Tyler Hoechlin on Returning to ‘Supergirl,’ Working With Melissa Benoist and The Flash’s Musical Diss (VIDEO)

Supergirl‘s second season wraps up Monday, and as we head into the hour, our hero (Melissa Benoist) is set to throwdown with her own kind—cousin Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), who has fallen under the sway of Mon-El’s mother, Queen Reah (Teri Hatcher, giddily serving up a level of evil camp we never could have imagined back when she played Lois Lane!).

Obviously, Clark can’t stay bad for long, so we swiped some time with the superhumanly handsome Hoechlin to talk about his return, what we can expect after Rhea’s spell wears off and how great it is that Kara isn’t bumped to second place by her famous cousin.

How is it now? It’s such a big swing for an actor to play Superman, but your portrayal was so well received. We love this guy!
Tyler Hoechlin: Well, thank you. Yeah, it was definitely a different feeling this time. I think that the first time he came in, there was a lot of attention on the suit—we wanted to make sure it looked the right way—and then really getting into what he’s like and his different personalities around different people. This time was nice to jump back into it going, “Oh, okay, so people like what we’re doing here.” That’s a nice thing to know. It felt pretty good the first time, but there was still a little bit of that [trepidation]. So there was more of a relaxed feeling this time, which was a lot of fun.

You and Melissa have a fight sequence tonight that is just epic. How long did it take you guys to film that?
It was definitely not one that we shot quickly and then moved on to something else. We spent a little bit of time on this, for a couple days. It was a lot of work, it’s a big fight. So we worked on it a lot. Multiple days.

Supergirl Season 2 finale, “Nevertheless, She Persisted” Tyler Hoechlin as Clark/Superman and Melissa Benoist as Kara/Supergirl

You had done wire work with Teen Wolf, right?
I did. I did a little wire work here and there with Teen Wolf. Yeah. Like once or twice before, so I was somewhat familiar with it and the uncomfortable harnesses that you have to wear. [Laughs] But yeah, it was, I would probably say that my first two episodes here prepped me more and now I have a quite a bit of green screen work for the first time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e75qlfpTsGA

How is it working with Melissa? You two have nailed that familial fondness.
That is the best thing that it was nice working with Melissa. We had known each other beforehand, and she’s just like the biggest sweetheart. So it was really fun to jump in there and feel like we can just kind of slip into these characters really easily. I mean, honest to God, we joke about it, but I do think that on set, when we’re around each other, we physically turn into Clark and Kara.

What can you tell us about his return? After that cliffhanger, it’s clear he’s under Queen Rhea’s spell.
What can I tell you about his return? I would say that Clark is eager to get back to help in whatever way he can, and be there to assist Kara, Supergirl, and her team. It’s obviously a very dire situation. And once again, I don’t think he’s there to “save the day” on his own. I think he’s there to help in whatever way he feels that they need him to help.

Which is so great, that it’s clear she is just as much a hero as he is and that he’s there to help, not take over.
No. It’s always a team, I think it’s always a team. And I appreciate that message.

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How great was it to share scenes as Superman with a former Lois Lane?
It was so fun. Because Lois & Clark was the one I grew up with, Teri Hatcher is the Lois Lane that I knew. And so to be on set with her and being in the suit, that’s how we met. I mean…it was great.

Yeah, it’s fun to put back the suit, right?
Oh yeah, oh, yeah. Definitely nice to jump back into it!

And that supersuit has multiple pieces, right?
Oh no, it’s one piece.

You have the original male romper!
[Laughs] Yes. Yes I do!

Oh, one last thing! In the musical episode, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) sang to Kara that he’s “not impressed by your more famous cousin.” What is your response Flash’s diss?
I hope we get a chance to see his response. That’s all I can say. [Laughs]

Supergirl, Mondays, 8/7c, The CW. Season 2 finale May 22.