In Hollywood, Melissa Benoist had a remarkable beginning. She had her breakthrough performance in a supporting part in one of the most watched television shows before taking the lead in her own superhero series. Benoist discussed her experiences on Glee and Supergirl and how being on one show affected her approach to the other in an interview with Perri Nemiroff for Collider Ladies Night.Benoist acknowledged in the interview that while working on Glee wasn’t easy, it did teach her a lot about herself and her abilities. To put it mildly, accepting such a significant part for a long-running series is daunting. That’s why Benoist’s career took a complete turn for the better after he joined the set of the musical series. She clarified:
- The demanding schedule and several moving components on Glee taught me that I was a pretty hard worker and that I could accomplish incredibly difficult things. It was challenging but enjoyable. If you’ve had any other cast members on here, I’m sure they’ve stated the same thing. Not only did you have to practice the dances, but you also had to prerecord the songs, film the songs (which took hours upon hours), and then you had to work on the scenes. Then I realized that Supergirl would be under a great deal of pressure and have a great deal of responsibility.
It goes without saying that headlining a series or starring in a high-profile show requires a lot of work from actors. Benoist produced 126 episodes of Supergirl, which is more than most TV series do these days. Many viewers entered the show with preconceived notions about what the show (or the character) should be, and Benoist had to shoulder the burden of portraying a character that people already knew and liked.
Benoist’s efforts to reintroduce Supergirl to the public eye have contributed significantly to her present prominence in the superhero discourse. Following Benoist’s portrayal of the superhero, Sasha Calle assumed the role in The Flash (2023) and was anticipated to continue the character’s story within the DCEU. However, we’re going to see an entirely new iteration of the character in the rebooted DCU, thanks to a leadership transition at DC Studios that saw James Gunn and Peter Safran take over. Now that Supergirl is returning in Superman, it is up to Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) to bring the superhero to life.
