Supergirl is an American television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler and Andrew Kreisberg based on the characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in the "Superman" franchise and Al Plastino and Otto Binder's character Supergirl (Kara Zor-El). The series stars Melissa Benoist in the titular role of Kara Zor-El / Kara Danvers / Supergirl, as well as Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, Jeremy Jordan, David Harewood and Calista Flockhart. In addition to original characters, several other characters from DC Comics universe also appear throughout the series. For its first season, Supergirl aired on CBS, before moving to The CW for its second season.
The series follows Kryptonian refugee and Superman's biological cousin Kara Zor-El (Benoist), who, after hiding her powers on Earth for more than a decade, becomes National City's superhero as Supergirl, battles against extraterrestrial and otherworldly threats, criminal masterminds, being targeted by her cousin's rogues gallery, and encountering an emerging community of metahumans within her adoptive world and individuals from parallel universes. Supergirl also deals with Earth's populace's fears and hostility against beings with superpowers, leading her into conflicts with industrialist Maxwell Lord (Peter Facinelli), Lucy Lane's (Jenna Dewan) father General Sam Lane (Glenn Morshower), and Project Cadmus. She is assisted by a few close friends and family who guard her secrets—most notably her cousin's longtime friend, James Olsen (Brooks) and mentored by the Martian survivor J'onn J'onzz (Harewood).
This is a list of recurring actors and the characters they portrayed in multiple episodes, which were significant roles. The characters are listed by the order in which they first appeared.
Laura Benanti as Alura Zor-El and Astra In-Ze:
Kara's biological mother and aunt, who are twins. Alura's guidance (both in flashbacks, and as a Kryptonian Artificial Intelligence which acts as Kara's holographic virtual "mother", whose advice Kara can access in the present day) proves invaluable in Kara's journey, while Astra plots to rule the Earth and targets Kara for revenge upon Alura, who was the judge who sentenced her to imprisonment at Fort Rozz, though she claims that she wanted to save Krypton and Earth. Attempting to kill J'onn J'onzz in the episode "For the Girl Who Has Everything", Astra is killed by Alex; thus, Non, her husband, seeks revenge on Kara. It is later revealed that Astra and Non created Myriad, a mind control program that is designed for the purpose of saving environment but can also be used to enslave people, and hence, is the main reason they are sentenced to Fort Rozz for life.
Helen Slater as Eliza Danvers:
A scientist and Kara's foster mother, who is more protective of Kara than she is of her own daughter, Alex. She is the one to tell Kara and Alex about her husband working with the DEO in order to protect Kara and warns them about Hank as he is not to be trusted because of his involvement in Jeremiah's death. After the revelation that J'onn J'onzz has secretly taken over leadership of the DEO in Henshaw's place, Eliza occasionally offer her scientific expertise for the organization when needed. Slater portrayed Supergirl in the 1984 film and Lara-El in the television series
Smallville.
Dean Cain as Jeremiah Danvers:
A scientist and Kara's foster father, who offered his services to the DEO by working with Hank in order to protect Kara. Ten years earlier and under mysterious circumstances, he and Hank went to South America to capture J'onn J'onzz, with whom Jeremiah became friends after the alien saved him. When Hank caught up and saw them shake hands, he tried to kill J'onn, leading to a fight between Jeremiah and Hank while trying to keep Hank from killing J'onzz; Hank then stabbed Jeremiah, who later killed him in self-defense, collapsed on the ground, and was left for dead. He asked J'onzz to watch over his daughters. In the present, J'onn learns that Jeremiah not only survived the attack, but is also alive and being held at Project Cadmus. In season 2, Jeremiah is rescued and attempts to reintegrate into his family and the DEO, but eventually betrays them to Cadmus for unknown reasons. It is revealed that he has an uneasy alliance with Lillian Luthor and that he has been cybernetically enhanced like Hank Henshaw. Cain portrayed Superman in
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
Briana Venskus as Vasquez:
A DEO agent who often works closely with Hank (J'onn), Alex, and Kara/Supergirl and is responsible for coordinating/relaying information on alien attacks or other incidents.
