Heartaches, Bromances, True Love and Team Arrow: the Relationships Thread

[SmallScreenDiva]

C'mon, who wouldn't want a girlfriend who'd be willing to wait for you and stick by you no matter how many chicks you bang? Who'd apparently forgive you even after you bang her very own baby sister? Who'd still see you as the love of her life even after you impregnated another girl while you were with her? (Or were they supposed to be "on a break" when he banged Samantha?) Compared to that why would you go for the girl with standards and principle?

Edited February 4, 2018 by SmallScreenDiva

[leopardprint]

41 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

C'mon, who wouldn't want a girlfriend who'd be willing to wait for you and stick by you no matter how many chicks you bang? Who'd apparently forgive you even after you bang her very own baby sister? Who'd still see you as the love of her life even after you impregnated another girl while you were with her? (Or were they supposed to be "on a break" when he banged Samantha?) Compared to that why would you go for the girl with standards and principle?

 

Hmmmm well Samantha apologized to Laurel so I was under the impression that they were not on a break but then again Oliver never apologized to Laurel (LOL) so perhaps he did pull a Ross...(and then she gave him a pep talk in the next episode). 

Edited February 4, 2018 by leopardprint

[tv echo]

Flashback Wednesday: SA talking about Olicity during his solo panel at Fan Expo Canada on August 31, 2014...

(Dukey77)

-- Mod asked if there was anything he could tease about Olicity for the upcoming S3.
-- SA: "Okay, so, I went home on - like, sometime this week - and I was taking a nap - true story - and I log onto my twitter, and I saw an image from episode 301 of Felicity and I. And I immediately thought that the premiere had leaked. And I didn't realize there was a preview, because the image that was released was like the 8th most important thing that happens in the episode. It's a crazy episode. And, uh, sets the tone for the entire season. But yeah... we learn a lot about Oliver and his relationship with Felicity, and their feelings, or lack thereof, from one another in the premiere."
-- Mod asked what it is about Oliver & Felicity that attracts the fans.
-- SA: "I'm not sure. We like working with one another... We are good friends in real life.... And, you know, she really blended in well because David and I - in the first season, we had something we called Foundry Fridays. So we'd be in the Arrow Cave - whatever we called it - and we would have like 12 pages of dialogue to get through, which, putting things in perspective, we do days like that, where we jam a bunch of stuff in, because every episode is like a finale. And we have big things happening in every episode. And if we weren't able to have this one day where we could get through a huge chunk of the episode, then we wouldn't be able to do the episodes that we do. So, you know, David and I would goof around because it's the only way that you could get through a day like that. And... when Emily came in, she just slid into that rhythm that we had. Also, especially in the - call it the first 9, 10 episodes of the show - boy, Oliver was a dick, wasn't he? Pardon my language, he was just so sour, he never smiled. And so, it was a really nice reprieve both, you know, for the character and for me personally to go in and shoot these quick scenes with Emily, where I would laugh at her and she would be really awkward, and it was such a change of pace for the show. Um, and I think everything grew from there."
-- Mod: "I think Felicity brings out the best in Oliver."
-- SA: "Yes, and I'm - it's quite lovely right now because we are shooting episode 305, which is titled 'The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak.' (Mod and audience cheers and applauds) And I have 4 out of 8 days off. Unprecedented. Unprecedented. And, honestly, I will say that Charlotte Ross, who's playing Felicity's mother, is - we shot a scene on Monday morning, and it is the most fun. We had so much fun that I was legitimately worried that the producers were going to be like, 'this is too much fun, you guys are going to have to reshoot yourselves.'"

(Michelle Melendez)

-- Female fan: "Going into Season 3, I'm wondering, um, is there anything you would like to see Oliver do that he hasn't done before?"
-- Male fan: "Felicity." (Audience laughs.)
-- SA: "There are children here. Behave yourself. (Laughs) Uh, okay, other than that, um..."

Edited February 7, 2018 by tv echo

[KenyaJ]

Well to be fair not everyone has the commitment of SA and EBR.

