Posted in: CW, Supernatural, TV | Tagged: Davy Perez, eric kripke, Magic: The Gathering, star trek, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Supernatural, Tiffany Smith, x-men, X-Men '97

Tiffany Smith on "Supernatural," "X-Men: TAS" Influence & Much More

Tiffany Smith spoke with us about her versatile career, joining "Supernatural," the "X-Men: TAS" influence, Magic the Gathering, and more.

Tiffany Smith has quite a versatile career as an actor in live-action and voiceover and works behind the scenes as needed as a director. From live-action roles in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) and NBC's Quantum Leap to voiceover roles like Curious Matter Anthology sci-fi audio drama and Netflix's animated Masters of the Universe, the actress certainly has made a ton of friends in the show business even helping to recruit talent for Curious Matter which she also serves as producer and voice director. Smith spoke to Bleeding Cool about her influences in acting, the dream roles she has, her love for X-Men and Star Trek franchises, how Supernatural led to expanding her Magic the Gathering community, and her favorite decks.

Tiffany Smith on Acting Influences, X-Men, Star Trek, Magic The Gathering & More

Bleeding Cool: What are your biggest influences in acting?

My biggest influences in acting? Gosh, that's a hard question [laughs]. I watch shows like 'Shōgun', 'The Bear', and a show that I watched a ton of during the pandemic was 'Black Sails.' The one show I always go back to is 'Star Trek.' I grew up watching it with my family, and it always had such a big impact on me as an actor in the projects I wanted to be a part of because I love sci-fi and fantasy so much, but there's such an awesome way you can speak to things going on in the world and to do it in a sci-fi space.

[I appreciate] fantasy and sci-fi, but also grounded in emotion is something I look for as an actor and I hope I get to continue doing more. Acting-wise, there are so many incredible actresses out there, like Jessica Chastain and the work that she does. Viola Davis is another one of my favorites, not only as an actress but her positivity and mentality, which is important in this industry; it's one of the things you must focus on.

Otherwise, it's hard to survive in this industry sometimes. As an actress who is incredibly talented but also is outspoken about being positive and a champion for yourself is important to me. Those are some of the ones that I would say. Honestly, one of the characters that started it all for me was 'X-Men: The Animated Series' when I was younger because I'm multi-ethnic and multiracial. There weren't a lot of characters that looked like me when I was young. My dad was like, "Why don't we watch X-Men?" We watched the show, and I was obsessed with Storm, one of my favorite characters. That's what got me into reading comic books, and she is always a character that I look to say, "I would love to play characters like that. I want to see more characters like her." The dream character for me is Zatanna. She is my favorite character with a bright and fun personality but puts herself on the line to try and save people, even if it pulls her into darker things that she doesn't necessarily want to get involved with. To answer your question. Sorry, I went all over with it.

It's all right. I'm curious if you've considered entering the running for 'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy' or 'X-Men 97' or if you've been approached.

Listen, I am ready if they ask me. It's one of those things where doing the jobs, the people you know, and them knowing the space I love. Hopefully, more opportunities are coming my way in those spaces. I love it because things that are meant for you are always going to find their way. For instance, the fringe play I'm in is a sci-fi romance. It's written by J. Holtham, a playwright who wrote for 'Cloak and Dagger' and 'The Handmaid's Tale,' and for two of the theater company founders. One is an editor at Marvel, and the other is the showrunner for 'Avatar: The Last Airbender.'

This was something where I had said to a couple of friends, I was like, "I want to get into theatre" and this project came to me where they were like, "Do you want to read this play? We think you'd be wonderful for it." When it comes to stuff where it's like, "Yes, a 1,000 percent, I would love to have those opportunities with 'Star Trek' and more from 'X-Men' come my way." The great thing about 'X-Men,' which I love so much, is I know the guys who do the music on the show, the Newton Brothers, and I know one of them, personally. It was exciting knowing how much of an 'X-Men' fan I was, and them getting to do that and realizing I was like, "Oh my gosh! As much as I wanted to be on the show," I was like, "I love they use the original voice cast." Hopefully, the longer that show goes on, the more opportunities there will be for me to throw my hat in the mix.

What are your fondest memories of your TV appearances, like 'Supernatural' and 'Quantum Leap?'

Every job you do is always like, "Oh, my God! Something amazing happened, and it was so fun and awesome. One of the great things about 'Supernatural' was when I booked the show, I went to Vancouver, and I remember being in the offices doing my fittings and things. The episode's writer asked me, "Hey, do you play Magic the Gathering?" I was like, "Yeah." He admitted seeing my Twitter and playing Magic the Gathering, so we became good friends. Davy Perez, one of the producers on '[Star Trek:] Strange New Worlds,' and we've been friends for years since that episode playing Magic the Gathering together and D&D game for me.

From there, we worked on a project where I met Eric Kripke, and I was like, "Oh my gosh! He created 'Supernatural!' That was one of my fondest memories because when you're doing the things you love, the people show up and gravitate towards you, who are the people you're supposed to be around and become friends with and get to work with. There was no way in the world that I knew that this writer on 'Supernatural,' who wrote an incredible role that I got to play [Ophelia Avila], being one of the only women of letters in 'Supernatural.' We became friends because of something that I am passionate about doing on the side, which is playing Magic [laughs]. It's one of my favorite memories. We'll go to Vegas for MagicCon, and it's like a great friendship I have. Seeing all those friendships grow through creating is incredible, and it makes me so happy.

You're living my dream. I always wanted to do voice acting. I also came up through journalism, and I spent time in theatre. I also grew up playing Magic.

What do you play?

I used to play the burn and counterspells with fireballs in my red and blue deck. I gravitate to contrasting colors. I also love the white and black decks that drain and restore life. I'm a sucker for traditional decks with red and green. I've been out of it a while and played since the third edition.

I love it so much. I like to play with black, red and white are my favorite colors. Every time, it's different. I started playing the last two years and started playing more Commander, which I hadn't played. Before, I felt like I'm still a newbie for Commander, but draft and field are some of my favorite things to do with friends.

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