Of all the Golden Age superheroes present in Justice Society: World War II, few are as formidable as the original Black Canary. Played by Elysia Rotaru, Dinah Drake helps the Justice Society liberate Europe from the Axis Powers, unleashing her signature Canary Cry to do the deed. And amidst all the fighting, Canary weathers the emotional toll of being on the frontlines of the devastating, prolonged conflict, quietly commiserating with her teammates in the animated film’s rare, quiet moments.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Rotaru discussed capturing Canary’s emotional nuance over the course of the film, working with directors and producers to craft her performance and her time playing Taiana Venediktov on Arrow.
How has it been getting to be Black Canary in this World War II setting?
Elysia Rotaru: It was super fun diving into it out of the gate when I first got this script. My face already hurts from smiling so much…it’s just been so amazing. And having her set in that era too is just that much more fun because we’re going back in time. We have some really good elements, [and] the fight sequences are fun. I’m always a little bit speechless when it comes to stuff like this…[but] it was so cool! [Laughs]
I feel like Canary comes off as the most emotionally honest and vulnerable over the course of this film among the ensemble cast. How has it been capturing that and that nuance in your performance?
Rotaru: I don’t want to say the word “easy,” but it was really lovely. [Laughs] I joke about myself about that a lot because there’s a lot of times, as an actor, where I don’t get to really go there. And I think with this role, I had the freedom to do so: The writing was there, the direction was there, the story was there. And it was just so, so lovely to just do it, to be able to go to those levels and enjoy every moment of it. I love doing that kind of work and they just provided the space and had really great faith in us to have fun and get messy with it. Thanks for the compliment, because I think that was one of the biggest elements of her in this piece: How raw can we get her but keep her grounded and real, so thanks for saying that!
How was it working with the producers and directors on this?
Rotaru: I first booked it and found out Wes [Gleason] was going to be in the booth directing me. I always wanted to work with him. And when I walked into the sessions, it was just so overwhelmingly fruitful with so much information that they could give me at this time and [we] laid it out. That has never actually really happened before for me as a performer that I can recall. So it was almost a little bit overwhelming because everyone was so excited and so on point and it was just so collaborative that my senses were like “…holy shit!” [Laughs]
I feel like if I wasn’t ready, it would’ve shut me down; it was just so surreal and wild and you’re playing at a level of people where you know it’s the real deal. It was just so great. I just remembered wrapping the sessions with a big-ass smile on my face. It was amazing, like walking out of a massage that actually did its job. It just felt so good to be there with them and let me create with them.
Was there a line in the script or bit of direction that helped inform how you approached the character?
Rotaru: There is and I can’t say it because it’ll give some stuff away. [Laughs] I’ll just say it involves another JSA member. It comes later in the movie towards the end of her story, let’s just put it that way.
We’re a year since Arrow went off the air and you got to be a part of that show! How was that experience, looking back now that the series is done?
Rotaru: It was cool! It was the first big role I booked for [being] on-camera. I’m from Canada and from Vancouver and getting parts like that up here are rare for locals. Having something like that come across my table and being a part of it for so long was another pinch-me moment. Looking back on it, it was pretty remarkable. And working with the small ensemble I was part of — because I wasn’t working with the whole cast — I was on the island with Stephen Amell, Jimmy Akingbola and Ryan Robbins. It was just the four of us; that was really cool.
I never got to play with Katie Cassidy, but it was nice because you’d just come to set and do your thing with Stephen and Jimmy and just go home; it was just fun to be playing in my physical backyard in Vancouver shooting on location here and having it broadcast worldwide. It was rad and Stephen was lovely to work with on the times we had together on set and he was also a lovely human with outside processes when he was vouching for my visa to be able to expand my reach globally into the States and work as an actor there. He was there and helped me with that, and Jimmy, too, so I got some really great friendships out of that.
What are you most proud of with your performance in this movie?
Rotaru: That they let me belt out Canary’s scream and keep them [in the movie]. It was so rad! And I get to be blonde for a minute [Laughs]. Your comment earlier about being able to see that emotional honesty, that was probably the biggest thing: Being honest in the performance and with those levels is always kind of my goal and my game.
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Justice Society: World War II stars Stana Katic as Wonder Woman, Matt Bomer as The Flash, Elysia Rotaru as Black Canary, Chris Diamantopoulos as Steve Trevor, Omid Abtahi as Hawkman, Matthew Mercer as Hourman, Armen Taylor as Jay Garrick, Liam McIntyre as Aquaman, Ashleigh LaThrop as Iris West, Geoffrey Arend as Charles Halstead/Advisor, Keith Ferguson as Dr. Fate and Darin De Paul as Roosevelt. The film will be released digitally on April 27 and on 4K UHD and Blu-ray on May 11.
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