Posted in: ABC, CW, TV, YouTube | Tagged: ABC, brandon routh, crisis, cw, inside of you, michael rosenbaum, nathan fillion, superman, The Rookie

Brandon Routh Talks The Rookie, Nathan Fillion & Playing Against Type

Earlier this week, we checked in with what Brandon Routh (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, The Rookie) had to say during his recent visit to Michael Rosenbaum's Inside of You podcast where he discussed what it was like putting on the Superman suit again for The CW's Arrowverse mega-crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths" as well as what his feelings about his departure from "Legends" are now that it's been a little more than a year since it was first announced. Since that time, he's resumed the role of Ray Palmer aka The Atom for "Legends'" 100th episode as well as The Flash "Armageddon." But it wasn't all Arrowverse, as Routh also discussed his run on ABC's third season of the Nathan Fillion-starring police drama The Rookie.

Having been friends for some time, Routh reveals how Fillion hit him up during the pandemic to see if he would be interested in joining the cast in the role of Officer Doug Stanton. Not spoil it for those who haven't seen it, Stanton is definitely an instance of Routh playing hard against type in a storyline that hits upon important social issues like racism and police brutality. Routh also discusses how COVID protocols extended the time he needed to get to know & bond with the cast, but it was an experience he appreciated. Here's a look at the clip (which distorts midway through, but the full interview is posted below).

While the entire interview is worth a listen, there are two sections in particular that fans of the Arrowverse will want to check out. At around the 37:49 mark, Routh explains the "emotional" experience of putting back on the Superman costume to play a "Kingdome Come"-like Man of Steel for "Crisis" after so many years had gone by since Superman Returns. His first time on set as Superman was for the Batwoman chapter, which he says was "magical" and explains how the fans, his co-stars, and more helped heal his "emotional wounds and scars" from his experiences years ago with Superman Returns. But while having played The Man of Steel before gave him a sense of "nothing more to prove" and the ability to actually enjoy the experience, he's also quick to remind listeners that those fight scenes with Tyler Hoechlin were still hard work.

Then at the 53:33 mark (the episode was recorded before The Flash return episode aired), Routh explains what it was like coming back for the 100th episode of "Legends" after a less-than-desirable exit two seasons prior. for his part, the actor explains that he's had time to reflect and process what went on and learned how to make "lemons out of lemonade." And in light of how he and Ford were impacted by the "bad decision" of "one person" despite what they & the fans wanted, Routh emphasized how important having a sense of self-worth & self-respect was in agreeing to return. From there, the talk turns to rumors of a Ray Palmer/The Atom spinoff series but Routh said he was unaware and that no one had spoken with him. As for the possibility of Routh returning as Superman in an HBO Max series, Routh offered more of a "you never know" but also did say that there were a lot of Superman projects already in play so if anything were to happen it wouldn't be any time soon. But that said, Routh does believe that his Superman will be making a return of some kind down the road.

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