Bringing this over from the Mind Your Surrounding thread because I meant to write a post about this the other day. I was rewatching 611 and noticed for the first time that right after Lance tells Oliver that Pike was one of the elevator casualties, Felicity is stroking his elbow. It made me think about how much I admire Stephen and Emily's commitment to always touching each other.

And if you see, a lot of Olicity's physical interactions are unscripted, meaning, it's Stephen/Emily who bring life to the relationship.

Yep. No way the writers scripted this.

I remember missing half of what they were saying during this scene, because I was so mesmerized by their hands. And they were super tactile with each other long before they ever got together. Like this in 117:

which was the first time I let myself be convinced that I wasn't shipping them in vain. It's one thing to have chemistry, it's another to write towards a couple, you can have all the heart eyes in the world, but all the touching is what's always filled Oliver and Felicity's relationship with a kind of intimacy that I've seen few TV couples display. Even more so because it's usually in the background and unscripted and it just demonstrates how present Stephen and Emily are in their scenes together. It's my absolute favorite thing about Olicity scenes. I hope they never change.

[Mellowyellow]

One of my favourite Olicity interactions/kisses was the kiss in 604 Reversal. The way she went up to him and kissed his face all over and how he naturally kissed back like it was instinct. That was an amazing scene. So natural and realistic as well as adorable.

Edited February 8, 2018 by Mellowyellow

[WindofChange]

I honestly think that most of the time the writers don't even instruct Emily/Stephen to do anything, they just say "you do your thing" and they do it LOL

[lemotomato]

1 minute ago, Mellowyellow said:

One of my favourite Olicity interactions/kisses was the kiss in 604 Reversal. They way she went up to him and kissed his face all over and how he naturally kissed back like it was instinct. That was an amazing scene. So natural and realistic as well as adorable.

I think someone asked Stephen about that scene and he said that those kisses were Emily messing with him, and the editors ended up using that take for the episode. So it's improvised!

As was this classic Olicity moment in 207:

IIRC, the story was that Stephen and Emily added the handholding thinking that it was out of frame and were surprised when it showed up in the episode.

[thegirlsleuth]

Someone--I think Guggenheim?--released the script page for 5.20, and the sex scene bore very little relation to what we saw on screen.  My recollection is that they had Felicity falling off the salmon ladder and Oliver repeating his glasses move (which Stephen originally improvised in 3.20).  Clearly Stephen, Emily, and the director came up with better choreography. 

I feel like Emily and Stephen like to see how close they can get to cable territory without actually crossing the line. 

[KenyaJ]

21 minutes ago, thegirlsleuth said:

I feel like Emily and Stephen like to see how close they can get to cable territory without actually crossing the line. 

And didn't he say at one of his wine events that before they filmed the 320 love scene, Emily told him they should really go for it? God bless these two saints.

[SmallScreenDiva]

2 hours ago, KenyaJ said:

Yep. No way the writers scripted this.

I remember this and how some people were calling it arm porn or something, LMAO! 

[calliope1975]

I can't find a full gif of the scene, but in the limo after the engagement, and they're holding hands, then Felicity holds her hand up to look at the ring and poor Oliver's hand doesn't know what to do. 

Really, though, they put something extra into every scene they're in. I love them so much. 

They weren't even together here and they looked like they wanted to bang.

[Chaser]

I remember in the early Olicity years, someone commented if the show was going to back to Oliver and Laurel then Oliver needed to stop looking at Felicity like he couldn’t figure out if he wanted to marry her or fuck her against the wall more.

[lemotomato]

2 hours ago, KenyaJ said:

And didn't he say at one of his wine events that before they filmed the 320 love scene, Emily told him they should really go for it? God bless these two saints.

He's such a dork, lol.

[KenyaJ]

Lolz. Thanks, @lemotomato!

[SmallScreenDiva]

49 minutes ago, calliope1975 said:

I can't find a full gif of the scene, but in the limo after the engagement, and they're holding hands, then Felicity holds her hand up to look at the ring and poor Oliver's hand doesn't know what to do. 