Peter Facinelli as Maxwell Lord:
A tech mogul who is fascinated by Supergirl. Lord deduces that Supergirl has a secret identity and is determined to learn it at any cost, becoming her enemy in the process, eventually using Supergirl's connections to Alex and eavesdropping on the latter. After unleashing Bizarro on Supergirl, Maxwell is arrested by Alex and held by the DEO. The DEO eventually releases him, but warns him never to tell anyone the truth about Supergirl or the DEO; otherwise, they will release enough evidence of his crimes to send him to jail.
Chris Vance as Non:
A former scientist in league with the House of El and a brutal Kryptonian military officer who is sinister, powerful, and angry – the antithesis of all things Supergirl stands for and becomes her greatest threat. He is Astra's husband—and hence Kara's uncle—and second-in-command. He seeks revenge on Kara for Astra's death. However, despite his marriage to Astra, Non is not a faithful husband; he had an affair with Indigo at some point prior to being sentenced to the Phantom Zone.
Jenna Dewan-Tatum as Lucy Lane:
The younger sister of Lois Lane and James' ex-fiancée. In addition to her duties as trial counsel (prosecutor) for the Judge Advocate General's Corps, United States Army (where she held the rank of major), Lucy is a legal attaché on her father's staff, though she resigns her commission in order to remain in National City. She later accepts a job as general counsel for CatCo. In the same episode, it is mentioned that she graduated from the United States Military Academy and earned her J.D./M.B.A. from Harvard Law School. After breaking up with James again, Lucy leaves CatCo and returns to the military. She works with Colonel Jim Harper on the investigation into J'onn J'onzz. However, when Kara reveals to her that she is Supergirl, she helps rescue Hank and Alex, and is later named acting director of the DEO. By the end of the first season, Lucy officially becomes a co-director with J'onn J'onzz after he returns to the DEO.
Brit Morgan as Leslie Willis / Livewire:
A confident, abrasive, and funny shock-jock who works for CatCo and becomes as dangerous and shocking as her words following an accident in which Supergirl rescues her from a potential helicopter crash during a lightning storm. The rescue backfires when Supergirl gets struck by lightning while pulling Leslie out of the helicopter—electrocuting them both and giving Leslie electrical powers. She is captured and given over to the DEO. However, she is later broken out of prison by Siobhan Smythe/Silver Banshee, who wants to team up with her to get revenge on Cat. Along with her new partner, she is defeated by Supergirl again, this time with the help of The Flash and the citizens of National City, and is placed in police custody after The Flash adds new features to the National City Police Department on countering and imprisoning metahuman criminals. In the second season, she is taken from prison in an attempt to harvest her power; she is saved by Supergirl, who allows her to escape under a temporary truce.
Glenn Morshower as Sam Lane:
A powerful military general and overprotective father to both Lucy and Lois whose arrival in National City stirs up trouble for Supergirl when he enlists her in a dangerous government initiative.
Tawny Cypress as Miranda Crane:
A senator who uses her anti-alien beliefs to gain votes, but is forced to turn to Supergirl for help when her visit to National City is interrupted by an alien attack. She is kidnapped by the White Martian, who poses as Crane in order to kill the Martian Manhunter until Supergirl helps the latter avert it before it goes further. The real Crane apologizes and vows to help make peace with humans and aliens.
Blake Jenner as Adam Foster:
Cat Grant's eldest son and thus Carter's half-brother. He serves as Kara's potential love interest and thus another rival for James and Winn.
