told Jordan it would be really funny, while Clark is on the phone call, Jonathan punches the log and really hurts his hand thinking that he could do it? It was really a whole little scene going on in the background that they kept in, which I’m so thankful for!
In episode thirteen, there was a whole period of time when I kept doing that stupid thing where I pointed at Jordan’s shirt and I flick up his nose. I was doing that for like two or three weeks of our lives. I got really good at it, too! I started finding clever ways of doing it.
I started going, “How come we got all that stuff on your costume?” Then he’d look down and I’d flick him off. I’d also just stare at that spot on his chest until eventually he gave it a look down. I fully worked that into the show as well! I believe they kept that in the kitchen scene as we’re walking out. Look at the background, especially with Jordan and I, there would be some funny things going on.
Supermanandloistv.com: Wow, so you got so good, you didn't even have to use your finger. You just could mentally…
I could fully do telekinesis doing that stupid trick to Jordon! Eventually, he started getting a little more annoyed with it. Which, the big brother in me was happy, the coworker in me was like alright, I’ll lean off, but it was really fun.
Supermanandloistv.com: As brothers they have their fights, but they're not jealous of each other over superpowers. It could’ve gone so easily into a “your brother turns evil out of jealousy” thing.
Yeah, and the great thing about this writing team is that they can touch on real problems, problems that are external, that put pressures on the family. Maybe you start to see some cracks rather than, you know…I don't want to use this word, but sometimes “contrived.”
If they really gave up, Lois would just stop listening to Clark, and then they'd have whole issues about being away from home too much. But at the end of the day, even when they had that discussion in episode four it was like: I know I shouldn't be angry right now, I know you're doing all these things, but I'm feeling this way. Then Clark would say: I'm feeling this way. All of a sudden there's no issue between these two characters because they are communicating like adults. It's amazing, and you’re not bored because there are actual problems going on. That’s a testament to the writers that Jonathan didn’t get as jealous of Jordan as he could’ve.
Supermanandloistv.com: So, there's long shoots and late nights. What other ways were you killing time on set, other than getting your coworker to look down at his shirt?
I was doing school for this whole first season, so I really did not have time to kill. School was online because of COVID, which was a blessing for me personally. I didn't have to fly back for a gym credit, but yeah, I didn't have that much free time when I was shooting. The free times that I did have, I liked to explore the nature around Vancouver. It's a rain forest. It’s very beautiful!
In the beginning of episode six when Jordan was running away from Tag, that’s actually the same little bridge that Jordan and Sarah go to. I don’t know if it was supposed to be canon or not, but it was the same set. Everything around Vancouver looks like that. It just looks like a magical fairytale land, so I'm exploring around there more, and I go up there with Jordan a lot.
Supermanandloistv.com: Apart from Superman and Lois, is there another Arrowverse show you'd like to guest star on?
Oh my god, I'd love to do what David Ramsey did! He just went to all of them, and even directed. I don't know the official standing on crossovers with our show in particular, but if it were up to me, it would be a lot of fun to do some crossovers and meet all these people anyway.
Supermanandloistv.com: @JohnMon85 asks "Which Superman power would you chose in real life"?
Honestly…I think flight would definitely be the coolest, right? I’ve always wanted to travel, so I would see how far away from the sun I could get, and going to see if I can get to Jupiter. It'll probably take like two or three days at Superman speed to get to Jupiter? I don't know, it's his exact speed in relation to the speed of light, but that would be pretty cool. If Kryptonian speed is that much, I could go “Star Trekking.”
If I had to choose a less obvious power, I would go with ice breath. Because I would be the supplier of all cool drinks for the rest of my life. It’s a hot day, the cooler is just done for, the ice is melted—just blow on that real quick and we have cool soda for everyone!
Supermanandloistv.com: That would've been great during those heat waves!
I am going through a heat wave right now here in New York. You know, that's what's on my mind right now, some ice breath.
Supermanandloistv.com: @_Nadia25 asks "what was your favorite scene this season now having seen it on screen"?
Oh, good question! Actually, I really did enjoy Sarah and Jordan out back in the barbecue in episode fifteen. I thought it just turned out really well. We only had maybe 10 minutes to shoot that scene because the sun was in a perfect place. The EP was running around with his scoper and all the cameras were running around because, it was such a perfect spot with the sun. The director, Tom Cavanaugh, made everything click and we got a really great take out of it. It was just awesome.
Supermanandloistv.com: @mc02l asks "How difficult or easy was it learning to fly on wires"?
That was definitely a challenge. If you see in episode nine, I'm having a little bit of a struggle because I never actually got up there yet. After that, I took it upon myself to do a lot of core workout every day. I worked with Rob Hader, our awesome stunt director, to make sure that everything does go smoothly because I got a little warning in advance about episode fifteen when I first heard about Zeta-Rho. No one told me about Zeta-Rho, I just heard tricklings that I was turning evil.
Supermanandloistv.com: Speaking of playing Zeta-Rho in the last few episodes, what was that like?
Oh my god, it was so much fun! I get that rush of a new character, and I think a lot of actors get that rush right after they get that new role. It almost felt like that. The fact that I got to play a completely different character, I really wanted it.
Tom and I really wanted to work out that if you were to put the TV screen on mute, you’d know exactly when he is Zeta or Jordan just by his body language and his mannerisms. So, it was really cool to try to make two very polar opposite characters while looking exactly the same.
Supermanandloistv.com: Out of the whole cast that makes up the Kent family, you are still Twitter unverified. What's up with that?
I have no idea why I’m not twitter verified…oh, my mom is saying I didn't pay for it or something. Honestly, I don't use my Twitter really that much. I use my Instagram a lot, but not really in a “celebrity-ish” way. I just post whatever I want. There's a lot of Danny DeVito up there, and I think I just reached 50k, which is again, very bizarre because a year ago I wasn't really anything.
My post was, you know that meme where the guy's reaching for the light and then something comes in from behind me just looking back? It was just me reaching towards posting Danny DeVito because I think it's funny, and then the guy behind me is like me now actually having 50K, there’s a possibility to actually notice this and not know what's going on.
Supermandandloistv.com: If you met Danny Devito face-to-face, would you give him an egg in this trying time?
[Laughs] Yes! Of course! Yes! l would offer him an egg in this trying time!
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