One of the most talked about characters on television last week was Connor Hawke, a classic comic book superhero from the Green Arrow family tree. That character made a grand appearance on television on last week's episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow as a futuristic new version of the Emerald Archer.
Please note that the following contains spoilers for last week's episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow.
Last week, the band of misfit "legends" landed in a future version of Star City, where criminals run free and everyone presumes that Oliver Queen is dead. However, a new superhero emerges in that chaos, in the form of Connor Hawke, as portrayed by Joseph David-Jones. Although Connor was Oliver Queen's son in the comics, Legends of Tomorrow changed that part of his story.
David-Jones spoke to us about stepping into the heroic shoes of Connor on that series.
"There's been like crazy, crazy excitement going on, like online, about the character since the first time they announced him on the show," he said. "It's fun to see all the fans speculate about what that episode is going to hold, like people making LEGO versions of me, cartoon versions of me and stuff like that. It's been crazy joining up on this show and expect to play this one character that so many people love, and make it, like, bad-ass."
However, when David-Jones first met with The CW, he was originally supposed to audition for a role on another series on the network. However, serendipity was on his side.
"It was right after I finished doing Allegiant, and I was meeting with their head, and it's funny: they were talking about me potentially being right for this other show that they had called The 100," he said. "So they were like, 'we have to get you in for this you'd be great for this,' and I was like 'yeah, sure, I'd love to read it.'
"And like two days later, this role comes up and they were like 'oh my god, yeah,' and my agent set up the audition and everything and I go in and meet with them and go to the callback. I was talking to the writers while I was there, I don't know what it was, that kind of made me stand out. And they were, well, what he said was that 'you brought a youthful edge to you.' Like it was believable that this guy could be somebody's son. So that's what they were looking for and I kind of brought that edge to it."
That somebody he played a son to was Arrow's John Diggle, which made the stakes even higher for portraying Connor Hawke, but most would agree that things worked out for the best.
"Everybody was happy about it. I think the writers and the casting are and everything, and I'm just hoping that the fans are happy about it."
Of course, one of the biggest questions now is if we'll see Connor return to either Legends of Tomorrow or even possibly show up on Arrow or The Flash, as all three shows are part of the same universe. David-Jones didn't have a definite answer, but hopes he'll have a chance to step into the shoes of Connor again.
"The writers are definitely into me being back on the show and this not being the last time we see Connor," he said. "But whether that means like crossing over to a different show or coming onto this show more, it's all up in the air. I'm just as excited as everybody else to see where they end up going."
Although David-Jones only shot one episode with the cast of Legends of Tomorrow, he also got to do several scenes with Arrow's Stephen Amell, who guest-starred on that episode. David-Jones offered a little insight into what working with this "legendary" cast was like.
"Stephen was like hilarious," said David-Jones. "The whole time. We only shot for a few days together, but he was so welcoming and just fun to be around. Everybody else was super cool, fun and welcoming. Most of the time I was working with Sara, Caity Lotz. She was super awesome. Everybody was really really awesome. Working with Arthur [Darvill]: he's hilarious."
Almost everyone in the cast is really a lot of fun, but like Arthur [Darvill] and I were playing guitar one day, just goofing around, Bran [Brandon Routh] is like rapping. Everything was like that: it was such a fun set."
David-Jones also has a movie coming out in March, Allegiant, the third film in the Divergent trilogy. And the character he portrays in that film is nothing like Connor.
In the Divergent series, people belong to various factions in the world. However, those who don't fit in, the Factionless, eventually become their own group and challenge the status quo.
"I am a nasty person in this movie, which is exactly the opposite of my character on Legends," he said. "But I play, I'm a huge general in the Factionless Army. I'm directly under Edgar in this army. Basically, we are executing people and doing all kinds of really, really bad things. I think people are going to see a completely different side to the Factionless, but it's all understandable: these people grew up being told that they don't belong."
DC's Legends of Tomorrow airs on The CW on Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST. Allegiant opens in theaters on March 18.
Photo: The CW