Italia Ricci as Siobhan Smythe / Silver Banshee:
A new hire at CatCo Worldwide Media who clashes with Kara and later Supergirl. She briefly becomes Cat's top assistant, and has her sights set on becoming a media mogul in her own right. She has already attracted the attention of Winn, while discovering that her father had been involved in an affair upon learning he was a member of an Ashley Madison-esque website that is exposed by Indigo. When she sees a video of Supergirl (under the influence of Red Kryptonite) letting an alien get away, she tries to pitch it to Cat, and then tries to sell it to Cat's former employer,
Daily Planet. When Cat finds this out, she fires Siobhan for her disloyalty. After another attempt to gain revenge on Kara fizzles, she discovers that she has the power to sonic scream. Upon learning that the women of her family are taken over by a banshee's spirit whenever they are wronged, Siobhan decides to get even with Cat and Kara by teaming up with Livewire; in the process, she embraces her curse for the powers it provides and becomes Silver Banshee. In addition to her hypersonic ability, the Silver Banshee's strength and endurance are on par with Supergirl's after her powers increased and is implied that she would have other abilities. Despite hating Kara, Siobhan chooses not to kill her, knowing that she would break her curse and lose her powers if she does until someone wronged her once more. Ironically, not knowing that Supergirl is Kara, and if the Silver Banshee kills the superhero, she would become a regular human again. She is later defeated by Supergirl and the Flash, along with Livewire, and both she and her partner are imprisoned in metahuman cells provided by the Flash.
Laura Vandervoort as Indigo:
A living computer, formerly known as Brainiac 8, sentenced to Fort Rozz for turning against the people of Krypton, but now unstoppable on Earth. It is revealed that she was the one who hijacked Kara's pod and connected both the pod and Fort Rozz that brought them to Earth, and also that she despises Astra. After Kara and Winn defeat her and she disintegrates, Non recreates Indigo in order to do his bidding. Vandervoort portrayed Supergirl in the series
Smallville.
David Harewood as Hank Henshaw / Cyborg Superman: A former CIA agent and ex-head of the DEO who is ruthless and obsessed with hunting down aliens he believed to be dangerous. He died after he stabbed Jeremiah Danvers in Peru while hunting the alien J'onn J'onzz. He was subsequently taken in by Project Cadmus, where he was enhanced to become the Cyborg Superman.
Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor: The CEO of L-Corp (formerly LuthorCorp) and the younger paternal half-sister of Lex Luthor. She arrives in National City after Lex has been incarcerated, hoping to rebrand Luthor Corp as a force for good. As the daughter of Lionel Luthor, to whom she is close, Lena tries to redeem her family name after Lex's crimes have tarnished it and to break from her half-brother and stepmother's legacy. Initially, she believed that she was the adopted daughter of the Lionel and Lillian Luthor, but Lena learns that she is actually Lionel's illegitimate child from his extramarital affair. Lena meets Kara after Kara is assigned to interview Lena about L-Corp. Shortly after, the two develop a strong friendship. Camille Marty portrays a young Lena.
Brenda Strong as Lillian Luthor, leader of Project Cadmus, Lex Luthor's mother and Lena Luthor's stepmother. She and her team were the ones responsible for turning John Corben and Hank Henshaw into Metallo and Cyborg Superman respectively. After Metallo had an encounter with Supergirl and Superman, Project Cadmus eventually reveals that it has gone rogue, and is waging war against alien life on Earth. Lillian is arrested after a failed attempt to wipe out all aliens in National City with a Kryptonian bioweapon. Lillian is estranged from Lena since her husband favors her over their son, and blamed Lena's mother for the deterioration of her relationship with Lionel.
Ian Gomez as Snapper Carr: A newsman hired by Cat Grant to be the editor-in-chief of CatCo Magazine. A hard-nosed old-school newspaper reporter/editor, Carr is initially hostile to Kara when Cat assigns her to become a reporter under him, and also towards Olsen when James takes over Cat's job.
Lynda Carter as Olivia Marsdin: The President of the United States. It is revealed that she is herself a cloaked alien after she signs a bill granting amnesty for aliens living incognito in the U.S., prior to which she survives two assassination attempts. Carter previously portrayed the eponymous character of the 1970s Wonder Woman television series.
