Jessica Parker Kennedy – The Flash

By starrymag | June 14, 2018

By: Malasha Parker

 

 

Q) What about the character of Mystery Girl/Nora West-Allen were you aware of and what kind of breakdown were you given for her?

 

A) I knew everything! The producers called me in quite a few months ago and asked me. They let me know sort of where the story was going, what the part was and they gave me sort of the breakdown and then asked me if I would do it and I was like, “Oh my gosh, yes! This is so cool.” So, I knew from the very beginning what was going on. I don’t know the details of like the arc of the next season and all of that, but in terms of the first season, I knew everything from the beginning. I actually had to keep it a secret for like a really annoying amount of months. It was really hard.

 

Q) Can you talk about your audition process for “The Flash?” Did you have to do any chemistry tests?

 

A) I didn’t audition, I just got offered the role which was really cool.

 

Q) You have already really nailed Grant Gustin and Candice Patton’s mannerisms so expertly well. What did you do to prepare for the role? Did you study Candice and Grant’s mannerisms at all for your portrayal of Nora?

 

A) No, not at all. I just kind of got a lot of direction from the producers– in terms that they wanted her to be really bubbly. So, I just sort of did my own bubbly thing and then realized after the reveal came out that people were like, “Oh my god! You’re so much like Grant’s character and like Candice’s.” And I was like, “Oh, good! Okay!” So, it all just kind of worked out it sort of was one of those things that was like just meant to be.

 

Q) How do you foresee the relationship and family dynamic between Nora, Barry and Iris being? Will this be a happy family reunion or will there be a good deal of dysfunctional family dynamics?

 

A) I mean, I don’t know. I think every family has their great moments and then they have their dysfunctional moments no matter what family you’re a part of. So, I mean, I don’t know, but I assume both. It wouldn’t be much of a story if everything was just like hunky-dory and perfect. So, yeah, I would assume that they’ll have awesome moments and that they’ll have their ups and downs, too.

 

Q) What are you most excited about for your character’s storyline and arc in Season 5?

 

A) That is something that I can’t talk about. I’m just really excited to get to be there for Season 5 and all the actors have been incredibly welcoming and kind and really brought me into their “The Flash” family. So, that’s sort of what I’ve been focusing on for right now.

 

Q) Nora has already dropped a lot of cryptic lines like, “Remember to say ‘I do’” and “I think I made a big big mistake.” Can you tease or possibly touch on what any of these things could mean or signify?

 

A) I mean, I think “Remember to say I do” was remember to like say “I do” so that you like actually get married and have me as a baby. Because if you don’t say “I do” and the wedding doesn’t happen, then you won’t be together and I won’t be created. So, I think that was what that was about. In terms of “I made a big big mistake,” people will just have to tune in and see.

 

Q) SDCC is right around the corner, do you know if you will be attending SDCC with the cast of “The Flash?

 

A) I don’t know yet, but I certainly hope so. I would love to be there. I love SDCC. I’ve been many times for, particularly, with a tv show I did called “Black Sails.” So, I would absolutely love to go, but nothing’s been confirmed for me yet.

 

Q) How did it feel to put on the speedster jacket for the first time and what has it been like for you to learn how to run on the green screen?

 

A) Like I said in the show, when they say, “Where’d you get that jacket from” and I say “She gave it to me” and I refer to my mom. It’s very cool. I think everybody kind of wants to feel like a little bit of a…You know it’s just such an awesome time of so many superheros right now in TV and in film. So, it’s pretty cool to be playing a speedster and to be wearing my mom’s jacket. It’s a really cool thing. I know when I put it on I was like, “Oh, I want one of my very own.”

 

Q) Which scene was your favorite to shoot on “The Flash” so far?

 

A) I actually really liked shooting the crossover “Supergirl” episode just because all four TV shows were in that episode and I kind of got to meet everybody and I don’t know it was crazy– It was like forty cast chairs in the green room that day. It was really crazy. It was total chaos. I was really nervous and it was just a really sweet, heartfelt scene and I’ve watched it back a couple times and it’s just this scene I really like. It kind of warms my heart to watch it. I just think its really special. It’s crazy to imagine meeting your dad in the past. It’s such a far-out concept. I just think it was like a really warm, sweet scene.