 

 

From this Tumblr

[Mellowyellow]

OMG they are just too cute!!!!! That is soooo cute!!!!!!!!

[SmallScreenDiva]

One of the best things about Olicity is how Stephen really sells the Oliver is smitten and so in love with Felicity look.

[calliope1975]

Bless you @SmallScreenDiva! Those captions are perfection.

[catrox14]

17 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

 

 

From this Tumblr

OH MY GODS. That's so great. I never noticed Oliver/SA drumming his fingers all impatiently. LOLOL.

Those fuckers. I love them.

[KenyaJ]

How have I never seen that gifset before?! My giggles woke my dog up. They are the actual greatest.

[lemotomato]

I went on a bit of a spiral watching interviews of SA talking about Felicity/Olicity, and what I thought was really telling was how he smiles when talking about them, whether it was back at the end of season 1 (when as far as we knew, Felicity was just his tech support with a crush) or beginning of season 3 (when Olicity became show canon.)

Here's a clip from an interview at WonderCon 2013:

Here's another from SDCC 2014:

[Featherhat]

3 hours ago, Chaser said:

I remember in the early Olicity years, someone commented if the show was going to back to Oliver and Laurel then Oliver needed to stop looking at Felicity like he couldn’t figure out if he wanted to marry her or fuck her against the wall more.

Which is one reason the show never went back there, although it does seem like a lot of people were expecting a Felicity/Oliver/Laurel love triangle in S3 or 4 or even insta going back to Laurel to go with insta!Canary. I wonder if people would have accepted a Ted Grant romance if they hadn't lost the actor? They never bothered to give her anything after that, which might be another reason people hoped for a reconciliation. 

[thegirlsleuth]

6 hours ago, KenyaJ said:

 

which was the first time I let myself be convinced that I wasn't shipping them in vain. It's one thing to have chemistry, it's another to write towards a couple, you can have all the heart eyes in the world, but all the touching is what's always filled Oliver and Felicity's relationship with a kind of intimacy that I've seen few TV couples display. Even more so because it's usually in the background and unscripted and it just demonstrates how present Stephen and Emily are in their scenes together. It's my absolute favorite thing about Olicity scenes. I hope they never change.

She's so young!  Baby Felicity!

I think the background intimacy really sells it for me, too.  There's a moment at the beginning fo season 4 right before the "Felicity do you want to play a game?" scene where Oliver kisses the top of Felicity's head while she's working, and she leans in and smiles without breaking from her information dump about the criminals and it was such a couple thing to do.  

[tv echo]

11 hours ago, thegirlsleuth said:

Someone--I think Guggenheim?--released the script page for 5.20, and the sex scene bore very little relation to what we saw on screen.  My recollection is that they had Felicity falling off the salmon ladder and Oliver repeating his glasses move (which Stephen originally improvised in 3.20).  Clearly Stephen, Emily, and the director came up with better choreography.  

From 520 script...

 

6 hours ago, lemotomato said:

Here's a clip from an interview at WonderCon 2013:

 

I went back and checked. WonderCon 2013 took place on March 30-31, 2013. So at the time of this interview, Arrow had just aired 118 (Salvation). So the last Olicity scene in 118 (referenced in this interview) was the scene where Oliver puts his hand on Felicity's shoulder and tells her: "By the way. If you ever need to tell someone about your day, you can tell me."

Also, SA mentioned Felicity getting dressed up again in a then upcoming episode "21." That was 121 (The Undertaking), where Felicity went on her first field mission, going undercover as "Megan" into the casino. At that time, Diggle and Oliver were on the outs (because Oliver chose to help Laurel go after Rasmus, instead of helping Diggle go after Floyd Lawton). so Team Arrow was reduced to Oliver and Felicity.

Edited February 8, 2018 by tv echo

[KenyaJ]

"Clothes coming off." LOL. Writers write generic description. Stephen, Emily, and Wendey Stanzler make it magic.

gif source

Edited February 8, 2018 by KenyaJ

[Guest]

Bless SA for spinning EBR around like that. Still the hottest moment. I really did think it was gonna take a HBO turn for a second there. ???

