The Not So Merry...Supporting Cast

[KenyaJ]

1 hour ago, quarks said:

Curtis' problem really should be with Felicity, not with Oliver, and he should be talking to her about this. 

But if his problem was with Felicity, the writers would be forced to acknowledge him putting the tracking nanites in her pancakes, and we can't have that!

[calliope1975]

Re: my reaction to Ray versus NTA.

I hated Ray for multiple reasons all season long, but it was always clear to me that he was a ship stall and also being set up for his own show. (IIRC, didn't it start as an Atom show that then morphed into LOT?) NTA doesn't appear to be going anywhere so I can't see my annoyance ever having an end. Letting my imagination run wild, I can't see a way for these writers to change my mind about NTA. Not for a long, long time. Even if there is some big bad that brings everyone back together, I'd still want to them to fork off immediately after. 

[tangerine95]

14 minutes ago, calliope1975 said:

Re: my reaction to Ray versus NTA.

I hated Ray for multiple reasons all season long, but it was always clear to me that he was a ship stall and also being set up for his own show. (IIRC, didn't it start as an Atom show that then morphed into LOT?) NTA doesn't appear to be going anywhere so I can't see my annoyance ever having an end. Letting my imagination run wild, I can't see a way for these writers to change my mind about NTA. Not for a long, long time. Even if there is some big bad that brings everyone back together, I'd still want to them to fork off immediately after. 

Yeah I hated Ray but I never for a moment felt like he was sticking around so it was much easier to deal with than the newbies.But Ray was pretty bad too,it was the same thing as with the newbies in that you could feel that they're pushing this character so hard for reasons that aren't about the story or the main characters and more about spinoffs and selling merchandise of masks.

Nothing's changing my mind either.They can save OTA's lives or whatever but I'll still know this whole having Oliver outnumbered all the time this season thing is nothing but a contrived way to make them seem necessary.The most they can do for me is going back to ignoring them if they're pushed far enough into the background.

Edited February 7, 2018 by tangerine95

[Mellowyellow]

Out of the N00bs I want Curtis to die the most because as long as he exists they seem to have the need for him to infringe on Felicity's abilities. Whilst I dislike the actor who plays WD and despise the character, Curtis is so so so much worse. Besides being insufferable they do not need another techie character. What are TPTB thinking anyway? Who the f is going to buy merchandise for a character as annoying as Curtis! Is this their aim? To market these three to sell products or something????? 

I like Alena but let her be the offscreen friend.

[Midnight Lullaby]

I hated Ray like I’m hating the newbies only in episode 17..in that episode he was awful but I didn’t think at all he was changing or ruining Felicity. I was mad they made her apologize but he was the awful one. But things improved from the next episode so it wasn’t an ongoing situation..the newbies are annoying me more because they keep being awful in multiple episodes also I know when Dinah gets back on the team we can say goodbye to Delicity scenes, Rene will keep being disrespectful to Felicity because the writers and the actor think it’s cool and Curtis has been annoying for two seasons now so I don’t see them going back to his S4 self unfortunately.

I could compare Ray with Sara more than with the newbies..potentially a good character, annoyed me greatly because the writers were pushing her everywhere and disregarding Felicity and Diggle and their relationship with Oliver that I cared about way more but ultimately she was only temporary. 

[BkWurm1]

23 minutes ago, Midnight Lullaby said:

I hated Ray like I’m hating the newbies only in episode 17..in that episode he was awful but I didn’t think at all he was changing or ruining Felicity. I was mad they made her apologize but he was the awful one. But things improved from the next episode so it wasn’t an ongoing situation..the newbies are annoying me more because they keep being awful in multiple episodes also I know when Dinah gets back on the team we can say goodbye to Delicity scenes, Rene will keep being disrespectful to Felicity because the writers and the actor think it’s cool and Curtis has been annoying for two seasons now so I don’t see them going back to his S4 self unfortunately.

I could compare Ray with Sara more than with the newbies..potentially a good character, annoyed me greatly because the writers were pushing her everywhere and disregarding Felicity and Diggle and their relationship with Oliver that I cared about way more but ultimately she was only temporary. 

Yeah, 3-17 was the only episode I really hated Ray in. Before that I thought I could understand why he was behaving the way he was and even though I understood what others found awful, I thought there was enough we knew about Ray that proved he didn't mean to be a stalker or a jerk.  His intentions were good.  But yeah in 17 he did make me side with Laurel and that was a disturbing feeling and not just side with her in default but where I was on her side completely and welcomed her every scornful look and wanted more from her. 