 

Q) How does it feel to be stepping into the role of a character that you know is going to become an even bigger part of the plot in Season 5? She’s already caused a stir amongst fans, what’s that reaction been like for you?

 

A) Everyone’s been really positive. It’s really sweet. I kind of go on Instagram and read what everyone is saying. It’s so cool. Everyone is just really really positive about it and welcoming. Everyone’s really curious and asking lots of questions that I can’t answer. Everyone’s been so cool.

 

Q) What about the movie and your role in Another Kind of Wedding made you want to sign on to this project?

 

A) I really wanted to work with Kevin Zegers really badly for a really long time. He’s been like a Canadian indie darling. I kind of followed his career for years and years. He’s in that film, I think it’s called Transamerica with Felicity Huffman. I just think he’s a really cool, really special actor and I was super excited to work with him. There were just really interesting people in the movie like Wallace Shawn, who I’ve been watching since I was a little kid and who never stops working. Frances Fisher, who’s the mom from Titanic. It was kind of like so many people I’ve been wanting to work with since I was really young and this opportunity came. I love doing Canadian projects because I’m Canadian. So, it just kind of came at the absolute perfect time and it’s such like a cute, sweet story about a very dysfunctional family that really love each other at the same time, which I think a lot of us go through.

 

Q) We have seen the decline of romantic comedies recently, what sets this film apart from the regular rom-com formula?

 

A) At the end of the day, the film has a happy ending the way many romantic comedies would. I think it just feels really different having the French-Canadian influence, first of all. It’s really quirky and I think it’s something that people can really relate to. I think in a lot of rom-coms no one can really relate to what they’re watching because it’s all so fantastical and ridiculous. This is kind of a film where families are complicated, families are difficult, families fight. So, I think it’s a relatability that sets it apart.

 

Q) What do you hope that fans take away with watching the film?

 

A) I just want them to have a really good time and laugh a lot and maybe cry a little bit. If things are going bad in their family, I hope that it gives them a little bit of hope that it’ll all be okay. And certainly to know that like every family is weird! There’s no such thing as a family that’s just perfect and has no problems and everybody just gets along and there’s never been a fight. That’s not realistic. I hope they just relate to it and know that hopefully, in the long run, things won’t be perfect but things will be okay.

 

Q) You have played so many diverse and fierce, determined resilient females in all of your projects. What have you taken away or held on to from your time playing so many powerful poignant women who also have this rich vulnerability underlying in them?

 

A) I just feel really, really lucky. As a female in this industry, it’s hard sometimes to find your feet and find your confidence and find your footing and have a strong sense of self. Iit can be really difficult. So, it’s really nice playing characters who do feel those things. I always think in a way…Sometimes you just have to “fake it until you make it,” in terms of emotional confidence. So, it’s really nice playing these characters in kind of faking these women out. They’re fictional characters and I’m playing them in that “fake it until you make it” kind of thing so that when I get to play them I sort of learn from them and go,“Oh that’s what it feels like to be in the shoes of this confident woman and that’s what it feels like to be in the shoes of this powerful woman or this woman with superpowers,” or whatever it might be. I think it’s nice in a way because I’ve hopefully taken a little and I’ve learned a little bit from all of those characters and hopefully put them in myself a little bit.  

 

Q) Are there other areas in the filming industry that you would like to delve into in the future, like directing?

 

A) I know I have a story to tell, I’m just not sure what the story is yet. I think in the future I would definitely love to do some writing and directing, but a long time from now. I don’t feel like I’m ready for that or that that is necessarily what I’m passionate about right now. I think it’s something I’ll do when I’m older and my main focus right now is just finding really cool parts and killing them. Doing the best that I absolutely can.

 

Q) Now that you’re in the DC TV universe, what other shows would you like to crossover to?

A) I would love to crossover to “Black Lightning.” I think that’d be so fun. That show is so cool and I just really like everything about that show and that would be a freaking awesome show to crossover to. So, I’m definitely going to put in a request. “Please, please let me on that show.” I would love it.