Edited February 8, 2018 by Guest

[catrox14]

8 minutes ago, Angel12d said:

Bless SA for spinning EBR around like that. Still the hottest moment. I really did think it was gonna take a HBO turn for a second there. ???

Oh, in my head it did. My head canon is that it went the HBO direction first and after that Felicity turned around and took off her shirt.  LOL

[SmallScreenDiva]

Man, that's script is just pretty much straight out flirty drunkenness ... SA and EBR added a ton of nuance. Like the first time Felicity kisses Oliver, it's all rather quick and he actually doesn't really react that much. He just closes his eyes and stays there like he's afraid to breathe, like if he moves he'd spook her. And then Felicity comes back and you can just see him wake up, respond and go for it. Also, the tiny pause after they're already kissing (that bottom GIF) and they just look at each other with such joy it was rather heartbreaking. These are just tiny things but they added so many layers to their love scene.

[tv echo]

The director of 520, Wendey Stanzler, probably deserves some credit as well. Just imagine if James Bamford had directed that episode!

 

Quote

Since season six is so difficult to tease, we shifted our conversation into talking about season five. The Olicity break-up was controversial and left many fans unhappy and angry. I asked Marc if they accomplished what they set out to do with Olicity in this season.

He said, “You know what? I do [think so]. I feel really good about 5x20. Every season I have the things I like and things I wish we did better. I was pretty honest in season four that I didn't love how we handled their break-up. For me, the way we handled their break-up [is that] they didn't have an adult conversation. So we went into season five [and] it was like we need[ed] to figure out a way for them to have that adult conversation and deal with their issues. I was pretty happy with the way that turned out.” Marc continued, “Stephen and Emily were terrific in the episode ["Underneath"]. Wendy Stanzler directed the hell out of it.”

http://www.itsjustaboutwrite.com/2017/07/sdcc-2017-exclusive-marc-guggenheim.html
 

Edited February 8, 2018 by tv echo

[calliope1975]

I also would like to thank the wardrobe person who picked out the pink shirt with buttons in the back. You are appreciated.

[SmallScreenDiva]

8 minutes ago, calliope1975 said:

I also would like to thank the wardrobe person who picked out the pink shirt with buttons in the back. You are appreciated.

And whoever decided to put Felicity in a nude-colored, pinkish bra!

[catrox14]

16 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

And whoever decided to put Felicity in a nude-colored, pinkish bra!

Upon first viewing, I legit thought she was topless. Well done you cheeky sneaks.

[Chaser]

I can't get over the difference between SA/EBR and SA/Others on Arrow. I think SA was fine with McKenna and Sara but it was like after Felicity he couldn't muster anything with Snake Reporter. But man its so obvious he stopped trying mid way thru S1 with KC.

[insomniadreams88]

2 hours ago, KenyaJ said:

I don't know if I'll ever get over Oliver's "thank you." 

[BkWurm1]

15 hours ago, lemotomato said:

I think someone asked Stephen about that scene and he said that those kisses were Emily messing with him, and the editors ended up using that take for the episode. So it's improvised!

As was this classic Olicity moment in 207:

IIRC, the story was that Stephen and Emily added the handholding thinking that it was out of frame and were surprised when it showed up in the episode.

I love knowing the director was so aware of their chemistry and little extra moves that they already had a camera all ready to capture all the nuances of the scene or imagine the joy of editing the episode and finding that gem.   

[KenyaJ]

Naturally, the videos @lemotomato posted sent me down a YouTube rabbit hole. And in his Nerd HQ panel at SDCC before S4, Stephen talked about how different the finished product of his and Emily's scenes are from how they're written. (It's the second part of the question.) It's even better hearing him confirm that what we're seeing is a conscious effort by him and Emily.

Edited February 8, 2018 by KenyaJ

[Mellowyellow]

Guys help me out! 

I think I stumbled on what looked like a screen test between GG and EBR. Did that actually happen? Why did they even need to screen test them? They weren't going to be his permanent LI or anything!

