VARIETY Cover: Milly Alcock on SUPERGIRL, Online Trolls, How Acting Has Impacted Her Life, and More

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In a new cover story for VARIETY, Milly Alcock speaks with Editor-at-Large Kate Aurthur about  SUPERGIRL, dealing with online trolls, how acting has impacted her life, and more. 

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Alcock on her connection to her “Supergirl” character, Kara Zor-el: “My personal experience of being Milly mirrored Kara’s experience, which was ‘Hide. Run away. Pretend it’s not happening,’” she says. “And then you have to face it to heal a part of yourself that you’ve been neglecting.”

On going for the role of “Supergirl”: “I looked at myself in the mirror, and I was like, ‘Who am I to turn down this opportunity?” she says. “I knew that it was what I needed to do, because it scared me. And I thought, ‘Well, I get one big, bad, beautiful life. Why not fucking go for it?’ Just fucking go for it!” Alcock says forcefully. “What are you, scared? Get over yourself.”

On Kara Zor-el: “Through helping save this young girl and deal with her trauma from losing her entire family, there’s a kinship there,” Alcock says. “She realizes that being Supergirl has nothing to do with her and has to do with everybody else around her. She needs to put her own feelings aside to help others, and through that she can save herself. So that’s what the suit is for her.”

On online trolls spewing hate: “I guess women know that this is just how it’s always been, unfortunately,” Alcock adds. “And it’s from a lot of people whose profiles have no photo, who are burner accounts. Or someone’s name and then ‘Dad of four, Christian,’ which is hilarious to me. But I mean, whose opinion do you really care about? If you’re pissing the right kind of people off, you’re doing OK.”

On being a child of the internet and not being able to fully put her phone down: “Because sometimes people reinforce beliefs that you have about yourself, and you’re like, ‘Now someone’s said it! It’s true!’ And you’ve got to remind yourself that it’s not,” she says. When she does get sucked in, she has a remedy. “Sitting at a café and watching people and reading alone — just being a participant in real life — has been helpful. It’s something I’m trying to get better at,” she says. “I’m Gen Z! Yeah, I grew up online, so I’m actively trying not to engage — although how could you not?”

On how acting has impacted her life: “I had an inability to express myself fully within my life. Within my relationships, I would hold things back,” Alcock says. “And acting gave me this outlet that was really safe where I could feel everything. My emotional dysregulation was applauded, and was the best thing about me.”

On seeing a little girl in a Supergirl costume in a park in London: “I’m going to burst into tears,” she thought to herself. She realized then how much she’s looking forward to the film being released into the world. “I am so excited for all the young women who are going to see this — that’s really going to get me.”

[Photo Credit: Nino Muñoz for Variety – Video Credit: Variety/YouTube]

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