Felicity was way too isolated with Ray and there was often a disconnect because Ray scenes mostly were supposed to be "fun" scenes and often really upsetting stuff was happening back in the Bunker so it was odd but I didn't think it was actually changing Felicity, just not letting us really see what she was really thinking.  And I was ok with her "apology" in 3-17 because it came off to me as just something you say to make the dude that totally F'd up feel just a little better.  Ray by that point knew he'd been an ass. 

But I also remember spending most of the season trying to explain Ray and why I wasn't on the "I hate Ray" bandwagon.  It was exhausting since the show kept having him do iffy things.  

[Midnight Lullaby]

12 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

 

Felicity was way too isolated with Ray and there was often a disconnect because Ray scenes mostly were supposed to be "fun" scenes and often really upsetting stuff was happening back in the Bunker so it was odd but I didn't think it was actually changing Felicity, just not letting us really see what she was really thinking.  And I was ok with her "apology" in 3-17 because it came off to me as just something you say to make the dude that totally F'd up feel just a little better.  Ray by that point knew he'd been an ass. 

 

This I remember clearly..they avoided showing us her POV for most of 3B and only started again close to when she told Oliver about her feelings..I was really mad at her apology and while my explanation is the writers are sexist if I need to find an explanation from the characters’ POV I would say Felicity is too nice for her own good. I was way more mad at her apology to Oliver last year anyway because the situation was way more serious and the relationship meaningful while Felicity’s and Ray’s romantic relationship wasn’t that deep.

[statsgirl]

They also kept us from knowing what Felicity was thinking in 5a when Billy was around. It seems to be their default when they want to stall Olicity  because they want to show us what Oliver is thinking and if they showed Felicity's thinking too, there would not be a reason to keep them apart. 

[tv echo]

2012 casting announcements for Tommy Merlyn and Robert Queen...

Titus Welliver To Star In NBC's 'Midnight Sun', CW's 'Arrow' Adds Colin Donnell
Nellie Andreeva   Feb. 21, 2012
https://deadline.com/2012/02/titus-welliver-to-star-in-nbcs-midnight-sun-cws-arrow-adds-colin-donnell-234108/

Quote

New York stage actor Colin Donnell, who made his series debut in an arc on Pan Am this season, has been cast in the CW drama pilot Arrow, a modern retelling of the story of DC Comics character Green Arrow that stars Stephen Amell as the vigilante superhero who fights crime using archery, martial arts and technology under his secret identity as Oliver Queen, a wealthy playboy and billionaire industrialist-turned-outspoken politician in Star City. Gersh-repped Donnell will play Tommy Merlyn, Oliver’s best friend, a playboy “trustafarian” who assumes the good times will roll again now that Oliver has returned, only to learn Oliver is a changed man.

'The River's Paul Blackthorne Joins 'Arrow', Jamey Sheridan Set To Play Arrow's Dad
Nellie Andreeva   Mar. 2, 2012
https://deadline.com/2012/03/paul-blackthorne-arrow-cast-jamey-sheridan-arrows-dad-238838/

Quote

Also tapped as a guest star (and probably recurring) in Arrow is Law & Order: Criminal Intent alum Jamey Sheridan, who will play Robert Queen, Oliver’s father. Susanna Thompson plays Oliver’s mother, Moira Queen. David Nutter is directing the pilot, written/executive produced by Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim

Edited February 3, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

About CD's audition...

-- David Rapaport: “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

-- On his audition processes for Arrow and for Chicago Med, CD: "You know, they were pretty two unique circumstances, actually. I was doing a Broadway show at the time that I got Arrow - the Arrow pilot. And I was - it was called Anything Goes back in 2011. And I sent in a tape from New York, and they cast me from that tape, which is not that common of an occurrence, and especially if you're a person who hasn't done a lot of TV, which I had not done at the time. Uh, and then - so that's how that came about. …”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuRt2ZZBd94

Edited February 3, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

About CL's and KL's auditions...

