Amy Smart On 'DC's Stargirl': 'It's Pure Entertainment'

DC's Stargirl returns Tuesday, June 30th at 8/7c on The CW as Courtney Whitmore and company gear up for the finale of the show's debut season. The show's powerhouse cast including Brec Bassinger, Luke Wilson and Amy Smart have hit the ground running in season one in this modern adaptation of Geoff John's Stargirl character who made her debut in the 1999 comic "Stars And S.T.R.I.PE."

CBS' Matt Weiss spoke to Smart about her role as Barbara, the bond with her co-stars and learning the ukulele.

MW: Good morning Amy, how have you been holding up?

AS: Good! I'm doing well, I'm in northern Michigan right now for the whole summer, so that's been really nice to be here on the Lake.

MW: Very nice, any new hobbies or fun activities you've been getting into while you're stuck indoors?

AS: I feel like I got better at cooking because I had to [laughs]. A little bit of gardening but I'm really craving learning how to play a new instrument. I might be trying the ukulele.

MW: Oh, alright, that sounds like a good one.

AS: Yeah, a little portable mini guitar to learn.

MW: Yeah just whip out at parties whenever you want.

AS: Exactly.

MW: Very cool. So now onto DC's Stargirl and first of off I just want to know, how does it feel to be on a superhero show? You're actually a part of a superhero universe.

AS: You know what? It feels really great to be part of this show and to be part of this universe because it's a first for me. I haven't been part of any other superhero shows or films and it's so fun because it's such a large production. There're so many moving parts. It's the cream of the crop of special effects and stunts and sets and directors and actors. It's just a really fun big show.

That being said, Geoff Johns who created it, he also wrote the comic 20 years ago, based Courtney after his sister Courtney so it's very personal. It was his baby that he's been wanting to make for so long and because of that, it feels like it has so much more heart than most shows. It's really personal and he wanted to create this after his sister and bring this show about female empowerment to young girls. There's a lot of really cool themes in the show that are obvious and not obvious. A lot of earnestness and honesty and hopefulness, I think.

MW: Absolutely. I talked to Luke and Brec right before the first episode premiered and they were very excited. You're clearly very excited to be on the show as well. I think that really comes through when people watch the show. What is it about this cast that you all just seem to play so well off of each other?

AS: To be honest, I think we're all really grateful we got these roles. We're really happy to be part of this show. Those ingredients alone, we're not just like these like jaded actors who just think of this as another job. We all genuinely were so excited to be on this. We've all given it our best shot as actors and creating a family behind the camera, It's just been a really fun experience.

We shot it for six months and in that time period you really get to know people. I think the chemistry we developed behind the camera shows on camera.

MW: It really does feel like you're watching a family.

AS: It does? That's good to hear. The funny thing is Trey who plays Mike Dugan, Pat's son. I feel like he grew 6 inches from the beginning of the first episode till the end. I feel like we have to go film right now before he gets huge.

MW: You'll just have to write in a superhero growth spurt for him.

AS: Totally. The next season he's going to have like a really deep voice or something. [laughs]

MW: Your character Barbara, not a superhero but you do have a very unique role, where you're kind of caught in the middle of everything without knowing it. You work for Jordan, but you're part of the family with Pat and Courtney. Where is Barbara headed and when do you think she's going to piece everything together?

AS: I think that Barbara, she isn't part of what is going on underground in the superhero - super villain territory. I think this suspicious behavior is going to start to be a little too obvious. We'll see when that happens.

It's a really fun setup, especially this episode coming up where Jordan invites her to go out of town to work on a project and because she's making so many strides and really growing in her work and doing a good job. That becomes even more sticky that she's growing closer with Jordan.

MW: This episode was also directed by Lea Thompson from Back To The Future, what was it like working with her on set?

AS: Lea's, she's a cool woman, if you met her, she's just a very down-to-earth really grounded strong woman. We all were so excited for her to come direct this episode. Being in Back To The Future, that's such a huge classic movie and the tone of this show has themes within it that feel Back To The Future. It almost felt like parallel universes of her coming to work on this show.

She's a real actor's director, so she knows how to speak to actors to get the performance that she wants, so that made it was really easy. I feel like she came in and each set up each was a couple takes. We were all excited to work with her. It's interesting because she's so known in front of the camera but she's really great director too.

MW: We talked a little bit about quarantine earlier but with everything going on in the world right now DC's Stargirl has been such a huge success and is giving a lot of people a chance to tune everything out and enjoying a good show for a little bit. What does that mean to you, to bring people that entertainment when they're stuck at home and they really need something to take their mind off their problems?

AS: I think of it as, it's pure entertainment, it is an escape, but it's also a remembering of relationships and what is good in the world, taking risks toward what you want to fight for. I think that this show is fun because kids can watch it too; it's very family friendly.

I've been watching it with my daughter and with my nieces, all different family members and it's fun because there's hopeful themes in the show. Of course there's always challenges and there's darkness in the world, but there's all also the courage to take a risk to fight back and to stand up for what you believe in.

I think that's what's going on a little today right now, it's sort of mirroring it. But it's very fun because there's magical powers and it's a bit of fantasy and that's always just a great place to go to in your head.

MW: Well thank you so much Amy it's been awesome talking to you and all the best with the rest of the season and with learning that ukulele!

AS: [Laughs] Thank you Matt, appreciate it!

Tune in for an all-new episode of DC's Stargirl, on Tuesday, June 30th at 8/7c on The CW. Check your local listings for more information.