Good Not Nice: Milly Alcock and Craig Gillespie Discuss Their Complex Supergirl - MovieMaker Magazine

      Every narrative involving Superman and his younger cousin Kara, also known as Supergirl, faces a common challenge: how to make an immensely powerful hero relatable. For Supergirl, Milly Alcock and director Craig Gillespie found inspiration in the concept of a red sun.

      Kara grapples with despair, disguised as a grumpy attitude and cynicism, due to the loss of nearly all her loved ones during the destruction of her home planet Krypton, alongside her cousin Clark. Now living on Earth, she desires to indulge her sorrows in dive bars, but her abilities - powered by the yellow sun - render that impossible. To cope, she seeks refuge on planets with red suns, which weaken her superpowers and her resistance to alcohol.

      In the typical hero's journey, she initially rejects the call to action. Young Ruthye (Eve Ridley) encounters Kara at an intergalactic tavern and implores her to track down her family’s murderer, Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts).

      However, Kara is merely there to drink, so she declines the request.

      It's only when Krem poisons her best friend Krypto, the lively dog we first met as David Corenswet’s Superman's sidekick, that she springs into action.

      Our latest digital cover features Supergirl actress Milly Alcock and director Craig Gillespie. Photo by Ryan Pfluger. Cover design by Ryan Ward.

      This portrayal of Supergirl, as noted in Ana Nogueira’s screenplay, may not be kind-hearted, but she is fundamentally good.

      “She’s such a beautiful contrast to Clark,” Alcock remarks. “Good people can do bad things, and bad people can do good things. I think she embodies a lot of humanity for someone who isn’t human.”

      Gillespie excels at creating complex protagonists and antiheroes. His previous works include 2007’s Lars and the Real Girl, which features Ryan Gosling’s character who dates a lifelike doll, 2017’s I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie as the disgraced Olympian Tonya Harding, and 2021’s Cruella, with Emma Stone as Disney’s iconic antagonist. While Kara may come off as distant, she certainly has a love for dogs.

      “There’s been a recurring theme in my work where I often explore outsiders, underdogs, or individuals who've been misunderstood, and this version of Supergirl fits right into that category,” Gillespie shares. “She comes with a lot of trauma, and throughout the film, she’s compelled to confront it, especially through her interactions with Ruthye, who has endured a similar experience and acts as a mirror to her.”

      Milly Alcock on Fear, Strength, and Krypto

      Milly Alcock portrays Kara. Warner Bros.

      When Gillespie and Alcock, both Australians, agreed to work on the film, Alcock expressed her concerns regarding the magnitude of the project. She was familiar with large productions, having gained recognition from HBO's House of the Dragon. However, Supergirl places her front and center in almost every scene.

      The four-and-a-half-month shooting period took place in the United Kingdom, Scotland, and Iceland, including filming at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden near London. In one action sequence at Leavesden, Gillespie oversaw 40-foot fireballs and Jason Momoa, portraying Lobo, racing on a real motorcycle. Alcock humorously mentions her role was primarily to “stand and say what I’m supposed to say,” but she faced many acting challenges. At one point early in the shoot, she had to film an extended emotional scene in Kryptonian, which, of course, is not a real language.

      “She came into my office, sat down, and expressed her genuine concerns about the scale of this task and what she was stepping into,” Gillespie recalls. “Her honesty and openness were evident from the very beginning.”

      Alcock reflects, “It’s frightening to be offered an opportunity that could change your life. There’s a natural fear involved. I’ve never had a child, but I imagine new parents might feel that mix of excitement and fear. It’s the duality of those feelings and wrestling with my own internal struggles. I was truly unsure if I could handle it.”

      She adds with enthusiasm: “But I did it.”

      One of her most remarkable acting accomplishments in the film is easily overlooked: Alcock's deep connection with Krypto throughout the film makes it easy to forget that, like the Kryptonian language, Krypto is entirely fictional. Adorable as he may be, he’s CGI. “Let me share a story,” Alcock says. “One day, a Romanian street dog wandered onto our set. All he needed to do was sit in a scene. He was literally whisked from the street and placed on set.

      “Everyone kept saying ‘sit’ in English, and I thought, ‘Guys, he’s Romanian — say it in