-- David Rapaport: “That was a tough one because we were recasting the role of Sara Lance from the pilot... I had seen Caity on Mad Men a few years earlier and brought her in for 90210. She didn’t get that part. Then I brought her in for this and she didn’t get Sara right away, so we kept looking. But it was one of those things where I felt like, We have to go back to our initial instincts because she was so great. And now we’ve ended up building DC’s Legends of Tomorrow around her.”
https://www.buzzfeed.com/jarettwieselman/the-man-who-helped-build-the-cw

-- KL: "I originally auditioned for a role on The Tomorrow People. It's cast by David Rapaport, who also casts Arrow. I was completely wrong for the part - it was a British girl - but he said, 'I want you to come back for this other role on Arrow tomorrow - and bring the accent.' I was like. Alright. So I auditioned and I ended up getting a call-back for it. This time they wanted me to do a chemistry read. My sides were originally with Stephen Amell, but they had me do them with Caity Lotz. I said, 'These sides are very flirty and very much about our relationship. Is she my sister? Is she my friend? Am I a lesbian?' They said, 'We can't tell you.' So I basically walk into the audition for the chemistry read and there's Caity Lotz. Apparently, we had chemistry, and that's how I got my part."
https://edgemagonline.com/issue-archives/2016/EDGE-Vol-8-Issue-1.pdf

[tv echo]

About EK's audition...

-- EK: "When I went in to the audition room for the first time with [casting director] David [Rapaport], he was like 'Oh my God, you and Emily would be perfect for each other.' I think they just really trust their gut because they didn’t have us test or chemistry read or anything. They can just feel different energies. I love working with Emily. We’re similar in a lot of ways, and we both really respect each other and have the same sense of humor and sensibilities. It’s amazing that David saw that from the jump."
https://www.vulture.com/2016/05/arrow-echo-kellum-mr-terrific.html

-- EK: "When the audition first came in, they had it in a code name. It wasn’t 'Curtis Holt,' it was 'guy who works with Felicity.' So when I read the script, I was really funny, and the character really interested me, you know — spoke to me as someone who is really nerdy. I used to work at Geek Squad, you know, so I was very familiar with the things he was talking about. I just really felt very close to the character even before I went in and when I went in, David Rappaport, who is the casting director, said 'Man, I feel like you and Emily [Bett Rickards, aka Felicity Smoak] would have a really good rapport with each other. I think you guys would be really great acting off each other,' and I was like 'oh, wow, thank you.' And then I went in the next day to audition for the producers, and they let me know at the end of the audition, 'by the way, this is for Mr. Terrific, he’s gonna be a superhero on the show, and we think you’re awesome.' And then they called me a couple days later and let me know that they wanted me to play the role, and I was very, very excited. ... And even when I auditioned for it, they had me play it two different ways. The first way had me playing it very much the way I play it as seen on TV, and the other was much more confident, to the point."
http://dccomicsnews.com/2016/06/29/exclusive-we-speak-with-arrow-star-echo-kellum/

-- EK: "I’m vaguely familiar with the character of Mr. Terrific. I’ve tried to be abreast of all the black superheroes as much as I can. I’ve never read comics about him before. But when I went in to read for the character, I had no idea in any way, shape, or form that he’d be called Mr. Terrific or in any way be related to any superhero. I just thought of him as a tech guy who would possibly help Felicity. ... They made a comment like, 'I feel you and Emily [Bett Rickards] would have pretty good chemistry together.' And then they called me back to read for [executive producers/showrunners] Marc [Guggenheim] and Wendy [Mericle] and they let me know at the end of the audition that the character is Mr. Terrific. So I was kind of blown away and like 'Whoa!' To play a comic book character, that’s something I always wanted to do."
http://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/exclusive-interview-echo-kellum-talks-arrow/

[tv echo]

About GG's audition...

-- David Rapaport: "I saw Grant Gustin on Glee and thought, Wow, this kid is a star. There's something really, really special about him. Then I cast him in a very similar villainous role on 90210, but every time I brought him in, he was this nice, goofy kid and he just wasn't playing these characters based on who he was. So when The Flash came up and we wanted this relatable, goofy guy who became a superhero, he just made sense to me. ... But we had to see a lot of people. We saw Andy Mientus, who we ended up casting as The Pied Piper [on The Flash], and Jeremy Jordan, who we ended up casting on Supergirl. I sent an email to Greg [Berlanti, executive producer of Arrow, The Flash, The Tomorrow People, Supergirl, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow] about a year ago with all the people on our shows who had read for other roles and Grant Gustin had read for Thea's boyfriend in Season 1 of Arrow, and I thought, How screwed would I have been if we cast him then?!?"
https://www.buzzfeed.com/jarettwieselman/the-man-who-helped-build-the-cw

