Helen Slater: Supergirl then and now

At SC Comicon, I was front and center for the panel session with Helen Slater, the original Supergirl. The new CBS series with the title character name is a favorite among the Nice Girls. This panel was an opportunity to get Slater’s take on being a super girl in this industry then and now.

Slater was “very excited” when she heard there was going to be a new Supergirl series. And probably like most of us, she thought, “Why now? The original came out 1,693 years ago.” Her math may be a little off.

Slater couldn’t wait to see whom the creators would cast as the lead and admits she was surprised that they picked an actress that wasn’t “blonde blonde.” No, the new Supergirl, Melissa Benoist, is not a super blonde like Slater was back in the 1984 movie.

Slater, of course, wanted to be a part of the series, but wasn’t sure in what capacity. Greg Berlanti, one of the show’s creators, is known for including the actors from other, older versions in the new shows. For instance, Laura Vandervoort who played Supergirl in Smallville, now portrays Indigo in Supergirl. Slater was then cast as Eliza Danvers, the adopted mother of Kara/Supergirl. You can watch Slater in the final two episodes of Supergirl, which airs on Monday, April 11 and Monday, April 18.

On the set of Supergirl, Slater says she is called “OG.” She thought it meant “old gangster” but it really means “original gangster.”

For Slater, playing an iconic, female superhero in her career was great role at the time. “[The movie] was about virtue and purity, which was not sexy for it’s time,” she says. But now, she says, she feels the appreciation of the role the most when she attends comic cons. Women and girls will come up to her and tell her what the movie meant to them.

While Slater was shooting Supergirl, she recalls the advice she received from Chris Reeves, who was filming Superman 3 at the same time. His advice was, “You can do this. You got this.” Being so fresh in the industry (she auditioned and landed the role four months after graduating from New York High School of Performing Arts), Slater says that advice meant everything to her. She encourages other to give that kind of guidance to the younger generation, regardless of the industry. It was advice she passed on to Melissa Benoist.

As an actress in her 50s now, Slater says “acting roles are harder to come by.” The industry is not handing out roles for women her age and even mother roles seem to be younger and younger. Similar to other industries, Hollywood is hiring younger for less money. Slater says to remain relevant, you have to create your own material. And Slater is creating her own material, though for a different audience. Her heart, she says, is really in to making children’s record. Her latest record is The Ugly Duckling.

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