It’s no secret to “Supergirl” fans that the cast is just as tight off-screen as they are on-screen. And for series star Nicole Maines, that bond is what helped her the most while filming the final episodes of the series.
Sitting down for a webisode of WrapWomen’s podcast “UnWrapped,” Maines reflected on her last months on “Supergirl” recalling one episode in particular where she struggled on set: “Prom Again!” The episode marked series star Chyler Leigh’s directorial debut on “Supergirl,” and according to Maines, Leigh knew exactly how to help her.
“I am such an avid overthinker that I was so in my head and just completely falling apart,” Maines recalled about a scene. “And thank god for Chyler. She saw me, and she’s like ‘I can see you in your head. Get out. You’re doing fine.’”
You can watch Nicole Maines’ full conversation with WrapWomen — wherein she also discusses her love of pirates in general, which Disney villain is more lovable than he seems, and how she’d woo her crush on a desert island — in the video above.
Of course, once Leigh was able to “drag me, kicking and screaming, back to the world of the living,” Maines then had to get through her next task: singing on camera.
According to Maines, the moment prompted a “full breakdown” for her, as she’s terrified of singing in front of others. This time though, it was her co-star Jesse Rath who helped her out.
“I talked about it a little bit with him, and he kind of gave me a pep talk,” Maines said. “And so I was able to just kind of hyper-fixate on him, and I just kind of looked him in the face. And I was like ‘I’m just gonna focus on you, and forget that there are other people listening to me sing, or else I’m gonna start to cry. And then I’m gonna vomit.’”
So no, don’t expect her to do any singing when Mr. Mxyzptlk (Thomas Lennon) returns to show off his voice on September 14. In fact, when asked if she would be one of the “musical moments” she teased, Maines was adamant. “F— no!” Maines says. “No! No, y’all got your moment. Y’all got your Nicole Maines trying to be Dolly Parton!”
But, at the end of the day, Maines got through it and she remains grateful to her co-stars.
“It feels like a trick,” Maines admitted with a laugh. “It feels like deception, but they really are just that great of people.”
They’re also pretty understanding of weirdness — in fact, they’ve often had a good laugh together over “Supergirl” memes. One particularly weird moment in their friendship, at least for Maines, came when Jon Cryer, who plays Lex Luthor on “Supergirl,” made the cast aware of a particular meme.
“I woke up one day to a text from Jon Cryer, because we’re all in a little group chat. Because we talk about true crime and he sends us true crime podcast recommendations,” Maines recalled. “And I woke up to a text from him, and he had sent us all a picture of bald Lena. And I just had to go on Twitter. And I was like, ‘Why did Jon Cryer just send me a picture of bald Lena? What the f— have you all done?”
For what it’s worth, Katie McGrath — who plays Lena Luthor, but isn’t on social media herself — thought the memes were funny, albeit baffling.
“I don’t think she really gets it,” Maines said. “Like, she thinks it’s hilarious But I think it’s also one of those things where she’ll be like, ‘Why?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t have an answer for you. I don’t know. It doesn’t exist.’”
One thing she definitely does have an answer on though is the future of Dreamer. In reality, Maines has a lot of answers in that realm, but the easiest one is simply: whatever she’s allowed to do.
“At any given point, Dreamer is what I’m thinking about. And what can I do with Dreamer next and what’s going to be the next step with Dreamer,” Maines said. “I have fully turned into like her Kris Jenner momager. I’m like, ‘Okay, sweetie, okay, you’re doing amazing. Okay, we have a 10 o’clock with Vogue. And then we have a 12 o’clock with…’, it’s like a whole thing. I just need people to keep saying yes to me. And like, let me know what the plan is because I have a billion contingency plans for Dreamer. So I’m like ‘DC. Just tell me what your plan is. And I will tell you how dreamer will work into that. I have a plan.’”
Obviously, Maines has priorities in those plans. Continuing her “DC Pride” storyline with the League of Shadows is high on the list. A battle with the Queen of Fables is also up there. And though Dreamer may be in a happily committed relationship with Braniac-5 — something that actually caused a bit of commotion for those who commented on her comic, because he’s “supposed” to live in the 31st century — a dalliance with a certain underwater DC hero isn’t something Maines is opposed to.
“I’m saying I need her to get a speedboat, that’s called the dream boat,” Maines mused. “And then she can have dream adventures on the high seas! And f— Aquaman.”