[Mellowyellow]

1 minute ago, jaye.elle said:

Pretty sure they screen tested them for his guest spot on Arrow. Not sure why they did but it's an extra on either the Arrow season 2 or The Flash DVD season 1.

Ahh thank you! So weird! I heard they didn't screen test KC and SA so it baffles me that they screen tested GG and EBR! 

[lemotomato]

8 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

Guys help me out! 

I think I stumbled on what looked like a screen test between GG and EBR. Did that actually happen? Why did they even need to screen test them? They weren't going to be his permanent LI or anything!

It actually happened. Back when GG got cast, Flash as a stand alone spin-off show wasn't a done deal yet. IIRC, the rumor back then was that if GG's appearances in Arrow 208/209 didn't make a big enough splash to get his own show, Barry/the Flash would be a side character on Arrow, which would have required him to play against EBR.

Edited February 11, 2018 by lemotomato

[Mellowyellow]

Just now, lemotomato said:

It actually happened. Back when GG got cast, Flash as a stand alone spin-off show wasn't a done deal yet. IIRC, the rumor back then was that if GG's appearances in Arrow 208/209 didn't make a big enough splash, Barry/the Flash would be a side character on Arrow.

If he did join the show were they going to have him be the third pillar of a love triangle I wonder! 

So surprising they bothered with a screen test!

[Morrigan2575]

IIRC, they did the screen test (in part) to make sure GG came across as an adult opposite EBR/Felicity. Which is hilarious because he's a year older.

[lemotomato]

That's funny because I feel like EBR plays Felicity younger when she interacts with Barry. And there were all those in-show jokes about how young Barry looked. 

[statsgirl]

3 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

Ahh thank you! So weird! I heard they didn't screen test KC and SA so it baffles me that they screen tested GG and EBR! 

I had the impression that KC was in with the CW so much that the role was hers irrespective of what chemistry there was with SA.  And that they didn't anticipate the anti-chemistry.

[quarks]

Based on various interviews, when Gossip Girl came to an abrupt end, KC was offered a few different roles on CW shows, and liked Arrow. At the time she was the best known cast member other than Susanna Thompson.

Since then, the CW has insisted that CBS and WB screen/chem test pretty much all incoming actors.  Which still hasn't prevented all failures (hi, Hawks!) but has added at least one layer of protection. 

[Featherhat]

 I think once 208/09 made enough of a splash to convert the back door pilot into an actual pilot, there was no chance it wouldn't get picked up, although how successful it would be was another thing (hence the early crossovers from Arrow and the bringing in of Cisco and Caitlin for the S2 finale arc scenes.) If he had stayed on Arrow, I guess he might have taken the S3 Ray role, in a completely different way. Although given how much the write to the Oliver/Barry dynamic most crossovers I think he'd probably have become the "little brother" to Oliver we have today fairly quickly. It would have also been interesting to see what happened to Roy in that scenario

 

4 hours ago, quarks said:

Based on various interviews, when Gossip Girl came to an abrupt end, KC was offered a few different roles on CW shows, and liked Arrow. At the time she was the best known cast member other than Susanna Thompson.

Since then, the CW has insisted that CBS and WB screen/chem test pretty much all incoming actors.  Which still hasn't prevented all failures (hi, Hawks!) but has added at least one layer of protection. 

Wasn't she the first person cast, before SA? And he was one of the first people they auditioned for Oliver? It wasn't as if they didn't have time to see them together, although that might have gone badly for SA rather than KC at the time since yeah she was one of the best known cast members along with ST and WH. I can definitely see why the role was attractive on paper for KC, it's just I don't think she was a good fit for it. 

4 hours ago, statsgirl said:

And that they didn't anticipate the anti-chemistry.

Yeah, I think you can work with so-so chemistry but not the anti chemistry and nope!face. Combine that with the toxic backstory the characters have and you can see why there were rumours the producers went on the hunt for another potential longterm LI pretty quickly. 

[tv echo]

Regarding GG's casting on Arrow and his chem test with EBR, from a Dec. 3, 2013 IGN article...

