Arrow - Season 2 - Summer Glau Interview

Your Firefly co-star, Sean Maher, was recently cast on the show. How exciting is that for you to possibly reunite?
Yes! It is exciting. I just heard from him yesterday [Oct. 24] and he said he just got up there [Vancouver]. Fingers crossed that we'll get to something together and be on set together again. Even that would be fun.

How familiar were you with your character in the DC Comics universe when you got the role?
It was a whirlwind when I was cast in the role. My parents had told me, "You gotta check out Arrow," so I started watching it, and soon after, I got an email: "How'd you like to come recur?" A few days later I was up there on set trying to read the script and get ready for my work. I hadn't even realized that my character was in the comics. When I got on set, [executive producer] Andrew [Kreisberg] came up to me and said, "So have you had a chance to check out your character in the comics?" And I went back to the hotel that night and looked her up. She is a true villainess and super cool. I wasn't familiar with her before, but I couldn't be more excited to see what they're going to let me do on the show.

When you did start reading up on her, did that help you develop your version of Isabel?
It's always helpful just to spark your creativity, even if at this point in the storyline Isabel is meant to be very mysterious. In the way that I'm playing the character, I'm trying to create a slow burn and leave it open for any direction that Andrew decides to take her in. That's going to start unfolding in this coming episode. Then my character comes back in [the sixth episode] and things really start to change with her relationship with Oliver. In [the eighth episode], there's more of a hint, and I'm able to show more of Isabel's backstory. But in the beginning, we're playing the cards close to the vest.

How would you describe Isabel's relationship with Oliver at Queen Consolidated? Fair to say it's contentious?
It is contentious, and it's a power struggle. They are trying to test each other's boundaries and test each other's power and try to set up dominance. It's not great for Oliver, because, of course, he has this whole other life where he's constantly fighting life and death, but now here in his own company -- in his own boardroom -- he's fighting for control of his family's business, and she's constantly keeping him on his toes and constantly bringing him back to the office to put even more energy in that side of his life. Right now it's really contentious, but it's going to continue to develop and change over the the next few episodes.

Without getting into specifics, how does their relationship evolve over the course of the season?
From my perspective, their mutual respect is going to grow. I think they're curious about each other, testing the boundaries and really getting to know what the other is made of, their motivations and what drives them. From there, I think the audience will start to wonder what Isabel's motivations are.

Read full interview THR