Curtis Lum Talks ‘Supergirl’ Season 3 and Freeform’s ‘Siren’ [Exclusive Interview]

Pop culture’s superhero and sci-fi/fantasy obsession is still in full effect, and we’re loving it! Supergirl is returning to The CW for Season 3, promising a year full of new adventures and thrilling battles.

Meanwhile, Freeform is launching one of the first ever mermaid-themed shows. Siren‘s pilot episode aired recently at New York Comic Con, and the series is set to launch in 2018.

I recently had the chance to chat with actor Curtis Lum about the upcoming season of Supergirl, as well as his role in the exciting and mysterious Siren. According to Lum, we’re in for some incredible television this year.

Lum has been acting for nearly ten years, but his history of performing goes back much farther. “I’ve always been an entertainer, from my earliest memories when I was a kid. [When] I was 4 years old my parents, would force me to go up and karaoke to entertain their friends late at night in Honolulu.”

“I didn’t actually start acting until I was about twenty. I just wanted to take the leap and start acting for real,” Lum continued.

His love for comics and superheroes led him to Vancouver, where he found Supergirl.

“A lot of the superhero shows shoot up in Vancouver, and I was aware of that. I had auditioned for quite a few of them before.”

“[With] Supergirl, there was a cool character that came up, and it just so happened that they liked me for it. The first few episodes of playing him were just a lot of fun.”

Lum also teased a bit of what we could expect from Supergirl Season 3.

“As always, things are quite exciting over at the DEO. Supergirl is faced with some really epic life-saving situations,” he said. “I think it’s going to be quite different from the other seasons.”

“Things are changing, I think, for the better. The stories are being told in a really great way. The writing is amazing. A lot of the individual storylines are quite rich, but we don’t lose any of the action that Supergirl is known for, which is awesome.”

Lum plays Demos, a DEO agent who’s part of the team on the ground making sure that Supergirl continues to save the day and make it back home. “It’s business as usual [for him] really. We’re making sure that Supergirl’s safe and National City is safe as well.”

Though the job at the DEO remains the same, Lum shared that he had to adapt to a few changes in Season 3. “It’s been really interesting, because this character of Demos — you know when I first started out, he was a little bit more badass and I’d be involved with a bit more action,” he noted.

“As of right now, I have to spit out a lot of tech dialogue, a lot of exposition, with super high stakes all the time. Which is not my strong suit, but I try my darndest,” Lum admitted.

Learning techno-babble in science fiction can often be like learning an entirely new language. “I say a lot of words that I’ve never said before in my entire life, let’s put it that way.”

Working on Supergirl has been a consistently positive experience for Lum. “There hasn’t been a bad day yet — knock on wood.”

Lum also shared some of his favorite memories of working with Director Kevin Smith.

“I loved working with Kevin Smith. He is a legend; he’s just such a fun, and caring, and loving dude. From the second he arrives on set he’s filled with so much passion, and he’s so good at infecting others with the same passion.”

Smith creates an atmosphere on set that Lum says is unlike any other.

“Between takes he’ll play music. Every day has kind of a different theme. So for instance if one day is going to be like an 80’s theme or we’re shooting really sad stuff, he’ll play sad songs–breakup songs all day long in between takes.”

“I’ve been on days where like the whole day is just a sing-along where everyone is just jamming out to the classics,” he continued.

Lum said that Smith is able to create a real unity and bond between the cast and crew of Supergirl, making them feel like a family. “He’s a great leader, and he’s really able to command his troops, because he’s just so damn awesome.”  

With working on Supergirl and having such a strong interest in comic shows, I asked Lum who his favorite superhero is (besides the blonde Kryptonian).

“Batman. Because he doesn’t really have superpowers, so I respect him for that. He’s a self-made superhero, just like me,” Lum said proudly.

But Lum also had an answer for what kind of super powers he’d want if he had the chance.

“Besides seeing people in their underwear…I think I’d go with either teleportation or shape-shifter. No, I’d be a shape-shifter, because then, as an actor you could essentially play any kind of character you want.”

Superheroes aren’t the only thing Lum is interested in, though. He also spoke excitedly about the new Freeform series Siren. Siren promises a gritty, fantasy-drama centered around the town of Bristol Cove and the mysterious creatures lurking below the water’s surface.

“The mermaids have been pushed away from that town for whatever reason. And in this show they [might] be coming back,” Lum explained. “I play one of the fishermen [who] may or may not have found and been in contact with the first mermaid, and the story continues from there.”

Lum said he’s never seen anything like Siren. “It’s an original series with an original story.”

He also urges people to set aside their preconceived notions about the show’s content being based on mermaids. “When I tell people I’m on a mermaid show, their first reaction is ‘oh that’s cute or that’s silly.’ But for such a fairytale type concept, the show is going to be really gritty and dark.”

Lum cannot wait for the series to air. “We play to a lot of ideas that are relevant to where we’re at with humanity today.”

Besides the shows he’s on, Lum shared a few of his other favorite things to watch. “I’m currently binging Shameless. I just finished Ozark on Netflix. I like a lot of documentaries,” he said. “Another show that I’ve been starting to go back to watch is Entourage. That show’s taught me everything I need to know about the biz. And I love the show, Power!”

Be sure to catch Curtis Lum on Supergirl, airing Mondays at 9/8c on The CW. Siren will premiere in 2018 on Freeform.

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