Quote

There are some pretty notable sparks on Arrow between Barry and Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) and Kreisberg explained, “It was just something we were talking about when we were figuring out how we were going to bring him in. We spent a lot of time talking about Barry, even before the pilot aspect, just how we were going to introduce him in these episodes. Especially with the way the season had been going, talking about Oliver and Felicity and their growing relationship or feelings for each other, the fact that Barry and Felicity are so similar and they're both a little bit uncomfortable in their own skins and both very likable and personable, it just seemed like they would instantly hit it off, which would complicate things for Oliver even more. It felt like the right way to go. One of the things we did when we were testing some of the finalists was Emily Bett Rickards came down from Canada to read [with them] and the minute we saw her read with Grant, it was a done deal.”

Executive producer Greg Berlanti couldn’t resist joking, “Yeah, we wanted to make sure he didn't seem like jailbait next to her!” Gustin exclaimed, in reply, “I am older than her!”

Yes, Gustin is 23 years old, and he’s also a pretty notably young looking guy. There are some funny lines in Arrow regarding this -- check out the clip above -- with Oliver making a few cracks about Barry's appearance. Kreisberg revealed, “Greg actually had us add a lot of those lines because it is an elephant in the room and so we addressed it. But we always had sort of seen him as being a little bit younger [than Oliver] and the thing that was really important to us more than anything was he really should be a contrast to Oliver and to Stephen. Stephen is the more traditional, square-jawed, muscle-bound hero and that works really well because he needs all that. And one of the things about The Flash is he's a random guy who gets struck by lightning. He needs the bolt of lightning to be a hero in a way that Stephen doesn't need the bolt of lightning.”

The video of GG and EBR's chem test has been pulled from youtube by Warner Bros, but you can still watch that chem test video in this BuzzFeed article...
How The Flash Got To Woo Arrow's Leading Lady
July 22, 2015  Jarett Wieselman
https://www.buzzfeed.com/jarettwieselman/watch-grant-gustins-never-before-seen-chemistry-test-with-em?utm_term=.iw00v0b2R#.kuB7n7JNG

Also, here's GG's solo screen test for The Flash...

And EBR talking about GG...

Edited February 11, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Casting director David Rapaport at Heroes & Villains FanFest-Chicago (Mar. 13, 2016)...

-- Fan: "You know, we are always talking about chemistry and how important it is for the actors to have chemistry together... How are you actually able to capture this potential chemistry during the audition process?"
-- Rapaport: "A lot of it is guessing. You know. I'm a bit of a matchmaker sometimes. I try to guess who would look good together, or work well together, or have chemistry. Um, sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes we do have chemistry tests where we bring in the two lead actors and have them act opposite each other.  I know, for example, on The Flash - or actually, on Arrow, when we were casting the Barry Allen character, we had Grant Gustin do a chemistry read with, um, Felicity - Emily, and they just had chemistry in spades. It was amazing, it was so obvious to us that they should be together.  And sometimes, you know, the actors are up working in Vancouver, the role that we're casting we're auditioning down in L.A., so we don't get an opportunity to test that chemistry, and we just sorta hope for the best. And sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  I'll take, uh, full responsibility for the ones that work.  And the ones that don't, I'll just blame it on someone else."
http://olicity-i-believe-in-you.tumblr.com/post/140974874829/how-much-chemistry-are-you-able-to-capture-during

Edited February 11, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

SA was the first person who auditioned for Oliver Queen, he was cast before KC, and they never did a chem test together...

