Summer Glau

Coming to NBC in the next TV season, The Cape introduces a new superhero, played by Australian actor David Lyons (ER). And starring alongside Lyons on the new one-hour series is someone who needs no introduction to genre TV fans – Summer Glau.

When I spoke to the two actors recently, Lyons told me, "My character is a guy called Vince Faraday, who also moonlights as The Cape. This [show] is the genesis of a super hero. It’s about a guy that is framed for a crime he doesn’t commit and is forced to go underground. He’s presumed dead and in order to reunite himself with his family and particularly his son, he takes the persona of a super hero from a comic book he used to read his child."

"I play Orwell," explained Glau. "She’s a blogger, but seems to always have this information that no one else knows." Glau noted that Orwell is "kind of like a young girl who has a lot of frustration," but that the reasons for that aren’t revealed at first. "We understand that she has some motivation for the life that she’s chosen, but it doesn’t come out in the pilot. She’s trying to help stop the crime going on in the city. So she comes across Vince and tells him that she can help him reunite with his family." Lyons said that Orwell wasn’t just supporting Vince in his guise as The Cape, but rather, "She’s creating it."

There are many a fanboy who hear Summer Glau and superhero in the same sentence and can’t help but wonder what if Glau herself might end up in a costume at some point. When I mentioned this to Glau, she laughed and replied, "Well, they haven’t had me wear a costume yet. One can only hope!"

I asked Lyons how it felt to play a superhero, and he replied, "It’s a very surreal experience," noting that he knows that plenty of kids grow up dreaming of being a superhero. That being said, Lyons said, "I always thought I was going to be a firefighter. I’m not the kid that wanted to be the super hero, I’m the kid who got to be one. It’s kind of weird!"

As for the tone of The Cape and whether the material is treated dramatically or comedically, Glau said, "I feel we have a perfect balance. I didn’t know until I went into the table read. I hadn’t had much of a chance to picture what the show would be like when I got cast. When it came to the table read, it came to life. Afterwards I was shaking, I was so excited and proud to be part of this cast, because I feel like it has a lot of heart. It comes from a real place and it’s about somebody that you could picture being a real man."

Glau added, "He’s so believable as a hero," turning to Lyons and exclaiming, "You really are! We have all these supporting cast that bring in humor and light moments and that’s a really important balance."

For those attending San Diego Comic-Con, if you want to learn more about The Cape, see new footage from the series and have your chance to see the cast and creators in person, you’ll want to attend the panel for the series on Friday, July 23rd from 2:15-3:15 in Room 6A. Lyons and Glau will be in attendance, alongside co-stars , Dorian Missick (Six Degrees), James Frain (True Blood), Keith David (Gamer), Vinnie Jones (X-Men: Last Stand), Martin Klebba (Pirates of the Caribbean), composer Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica), creator/executive producer Thomas Wheeler (Empire), and showrunner/executive producer John Wirth (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)

In addition, a limited collector edition of The Cape comic book, with a cover by John John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men), will be given away at the panel.

The Cape will air mid-season on NBC.