The Doom Patrol is one of the DC Universe’s most offbeat superhero teams, so creating a television series about them may seem like an odd choice. Yet that hasn’t stopped Doom Patrol from being a runaway success, with its third season having just debuted.
The superhero drama series is set in its own continuity (meaning that it’s not part of the Arrowverse stable of shows like The Flash and Supergirl). Its most famous member is the technological superhero Cyborg (that same one from Justice League and Teen Titans, although portrayed by a different actor), and its other members include:
- Jane, a woman with many multiple identities and a different superpower for each one
- Larry Trainor, a former pilot who is completely bandaged up to prevent an energy being living inside him from poisoning others with radioactivity
- Cliffe Steele, a robot with the human brain of a former race car driver
- Rita Farr, a former 1950s Hollywood actress with a stretchy and rubbery body but has to focus to keep her human form
With elements like Danny the sentient genderqueer street, Wizard of Oz references and talking cockroaches, the series manages to differentiate itself from the copious other superhero shows out there, without devolving into incoherency the way the later seasons of Legion did. April Bowlby, who plays the stretchy Rita Farr, shared about her experiences on set.
“I never expect the level of crazy and weird that comes my way”, said Bowlby about reading each script that comes her way. “It always surprises me. In some scripts, I get really nervous, because I don’t know how we’re going to be able to pull it off.”
Given how Doom Patrol is a low concept show (one that’s not easily defined and explained), it’s understandable how the scripts, which lack visuals, may be difficult to visualise for both cast and crew.
“But somehow, the costumes arrive and the make-up comes and the characters evolve. And all of a sudden we’re shooting it,” said the 41-year-old. “My favourite part is when I actually see it, when you guys get to see it. And I had no idea that was what we were doing, I didn’t know it was possible.”
“So it’s always exciting and scary to get a script.”
Besides the magic of production, Bowlby also talked about her character on Doom Patrol, Rita Farr. Before this role, Bowlby had played recurring character Kandi on the comedy Two And A Half Men and model/actress Stacey Barrett on fantasy dramedy Drop Dead Diva.
“To play a superhero is a dream come true. And I also think that Rita is really such a woman in my eyes. And I feel like [with my characters on] Two And A Half Men, Drop Dead Diva, they were girls. I feel like [they] were fun, lovely girl characters that I was playing. But Rita is a woman who has had a really hard life and has punished herself a lot.”
“To be able to get an opportunity to play that depth of a character is mind-blowingly exciting. So that’s a nice evolution for me and work as an actor, to be sink my teeth into this kind of a character. And top of that, she’s a superhero.”
To prepare for her role, Bowlby watched many Catherine Hepburn and Betty Davis movies.
“In the beginning, what informed my character the most was this [1952] Betty Davis movie called The Star. Betty Davis plays this really narcissistic woman clinging to her former glory. And I was like, oh, that’s Rita! That’s her.”
The upcoming season of Doom Patrol was not an easy one for Bowlby though.
“In Season 3, it was a difficult season, because my storyline departs from the Doom Patrol storyline. So I felt on my own. That’s exactly how Rita felt, she felt very on her own. And it kind of seeped into my feelings as well, and I actually had to talk to my partner.”
“Am I crazy? Have I been abandoned? Where are my friends? And he was like, ‘no it’s just the storyline’,” she said of their conversations.
But on the set of Doom Patrol, there are many lighter moments as well — such as many of the cast members being Nintendo Switch players.
“I got into playing [The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild] on my Nintendo Switch. And then, as soon as I started bringing that to set, because I became obsessed — Brendan Fraser is apparently a Zelda king! And was like, he cracked the game a thousand times, got a motorcycle,” she said. “Then he kind of helped my game, which was very exciting.”
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild is an action role-playing game on the Switch. Players take on the role of the elvish-looking woodsman hero Link, and explore a vast world collecting weapons and artifacts to defeat the villainous Ganon. In the game, players can also obtain a mount known as the Master Cycle Zero, a motorcycle made from ancient technology.
“Riley [Shanahan] is also addicted to Zelda. So we were all playing Zelda together, and that was really fun!”
Both Brendan Fraser and Riley Shanahan play Cliff Steele in the show — Shanahan plays the robot form of the character, while Fraser portrays the human form of the character.
As part of her preparation to play Rita Farr, Bowlby read the Doom Patrol comics. In terms of DC geekery, what was her favourite era from the Doom Patrol comics?
“My favourite is the Grant Morrison [version] because it’s so psychedelic and I don’t think we could have such an incredible show if we didn’t do the Grant Morrison take. It’s so wacky and fun and strange. And also the characters that Grant Morrison puts in there are out of this world. So I choose Grant Morrison — he’s cool.”
The Doom Patrol comics began in 1963 and has had several runs, under different writers, since then. Grant Morrison, who is known for having revitalised the Justice League of America comic by reimagining the team as a pantheon of gods, took over writing duties in 1989.
And of course, no interview with an actress who plays a superhero is complete without knowing who her favourite superhero is.
“I like Madam Rouge right now. She’s a shapeshifter. So she can shift into anything and take any form, and I think it’s really cool. Also, she’s Scottish, which I kind of love. And she’s got a really bad temper. I’m into that,” she laughed.
Madam Rouge is introduced in the third season of Doom Patrol as a supporting character with inscrutable motives.
The third season of Doom Patrol is available on HBO GO. New episodes are available every Thursday.
You might also want to read:
- [Movie Review] Zack Snyder’s Justice League is truly in a “league” of its own
- [Television] Bill Irwin from ‘Legion’ talks about the difficulties of portraying superheroes with complicated powers
This article was written for and first published on Yahoo.
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I’m an independent scriptwriter who’s written for popular shows like Lion Mums, Crimewatch, Police & Thief, and Incredible Tales. I’m also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find me on social media as Optimarcus and on my site.
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