Sharon Leal as M'gann M'orzz / Miss Martian: A guilt-ridden White Martian who disguises herself as a Green Martian, forsaking her race's heritage. She tends bar at an underground bar for aliens in National City. M'gann gradually earns J'onn J'onzz's trust and friendship after he discovers her true identity, and learns that she is benign and an outcast from her own people. Despite she and J'onn realizing they have romantic feelings for each other, M'gann chooses to return to Mars to search for other White Martians who are also against their race's savage legacy in hopes of ending it.
Teri Hatcher: Hatcher portrayed Lois Lane in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
Kevin Sorbo
The following is a supplementary list of guest stars, some recurring, who appear in lesser roles. The characters are listed in the order in which they first appeared.
Robert Gant as Zor-El: Kara's biological father.
Faran Tahir as The Commander: An alien military expert who leads the forces aligned against Supergirl.
Owain Yeoman as Vartox: An alien convict who has been hiding on Earth for the past twelve years and seeks a battle with Supergirl after she emerges, using the attempted plane crash that Kara aborted in order to draw her out. He commits suicide after Kara defeats him in their rematch before he could destroy National City.
Justice Leak as Hellgrammite: An alien escapee from Fort Rozz who feeds on DDT, and is later killed by Alex. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name.
Chris Browning as Ben Krull / Reactron: A former nuclear physicist and an enemy of Superman who decides to get revenge on him by trying to kill Supergirl as payback for his wife's death.
Levi Miller as Carter Grant: The son of Cat Grant, he is sensitive and shy and has a crush on Supergirl, which he confesses to Kara when she babysits him.
Iddo Goldberg as T. O. Morrow and Red Tornado: A brilliant scientist, and his android designed as the ultimate super-weapon that gains sentience. Morrow later reprograms Red Tornado to kill Kryptonians, and both are defeated by Alex and Kara, respectively.
Joan Juliet Buck as Katherine Grant: Cat Grant's mother, whom Cat has despised due to her failure to recognize her daughter's success. Even Kara can barely stand to be in Katherine's presence for too long.
Charles Halford as Jemm: An alien prisoner who uses the gemstone embedded in his forehead to manipulate people's emotions and behavior. He is a conqueror of 12 planets, for which he was also convicted.
Hope Lauren as Bizarro: A mirror image of Supergirl, loosely based on the Bizarro Superman. Lord creates her by infusing a comatose Jane Doe with Kara's DNA and black blood cells, and orders her to destroy Supergirl after learning the latter's true identity. With the exception of fire breath and freeze vision, her powers are identical to those of Supergirl. She is defeated by Kara after the DEO injects her with blue kryptonite and placed back in a comatose state at the DEO headquarters. Regular kryptonite will only strengthen Bizzaro.
Henry Czerny as Winslow Schott, Sr. / Toyman: A mad criminal genius and Winn's estranged father who weaponizes toys to wreak destruction, as he seeks revenge on his former boss for stealing his ideas, which led Winslow to send a bomb to his workplace at the cost of six lives, excluding his boss, who survived because the secretary opened to package by accident. He wants nothing more than to repair the bond between himself and Winn, but is seen as insane and unlikeable by his son.
Emma Caulfield as Cameron Chase:
Tyler Hoechlin as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman, after the adult version of the character was only shown briefly during the first season and only communicated via chat messaging. Daniel DiMaggio appears as an alternate, teenage version of the character in a dream sequence. Near the end of the first season, Superman proves vulnerable to Myriad's mind control, as he as Maxwell Lord put it "watched Sesame Street and went to preschool; nurture over nature." This leaves him unconscious in the DEO until the last episode, where he wonders if the headache he's having is what a hangover is like. He comes to National City at the beginning of Season 2 to help Kara out in dealing with Project Cadmus and Metallo before leaving to return to Metropolis, vowing to return if Kara needs it.