-- David Rapaport: “We were looking for someone who was relatable, someone that was an Everyman who was bestowed with superpowers—someone a little bit goofy... But every time I met Grant, he seemed like this affable, dorky, charming, fun dude... He was the first person I auditioned for the role. We read him opposite [Arrow’s] Emily Bett Rickards, and there was amazing chemistry there.”
https://ew.com/tv/2019/04/18/casting-gossip-girl-arrow-riverdale-david-rapaport/

-- GG: "At that point, like, I had done a few other things, like 90210 and, um, one episode of CSI: Miami, where I played twins. It was a pretty cool experience... I did one independent film. I did, uh, a Lifetime movie, A Mother's Nightmare... And then I chilled for, like, a long time... I could not get work. You know, I thought that, like, once I was in L.A. and I was doing it, and Glee was happening, and then this and that, like, I'm just going to keep doing it. Granted, I have now. But, like, a year went by. It was like 10 months, yeah, to a year. Um, and right before I booked it, too, I like - I was in a weird spot. I broke my arm, hurt my [unintelligible word] on my bike… It was awful. I was out of commission. I wasn't auditioning. And, um, Flash was the first thing I went back and auditioned for after that injury and I hadn't worked in like 10 months. And I was the first person they saw. It was Arrow, I guess, at the time. Yeah, it was just another audition. I mean, I didn't want to go, 'cause, like - I didn't. I didn't think I had any shot at getting it. Um, in the breakdown - I was 23? 22 or 23? 23, I guess - um, and he was described as, uh, 25 to 35, like, they were gonna make like 'CSI Barry Allen'. Um, yeah, and I thought for sure, like, it was going to be like some buff, blonde dude. Um, and there was one there and that's a good actor, Matt Barr. Like he was another guy that's done stuff for The CW. And I took one look at the dude and I was like, 'man.' But I didn't want to go 'cause I had been in - you know, I hadn't worked for awhile. I had kinda been in a spot where I mentally, um, wasn't feeling good about myself. Um, and, you know, my manager talked me into going, because he's a good manager... After that first audition, I got serious about it, 'cause David Rapaport, the casting director, was serious about me. Um, and I got a call from David Nutter, who ended up directing it, telling me how much he - what he saw in me. He helped me a lot. So I really quick got very serious about it... And it went on for, like, five or six weeks, the audition process. Um, and we did a lot, except for run... No one knew if we could run, if we looked terrible or not... They put us through the wringer. ... I've seen Greg Berlanti and David Rapaport talk about it, and just that they saw, um, just the heart of the character in there, whatever that means to them... I mean, Greg puts it simply as he saw Barry Allen... I still to this day don't feel that way about myself, but the right person feels that way about me, so...."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6PhAPt22_s

Edited February 3, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

About AG's audition...

-- AG: "I auditioned for the show several times... I first auditioned when they were casting the pilot, actually, for Katie Cassidy’s role.”
http://www.thewrap.com/arrow-villain-amy-gumenick-says-she-originally-hoped-to-play-another-character/

-- AG: "I have been admiring Arrow since I read the pilot script. I read for it and it has kind of been an elaborate game of finding where I fit since. I originally auditioned for the role of Laurel Lance, Katie Cassidy’s character, and that didn’t work out and I just kept coming back. The casting team over at Arrow is so nice and kind and I was determined to find a way to be involved with this show. This was a show I wanted to be part of. David Rapaport over in casting is the nicest person and I befriended him over this long process of trying to find the right role for me. Finally I came in and read for the role of 'Redhead,' who ultimately turned out to be Carrie Cuter/Cupid. And I mean just from hearing the name of the character I was concerned because I am blonde in real life. So, I went into it not knowing anything about the character, which I think was the best thing for me because I didn’t have any preconceived idea of who this person was. This was one of the first times I left the audition room thinking I left everything on the table. I gave it my all. Then I ultimately found out that the 'Redhead' was Carrie Cuter and I was ecstatic."
http://emertainmentmonthly.com/index.php/arrow-star-amy-gumenick-talks-finding-the-right-role-on-arrow-her-supernatural-days-and-her-original-love-of-theatre/