Supergirl Interview: Jeremy Jordan on Schott Through the Heart

SPOILER WARNING: This interview contains mild spoilers for “Schott Through the Heart,” tonight's midseason premiere of “Supergirl," which as of publication has not yet aired on the west coast.

There’s much to love about Supergirl, perhaps the most optimistic corner of The CW’s Arrowverse: great stories, great performances, the list goes on. But high on the list of the show’s many pleasures is its supporting roster, a pack of characters with vital, compelling stories all their own. On a lesser series, an episode focused primarily on a supporting player might fall flat, but with Supergirl, such a failure is far from likely.

Enter “Schott Through the Heart,” the first episode in the back half of the excellent third season of “Supergirl,” which returns tonight. As the title suggests, it’s an hour that’s often focused on the stalwart Winn Schott, played with easy charisma and subtle shading by Jeremy Jordan. As was the case with the first Winn-centric episode of the series, “Schott Through the Heart” examines Winn’s family life -- a situation made more complicated and dangerous by his villainous father, known to law enforcement (and to comic readers) as Toyman. But while season one’s “Childish Things” dwelled on Winn’s fears about himself, tonight’s episode explores his connection to his absent mother, here played by Emmy-winner Laurie Metcalf.

Jordan’s skill as a performer will come as no surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention. “Schott Through the Heart” gives him a chance to dig deep, and the result is a standout for both the character and the season. Ahead of the midseason premiere of Supergirl, Jordan spoke with CBR about playing against Metcalf, what’s next for Winn, and how to navigate the wild world of karaoke when you happen to be a Broadway star.

Jeremy Jordan as Winn and Laurie Metcalf as Mary McGowan on Supergirl

CBR: So first of all, congrats on a terrific episode.

Jeremy Jordan: I haven't seen it [yet]! We had a good time doing it. I'm sure I will enjoy it.

So you find out you're going to do an episode in which Winn encounters his TV Mom, and then later you find out that your TV Mom is going to be played by national treasure Laurie Metcalf. What is that experience like?

Well, I knew she was going to be my Mom for a while, long before everybody else did. So I had time to prepare for it. Honestly, you know, I was a little bit intimidated, because she plays such powerful characters. But she was super chill, and really sweet, and we got along great really, really quickly. Right off the bat. I mean, our first scene together was [a] big, emotional confrontation scene that we have in the D.E.O., where we kind of talk about what happened, and why she left, and that was our first scene together. So we kind of got thrown into the lion's den.

We spent about a week together, and she brought her daughter, which was super sweet. Her daughter’s a big fan [of the show]. We had a really good time, and had a bunch of laughs in there too, because there were, of course, some pretty zany, fun, silly moments as well.

I wanted to ask about that confrontation scene. Obviously the tone of Supergirl is often pretty light, and even when it's heavier, those scenes are often centered on Melissa's character. How do you go about preparing for scene that hits that hard, particularly when you know that you're going to be acting with a stage and television legend?

Well, you have to do your homework. We really had to study the scene a lot. I had a lot of conversations with the writers about how to make it perfect. In fact, it went through a couple of rewrites before we were all super satisfied with it, because it was such a pivotal moment. It’s such a big emotional cornerstone for Winn, [so] I wanted it to be perfect. We really got to work together to… craft that. And that was all before we got on set with Laurie, who's just a consummate professional, and like I said, very easy to work with. So it sort of really fell into place… We just went in, we knew exactly what we were going to do, and how we wanted to portray the scene and the emotions.

It's all about showing up. So many times we come to work, and it’s like, “I have one or two lines in the scene. What are they? OK, alright.” [Then you] sit around for two hours waiting for the camera. “OK, what’s my line? ‘The ship is on Planet Star-Z136!’ OK, let's go home.” You know? There are so many days of that, that you look forward to the days where you really get to exercise the muscles that you got into this business to exercise in the first place.

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One of the things I really enjoyed about both this episode and the first Toyman episode is how nimbly you balance these real life stakes -- real hurt, real fear, real remorse -- and this almost demented whimsy. How do you go about finding that balance?

It's a given that when things are over-the-top and ridiculous, we understand it, but when those over-the-top, ridiculous things can actually like murder you, and kill you, and kill a bunch of other people, you have to put weight to it. And so it's just about giving into it. It's about acknowledging the insanity of it, and then dealing with the reality of the actual danger that it creates. But at the same time, once you acknowledge it, you're in, like a thousand percent. Because if you continue to [act like it’s] silly, then the stakes are gone. So you have to sort of wink at it, and then completely take it 100 percent seriously.

How do you think this new connection in Winn’s life might change things for him?

Well, Winn is a creature of denial, in my mind. He’s fun-loving, always offering a joke, always self-deprecating. But it's [him] covering. It's a result of burying everything negative down deep. He does not let things get to him, because he just doesn't deal with them. And so when something like this -- his mother’s return, after 20 years of being out of his life -- confronts him head-on, [then] it's crisis-mode. It's like, "I don't deal with these sorts of things. Get out." Then, of course, other factors come into play, and he has to deal with it because, you know, lives are at stake, and flying monkeys are everywhere. So being forced to deal with this aspect of his life that he's always thrown aside and shrugged off with a laugh, and a joke, and a self-deprecating nod, it forced him to grow up really quickly.

And she's not going anywhere. So I think he’s kind of left with the [question of], have I been living the best version of my life? Have I reached my full potential? Any time something feels hard, any time something feels a little bit difficult or out of my comfort zone, I'm just going to go back to what makes me feel good. But where does that getting me,? And as the season progresses, after this episode, we sort of see him coming to terms with that fact, and what he's done, and what he's capable of. Even though he's come this far, he's still imposing very strict limits on himself. So he's sort of coming to terms with all that stuff. I think this is the sort of the beginning of that.

You know, when the Toyman came, and sort of forced him to deal with his past, he was finally able to deal with his feelings for Kara -- even though she didn't reciprocate him, which kind of set him back a little bit… but I think dealing with issues from his past is his only window for embracing the future and his potential fully.

A much lighter question: How hard is it to pretend that you’re an at-best average singer, as you do in this episode?

Oh, it's not hard at all! It's fun. I think you can fall very easily into the trap, as a singer, of [thinking], oh, it's a karaoke episode, I have to show everybody that I’m an amazing singer. But I know that I can sing, and a lot of other people know that as well. The funny thing is, I got into this job -- one of the main reasons I came out for pilot season three years ago was to get a job where I didn't have to sing. I feel like every job that I got was because I can sing. Every movie, every TV show, every Broadway show, everything.

And I was like, I know that I have more to offer. And so, when this one show, which was my non-singing show, decide to like make me sing again, which is fine, I think it's more fun to wink and nod at it, than to fully embrace it. “Oh my God, now Winn’s an incredible singer, because Jeremy is a great singer.” It's more fun to fight against that. Chris [Wood] has the same thing. He's a great singer, and he makes Mon-El the most terrible singer ever, which I think is hilarious. And sang in The Flash [musical] crossover episode, so that was kind of my moment in the universe. Also, Laurie doesn't think that she's a very good singer, so I didn't want to make her feel stupid.

Do you do karaoke and if so, what song is your karaoke go-to?

Oh man, I haven't done karaoke in forever. God, what do I usually do? I usually go ‘90s. I go back to my roots. I'll do some Boyz II Men. Or I’ll try to sing a girl’s song in the original key, and see if I can hit all the notes. I'm definitely a goofy karaoke person, for sure. It's more fun that way.

Supergirl airs 8 p.m. Mondays on The CW.