Jeff Branson as Detective Draper / Master Jailer: A third-generation guard at Fort Rozz who turns vigilante after learning that many of its inmates were loose on Earth. He is bent on chasing down the escapees and bringing them to justice, believing that he is judge, jury, and executioner on Earth, even if the criminals were convicted of lighter crimes. He poses as a National City detective to get information on the escapees' whereabouts.
Eddie McClintock as James Harper: A colonel for the United States Marine Corps who leads the investigation of Hank Henshaw / J'onn J'onzz's affair alongside Lucy Lane.
Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / Flash: A crime scene investigator from Central City in an alternate universe (Arrowverse), who resides on Earth-1 and becomes a high speed superhero after being hit by dark-matter infused lightning. Barry accidentally arrives in Supergirl's reality after crossing a dimensional barrier while testing a tachyon accelerator with S.T.A.R. Labs, befriends Kara and Winn, and reveals the existences of the multiverse and metahumans to the former and her allies. The Flash helps Supergirl battle against Livewire and the Silver Banshee in addition to offering her advice and support and providing means for Supergirl's Earth's inhabitants to combat metahuman criminals, and eventually returns to his world with Supergirl's help. In season 2, Barry and his fellow heroes on his Earth recruit Kara to their universe to help battle against the Dominators, an armada of alien invaders who attack their world due to their fear with superpowered beings. Gustin stars as the character on The Flash.
Eve Torres Gracie as Maxima: Another alien prisoner who is the queen of the planet Almerac and once attempted to make Superman her mate. She attempts to escape with the help of the D.E.O. agents including Lucy Lane (under the influence of Myriad) before Kara manages to stop her.
The hosts of The Talk, Sara Gilbert, Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Aisha Tyler and Sheryl Underwood, cameo as themselves.
Frederick Schmidt as John Corben / Metallo: An international assassin who is transformed into a cyborg by Project Cadmus after he is badly injured trying to kill Lena Luthor. He is later killed after the Kryptonite that was infused into his body turned him into a living bomb.
Andrea Brooks as Eve Teschmacher: Cat Grant's, and later James', new assistant. She is named for a supporting character in the Superman film series.
Rich Ting as Gilcrist / Metallo: A doctor working at Cadmus, who becomes a second Metallo alongside Corben.
Nadine Crocker as Scorch: A pyrokinetic alien who attempts to assassinate President Marsdin.
Dichen Lachman as Veronica Sinclair / Roulette: The operator of an underground alien fight club in National City, who later becomes a human trafficker for a alien slave trade.
William Mapother as Rudy Jones / Parasite: A scientist working on solving climate change that is fused with an alien parasite, giving him the ability to absorb powers or a person's life. Jones began killing senators who were stopping attempts at researching climate change, as well as mutating into a purple creature resembling the Flukeman after absorbing J'onzz and Kara's powers. Jones is eventually killed when Kara forces him to absorb a radioactive isotope.
Victor Zinck, Jr. as Phillip Karnowsky / Barrage: A former Navy SEAL who eventually became a vengeful vigilante after the murder of his wife.
Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon / Vibe: A member of the Flash's team at S.T.A.R. Labs in Earth-1, who is a metahuman with the ability to detect anomalies within reality and sonic manipulation. Valdes stars as the character on The Flash.
Harley Quinn Smith as Izzy Williams: A young woman who is kidnapped and transported to the planet Maladoria by Veronica Sinclair as part of a slavery smuggling ring.
Ian Butcher as Lionel Luthor: Lillian Luthor's estranged husband, and Lex and Lena Luthor's father.
Peter Gadiot as Mister Mxyzptlk: An impish, reality-bending trickster from the 5th Dimension. He attempts to force Kara to marry him, but is banished back to the 5th Dimension when she tricks him into spelling his name backwards.
Tamzin Merchant as Lyra: An alien from the planet Starhaven who takes a romantic interest in Winn.
Darren Criss as Music Meister
