I was told about two weeks into the job. I knew something was changing [during the pilot], but I wasn't absolutely sure what it was. Part of it was quite uncomfortable because a lot of what Hank said was exposition and was, "D.E.O., I'm this, I'm here."

I was really pleased - Martian Manhunter is such a huge character. It took me in a new, different direction, and it was brilliant for me because as much as I could, I couldn't really find an angle to play Hank Henshaw [prior to then]. It was interesting.

So, how did you change your approach to the character once you found out?

The whole idea of suppressing who you are was something I could understand, and pretending to be hiding a big secret seemed much more interesting. I was also trying to wonder why he was such a bitch to Kara. All the way through the pilot, I was thinking, "There's something going on here. No one can hate aliens that much. There's something that I don't know."

So, I was happy that it was Martian Manhunter because he is an alien, so it gave me a direction to take other than just being, "I don't like Kara Zor-El and Superman." That wasn't really that interesting.

How is this new revelation going to affect Hank's relationships with [Kara and Alex]?

It's a lot of fun, actually. As you'll see in episodes to come, there's a lot of fun to be had. He's a shapeshifter, so he can be whoever he wants to be. So, I think you'll find me being other members of the cast at various points in the story. I think, particularly with Alex - Chyler - it's been a wonderful relationship to play, because he promised her father that he would protect her like his own child. Having lost his own child, Kara and Alex almost become his children, and he loves them. I don't know if you know that much about the character, the Martian Manhunter, but having lost his own children, he's got a lot of pain and a lot of melancholy, which is fantastic to play. It gives you an enormous amount of stuff to play. I think these two girls represent something that's very close to him.