Paul Blackthorne is being tested as an actor in the broken down version of lance in season 5 of Arrow. Though he has to inhabit the miserable spaces of his character, he likes it that the latter is more human. Watch the latest season of Arrow on Colors Infinity.
When we last saw lance, he wasn’t in a very good state of mind. What can fans expect when we catch up with him again in Season 5IJ
You can expect complete desolation and misery. This is Arrow, after all. He’s in a rough spot. He’s not getting over his daughter’s death, so it’s a little traumatic. He’s being revisited by old demons and having a tough time of it, which sounds a bit depressing but as an actor, it’s actually quite fun to play with and mess around with. That’s lance’s present state.
Is he going to fall off the railsIJ
Well, things are getting a little rough. He’s suffering badly. He’s battling with those demons as well as you might if you’d lost two daughters three times. lance is doing his best to pick up his own pieces but he is in a bad way. Believe it or not, I think it’s probably the worst state he’s been in.
lance left the police force in Season 4. What is he going to do in Season 5IJ
He was fired from the police force. He got his badge taken away. He’s on the drift at the moment. He’s in a bit of a desolate, miserable place. let’s face it, he took a bit of a kick out the door, so I don’t think he’s going to be welcomed back too soon. He’s not shining his black boots yet. He’s got a little bit of work to do first. To be honest, he’s not doing himself any favour in terms of integrating back with the world.
It’s going to be tough for fans to see lance in a dark place, week after week…
If you think it’s hard for the audience, what about meIJ I have to live with this stuff. But he’s definitely had his moments; he was more human than I was expecting last season.
Staying alive is also quite exciting. Actually, the thing that the writers do very well is shift the dynamics of the relationships between the characters; they do it every year. Everyone’s relationship shifts a bit. It’s like, “love you, hate you.” This year, lance is experiencing some new dynamics with a character that he hasn’t necessarily been that close to in the past, so it’s nice to play with that for a while. I’m looking forward to that.
How much are you looking forward to the four-way crossover episodes with The Flash, legends Of Tomorrow and Supergirl this seasonIJ
I am but I bet the producers aren’t looking forward to it. Crikey! Can you imagine trying to sort out that shooting scheduleIJ
It was great to see lance and Joe West [played by Jesse l. Martin] bond when the character came over from The Flash. Did you enjoy shooting those scenesIJ
That was the only time that lance smiled all season. I remember smiling and thinking, “Oh, wait… What’s thatIJ What am I doing hereIJ That’s weird.” Yes, it was nice. And working with Jesse l. Martin is great.
How tough was it to shoot the scene in legends Of Tomorrow where lance breaks the news of his daughter’s tragic death to SaraIJ
From a character point of view, it was not much fun telling one daughter the other daughter is dead. Not much fun at all, but good stuff to play around with from an acting point of view.
Are scenes like that difficult to filmIJ
As an actor, it’s great. The material [from Season 5] we’ve been shooting over the last few weeks has been really compelling. I hadn’t quite realised how heavy it was all going to be. I seem to be bursting into tears about every 10 minutes or so.
Moving forward, how would you like to see lance evolve in Season 5IJ
Resolving his personal situation with his demons would be rather nice but I don’t know if that will be the case. And if not that, then maybe he should try to keep the other daughter alive or maybe bring the other one back from the dead. Apparently that happens.
How much has his relationship with Donna helped him get through this tough timeIJ
It certainly was a huge help with laurel’s death because he had somebody to lean on. We’ll see how that relationship turns out. That certainly was a little light in his life at the end of Season 4. Do you think they’re really compatibleIJ She’s very different from Dinah, isn’t sheIJ They are very different ladies.
While we lost one laurel in Arrow, we have another laurel in the pipeline in The Flash. How will lance react to see a different version of his daughter – alive, evil and with powersIJ
I think he would sit her down and give her a good talking to. “What the hell have you been up to, young girlIJ!” I don’t know. It hasn’t happened in lance’s life yet, so I haven’t thought about it. But he’s had a lot of weird stuff to deal with, hasn’t heIJ The magic stuff and the time travel when I went over to legends. lance just shakes his head and thinks, “What the hell is going on in my cityIJ” He’s learned a lot over the last couple of seasons. I look forward to finding out where’s he headed next..