-- Video in Daily Actor article titled "The Comic-Con Casting Director Panel Featuring Randi Hiller, Lora Kennedy, Sharon Bialy, Roger Mussenden & David Rapaport" (Aug. 1, 2013):
David Rapaport was asked how many people he saw for Arrow. He replied that Stephen Amell was the first person who auditioned and they tested him "pretty much the next day" and he was the only person they tested and "that never, ever happens." He added that they "got so lucky" with Stephen and that it took them about five weeks to cast the rest of the pilot.
http://www.dailyactor.com/news/casting-director-panel-randi-hiller-lora-kennedy-sharon-bialy-roger-mussenden-david-rapaport/ 

-- Video of SA panel at Fan Expo Canada 2017 (Sep. 3, 2017):
When asked how he got cast on Arrow, SA said that he was working on Private Practice (not as a regular), the script came out for Arrow, the breakdown came out, David Rapaport was casting it (he had cast SA on 90210 "as a guy who was lost at sea and presumed dead"), he was the first guy that they brought in, he read on a Tuesday, he returned to work with director David Nutter on a Thursday, he tested for the network on Friday, he tested for the studio on Monday, and he got cast on Tuesday. SA: "You're never right for a part until you're perfect for it."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEZylmEE6cY

-- Video of KC panel at MegaCon in Orlando, FL (May 29, 2016):
In response to fan asking how she got her role in the DC Universe and whether it was by audition or choice, KC replied: "Yeah, um, it definitely was - it was an audition.  I read the script - I was reading pilots that year and I read Arrow and, you know, the pilot - Laurel's character, it wasn't - she wasn't very big in the pilot. But I did some research, obviously the comic books, having Greg Berlanti being our producer and creator, and Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim, and then Stephen Amell got cast, and you know, David Nutter was directing our pilot - the whole thing, you know, the success of all of them being attached to such an incredible script, and that whole world, you know - I just where it possibly could potentially go. And, um, I really wanted to do some action and knowing that Laurel Lance turns into the Black Canary, um, you know - that was a huge, huge thing for me. And, um, yeah... I think that just playing a comic book character and being a woman - you know, a modern day woman and kicking some ass is definitely what I - what I was attracted to, um, along with everything else." Panel mod then asked, "So you were cast before Stephen?"  But KC replied, "No, I was cast right after Stephen." Mod: "Directly right after Stephen?"  KC: "Yes, and I did actually audition."  She also said that SA was not part of the approval process, mentioning that he had not done much before Arrow.  She also said that she followed him on twitter before SA knew that she was the producers' choice, and thought he was "really hot".  Per KC, Stephen noticed that she had followed him on twitter and he went to the producers and said, "Katie Cassidy just followed me on twitter. Is she? Are you?" and they were like, "yeah... what do you think of that?" and Stephen was like, "I like that". 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da0xTFmuqkg 

-- BuzzFeed interview with David Rapaport, Casting Director, in article titled “Behind The Scenes Casting Secrets From ‘Gossip Girl,’ ‘Arrow,’ And More” (Oct. 6, 2015):

Quote

Katie Cassidy (Juliet Sharp, Gossip Girl)
. . .
“She is so reliable, she’s so beautiful, she’s so talented, she’s kind of everything that you want in an actor on a CW show,” he said of Cassidy, who he later cast on Arrow. “I read a ton of actors and my process is I pre-read a bunch of actors to narrow down the field to bring to producers, but there’s a small group of actors I will bring in project after project; I know them, I trust them, I know they’re going to perform, and it’s just a matter of finding them the right role. Katie is one of those people. She always brings something really interesting to the table; she’s fun to watch. She’s kind of electric. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but when she’s on screen, something magical happens and you can’t take your eyes off of her. And my dad really likes her.”
*  *  *
Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen, Arrow)
. . .
“I had just cast him on 90210 where he played this war hero who had come home from fighting and we were looking for the ultimate superhero on Arrow and physically he looked the part,” Rapaport said. “We wanted someone with a darkness and an edge to him, but someone who looked like He-Man. I brought his picture with me to the initial meeting for Arrow and everyone responded to the picture and I thought, I should just bring him in first because he’s it — and he was it. That made my life a lot easier. We didn’t test that many people. It was him and nobody else.

“The Vampire Diaries was on the air already, so we were sold as a three-hander between Stephen, Katie Cassidy, and Colin Donnell — a tripod if you will. That’s how we cast it and then the posters came out and Stephen was shirtless. First of all, we never saw him without his shirt on; I knew he was a physical guy, but I’d never seen him do stunts or anything like that and all of a sudden in the pilot, he’s doing his own stunts. He became famous for being shirtless. The poster was him shirtless and none of the other actors were on the poster, and as talented and amazing as they were, it became clear the show was about ‘The Arrow,’ so that really changed the concept for us because initially I saw it as more of an ensemble and cast it that way.”

