Summer Glau

Understandably beloved by genre fans for her memorable work on shows like Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Summer Glau will soon be seen on our TV screens again in NBC’s new superhero-themed series, The Cape. David Lyons stars as the title character, a framed cop who is believed to be dead, and decides to take on the persona of the comic book character his son worships. Glau plays Orwell, a shadowy figure on the internet who seems to know far more than she should about the goings on in the city The Cape lives in, and soon provides him with crucial support.

I spoke to Glau about her role on The Cape, which debuts January 9th on NBC.

IGN: While she may not be capable of taking him down, it’s fun to see that Orwell is quick to go toe to toe with The Cape when they first meet.

Glau: Absolutely, and if you watch the next episode, you’ll see more and more that she gets out of the lair and on to the scene. She’s willing to throw down. This girl has been on our own since she was 12, so she’s incredibly resourceful and she’s not afraid of anything. She just makes her own rules.

IGN: It seems like this is a woman who has her eyes everywhere.

Glau: I do love it, because it’s so different from myself. I’m so technically deficient. I can barely turn my computer on, so it’s really fun for me to play somebody who has all the latest gadgets and has access to the most cutting edge cars. She’s always cutting her own path. She’s three steps ahead of everybody else. It’s really fun.

IGN: Will we learn how she can afford everything she has at her disposal?

Glau: Yes… And she has very creative ways of getting what she wants. Let’s put it that way! She never seems to run out of money. I wish she could let me in on a few of her tips, because I want to go on a shopping spree and buy all of Orwell’s clothes. Because that’s another thing she does: She owns pretty things! Which is an interesting quality to play, because she obviously has a higher calling and what she’s trying to do is selfless in a way, but it’s also very personally charged. And then on the other end, she’s driving these gorgeous cars and she has beautiful clothes to wear and she’s always got a new lair. She’s a girly girl in that way. She’s fighting crime, but she likes to look good too.

IGN: There was a photo recently revealed of you having seemingly joined the carnival where The Cape learns his tricks.

Glau: Yes. That’s an important quality for me to play as an actress. I like to explore the other side of her – the more vulnerable side and maybe the dreamer side of her. There are things that Orwell may have done in her life before she started on this journey and it’s coming out very slowly, because we’re on a mission and it’s always do or die time. So that scene was a moment of reflection that I thought was really beautiful. And it was fun for me to go to Circus School!

IGN: Really, you did?

Glau: I went to Circus School, yeah! I was only able to go twice, but actually Izabella [Miko, who plays Raia] goes to the school regularly. I thought I was going to hate it. I don’t like to go upside down. So I told my coach, "I hate to go upside down," and sure enough, the first thing I was doing was hanging upside down like a monkey. But I was going, "I love this!" I was having the time of my life. It was really fun!

IGN: I’d imagine having your dancing background was a big help with that training?

Glau: Oh yeah. It made me feel so much more comfortable. And I understand lines and I have a lot of control of my body, so it wasn’t as terrifying as I anticipated it to be. It definitely helped me. I went to ballet classes as much as I could, to get back into the swing of it. But hopefully they’ll let me back up or I’m gonna cry!

IGN: Seeing you and [Cape Executive Producer] John Wirth here together is making me nostalgic for when you two worked together on The Sarah Connor Chronicles…

Glau: I know!

IGN: Is it nice to get to work with him again?

Glau: Absolutely. He’s like a dad to me. He’s just always there for me to talk to. He’s really good at communicating with actors, which I think is important when you’re doing a series. Actors have to feel like they’re understanding their character and he and [series creator] Tom Wheeler, their door is always open. David and I go up there and visit them and go over scenes. It’s moving very fast, so there are certain times where you just have to take a leap of faith and go for it, but it’s amazing to work with people who really love actors and they’re really supportive.

IGN: You’ve been in several science fiction/genre series now, which have attracted some very impassioned fandom. Do you think there’s a key ingredient to these shows?

Glau: You know what I think looking back, is those stories, they were genre, but they were reaching people in a real, powerful way. When I think about Cameron, yeah, she was a Terminator and we had all the excitement and all the action, and a big part of my work as an actress was exploring what it mean to be a Terminator, but she also had qualities I think people just really related to, on a basic, human level.

And Joss [Whedon], the way that he writes, just touches people. We were on a spaceship, but it was about family. And that’s what I think we’re really going to work on here – is that at our core, our story is about a father’s love for his child. That’s what people will relate to, no matter how we tell the story or how crazy things get, at the heart, it’s just about loving your family. So it’s really cool. Being part of sci-fi never gets old and it’s always fun, because our stories are crazy! The things that we get to do… But it’s always got a heart and it’s from a real place.

The Cape ’s two-hour premiere airs Sunday, January 9th on NBC.