Elena Kampouris Reveals What It's Really Like To Play A Superhero In Jupiter's Legacy - Exclusive
Chloe Sampson in "Jupiter's Legacy" is an unconventional superhero, in that she's shirked superherodom all together. Despite being one of the most powerful super beings on the planet, she wants nothing to do with that world, or her family who dominate it. She instead leverages her name to get high profile modeling gigs and photoshoots.
"She's selling out in a different way, even though she won't sell out as a super," actress Elana Kampouris noted, in an exclusive interview with Looper.
Noting comparisons to "This is Us," she also agrees that "the superhero aspect of it does kind of take a bit of a sidestep to the family drama, which is what I think makes it so unique." Being a superhero isn't all about powers, anyway. "You've got Chloe battling drug addiction, abandonment issues, she's super lonely and depressed. These are all real human things. So I think it's cool to be seeing superheroes in this light."
"I don't agree with everything Chloe does," says Kampouris, "but my job is to hopefully make us understand and sympathize with what drives her to make those decisions. Why does she punch a dude through a wall? Why does she throw the car? Hopefully we get the emotion behind it and what fuels those decisions."
Hey, about that whole "punch a dude through a wall" thing — we've got questions...
And... action!
Part of playing a superhero, even a reluctant or lapsed one, is doing an action sequence or two. As such, we asked what it was like — in somewhat euphemistic terms — to forcefully eject someone from her apartment. As setup, she described how the average action scene is directed: "'You're going to do a super speed moment. You're just going to stand in place. We're going to say action. Make your face where you're emoting. Emote!' And then it's, 'Okay, cut! Now you're going to do the big run! Do a run, but do little steps! Make it really quick and short and then run to the spot and freeze!' It's all really choppy. It's extremely choppy, but it's very fun to see what goes into it."
As for the scene in question: "When you're punching a dude through a wall, it's a lot of, 'Punch. Hold it on his face. Stop now. Do it again.' And you can do another take where it's like a follow through, but you never hit the face." The awkwardness of acting it out made her wonder how it would look in post, but she heard "we've got this" from the team on set. "And boy, they do have it because when I see it, I'm like, 'Whoa, this looks so cool! This is it, they were right! Because it's a stark contrast, but it looks so cool. It's a cool kind of endorphin rush when you see it finally."
"Jupiter's Legacy" is streaming on Netflix. Stay tuned to Looper for more exclusive coverage.