Posted in: Arrow, CW, TV | Tagged: arrow, arrowverse, Damien Darhk, exclusive, interview, Legends of Tomorrow, Neal McDonough, The Flash

The Flash: Neal McDonough Discusses Damien Darhk Evolution & Future

To say that the Arrowverse's Damien Darhk has had a long, complicated history would be an understatement… and it's something that Neal McDonough can attest to. The character has come a long way given his initial malicious intentions on The CW series Arrow but since that time and across other series, we've seen the character evolve. I spoke to him while promoting his latest neo-western film Boon about Damien's journey across the Arrowverse: from his initial turn in the Stephen Amell series and how he's changed in Legends of Tomorrow, to his latest turn in The Flash during the "Armageddon" arc and what the future might hold for his character.

"Damien Darhk in 'Arrow' was really dark and everything was so dark. When we went to 'Legends of Tomorrow,' I asked if we light them up and if we make them funny," McDonough explained. "Can we make them more 'comic book,' like Lex Luthor from the original 'Supermen'… funny and endearing, and then become a dad and all this kind of stuff? Marc Guggenheim, the genius that he is, said 'That's a great idea. Let's try that.' It worked and then go back 'The Flash' this year and I'm going back to do more 'The Flash' very soon. I love the new Damien Darhk because he's the bad dad jokes villain who now sees the errors of his past and realizes what a horrible human being he was doing some of the things that he did. Now he's gone to the lighter side, and I like how he's gone from supervillain to almost… Damian was really on the black scale earlier. Then he goes into the greyer scale. Now he's great towards a whiter scale, and I like to see them even make Damien more heroic and good while still having that edge of 'Damien Darhk' in the future."

One of the developments that played a part in Damien's growth is the introduction of his daughter Nora, played by Courtney Ford– with younger versions by Tuesday Hofman (Arrow) and Madeleine Arthur (Legends of Tomorrow). Damien gave up his life so Nora could survive in Armageddon. It's the kind of lighter elements McDonough misses seeing from DC growing up in the Christopher Reeve-starred Superman (1978).

"When it comes to comic books like the comic side, but that's why the original 'Superman' to me was probably the greatest superhero film of all time, because he was so squeaky clean, trying to do the right thing always, no matter what," McDonough said. "There's [Gene Hackman's] Lex Luthor fumbling with Ned Beatty trying to take Australia. It was funny, but now everything has gone to… Batman is so dark and the villains are even darker that you come out of there feeling, 'Well, gosh. I just feel dirty, and I don't like that feeling myself.' My son wants to see 'The Batman'. He's like, 'Dad, you won't even understand this film. It's not your cup of tea.' I'm like 'Wait a minute! I've been in lots of movies. I understand film', but I understand his point because he, like me, is a real devout Catholic and tries to strive for the right thing. He likes to watch films that do just that. So I think that's why 'Superman' and 'Cowboys' are probably his favorite films of all time." Cinedigm's Boon comes to theaters, on-demand and digital on April 1st.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!