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jarettwieselman/the-man-who-helped-build-the-cw?utm_term=.mvBb71Eg9#.xqb1Ra7LX 

-- Video of KC panel at MCM Hannover Comic Con (May 20, 2017):
When asked about auditioning for Arrow (fan recited the audition process), KC replied that's how it normally works but then said: "I had been on The CW for quite some time, uh, before that, working for them on Supernatural and Melrose Place and Gossip Girl, you know, and having done those things, I felt like, being part of The CW, I was a part of their family. So, when I read the script, um, my process was a little bit different because I had an established - I had a relationship with the creators and the producers. I knew them, they knew me quite well. So when I read the script, I immediately was, like, I'm not reading anything else, this is the one I want. That really stressed my manager and agent out, because you never really know if you end up being the - you know, being the one who's going to get it. I was just like, I don't want to read anything else. This is the one that I want to go for. So, they - I had a meeting with them and then basically, just a - like a screen test. And did it. I was extremely nervous, but did it anyhow. And ended up - yeah, I ended up finding out later that night that I was - I was the one who got the part."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJjYVn8piFc 

-- Video of David Rapaport panel at Heroes & Villains FanFest-New York (Jan. 24, 2016):
In response to fan saying that TV couples normally do chemistry tests and asking if he did a chemistry test with Stephen Amell and Katie Cassidy, he replied: "I'm trying to remember - I don't know that we did, actually... (Fan interrupted: "You don't recall?") ... I don't recall that we did, no. I think they were cast separately so I'm pretty sure, yeah. Yeah, thank you."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF8PieiBtMk

-- Fan report about conversation with David Rapaport, Casting Director, at Heroes & Villains FanFest-New York (Jan. 24, 2016):

Quote

Fan said she had a conversation about SA and KC's chemistry. He acknowledged their was a problem and said that they fixed it by having them be friends instead. 
Fan posted a short clip of her asked Rapport at the panel if they had a chemistry test. He said no. 
She posted the video saying that he is confirming there was no chemistry test and she referenced their earlier conversation. 
He responded that he said there was no chemistry test (which was on the video…..). SA and KC have amazing chemistry. 
Fans blow it up and he started liking tweets about his words being twisted and fans lying. 
I think he misunderstood her tweet as her saying that he said there was no chemistry at all, when all she was saying is that there wasn't a chemistry test. Her earlier tweets said that he agreed they lacked romantic chemistry, but work as friends. I saw a few people say they heard that conversation and back her up.

http://forums.previously.tv/topic/2872-social-media-and-behind-the-scenes-aka-everything-else-not-news-and-media/?do=findComment&comment=1896734

Edited February 11, 2018 by tv echo

[bijoux]

That was a fun walk down memory lane. Those two episodes will forever be among my personal favorites. Maybe he penetrates just fine. ? It also reminded me of this fine piece of art. I’m not sure who it’s by, I just found it on Pinterest now.

[KenyaJ]

1 hour ago, bijoux said:

That was a fun walk down memory lane. Those two episodes will forever be among my personal favorites. 

Mine too. Those episodes were just great, on every level. And the way @Mellowyellow feels about Raylicity is the way I feel about Barry and Felicity. Olicity is my favorite ship ever and I shipped them since the "You're remarkable." "Thanks for remarking on it," scene. But I loved Barry and Felicity's flirtations in those episodes, and totally would have accepted him as a temporary love interest for Felicity.

Reading (and, in some cases, re-reading) all those quotes about the casting process was really interesting. Somehow, I'd forgotten that Stephen was the only actor who tested for Oliver. And it makes sense to me, because I just can't imagine anyone else in this role. I know there are other actors who could have done it, but I've spent a lot of time lately watching all 5 seasons, and I have such a great appreciation for everything he brings to the role.