Hot on the heels of CBS’ announcement that Glee alumna Melissa Benoist will take up the mantle of Supergirl in her titular series today it was announce that Mehcad Brooks (who is perhaps best known for playing Eggs on True Blood), will be playing reporter Jimmy Olsen.
DC continues their trend of colour-blind casting with Brooks stepping into the role of Olsen and his age (Brooks is 34 years old), brings into questions which incarnation of Superman’s Best Friend audiences are going to be seeing in Supergirl?
Are you excited by Mehad Brooks’ casting? Do you love Jimmy Olsen? Let us know in the comments below.
4 Comments
As a Scandinavian with the name Olsen, it’s kinda strange seing a non-Scandinavian with that name, but he’ll probably be fine. :)
Never seen him anywhere before and I think its a good thing, no baggage.
If he grows out his hair and puts on a butterfly I’m sold. If he’s going to look like that I’m not sure I buy him as Olsen. Much too stylish, he looks like Lex.
My only complaint is his age… Jimmy Olsen was the closest thing Superman had to a Kid Sidekick. He was a cub reporter, which meant that he was probably right out of high school (17) or just out of college (21 or 22 tops). Although there are some actresses or actors who can pull of playing people who are ten or twenty years younger than their actual age, I prefer for the studios to cast actors the age of the characters they are playing. Kim Darby (22) wasn’t able to pull of playing the 14 year old Mattie Ross in True Grit, and just about every WWII flick made in the 50s, 60s and 70s had 50 and 60 year old actors playing soldiers and bomber pilots who, in reality, would barely have been out of their twenties. Memphis Belle is just about the only one I can think of that cast age appropriate actors in the main roles. If they are following the comic books, Supergirl should be teenaged, and Jimmy Olsen should be either a teenager or barely out of his teens. The fact that they are casting actors who are in their thirties does not bode well in my opinion.