Isabela Merced Reveals the Hardest Part of Filming 'Superman'

Parade

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00:00All of us together, standing together for the camera test was the moment that it really clicked

00:04for me. I think by myself, I didn't feel as super, but then it's a team. It's always been a team.

00:10And that was, those are my favorite elements of this, of the DC universe.

00:17I think it's so remarkable about your career. You kind of got your break on a commercial.

00:21You were in Dora, which obviously is such a big role. And now you're like a part of the DC

00:26universe. What could you tell yourself 10 years ago, if you could?

00:30Well, 10 years ago, I was 13, 14, and I had just started sort of working on film and television.

00:35But before that, this dream wasn't even really conceivable for me. It was kind of,

00:38I thought that I would be in theater. I started in theater. So I didn't think that I would be in

00:43films at all. It just seemed like a really far goal for me. And so this was a pleasant surprise,

00:48bigger than any dream I could have imagined. So I definitely am in shock. I don't think I would

00:54have believed myself if I, and especially with the short hair, I would have been like,

00:58you cut your hair too? That's crazy. Why don't you cut your hair? It just goes to show how,

01:02how time can change things and surprise you.

01:06Do you ever think you'd grow your hair back out again?

01:08I mean, it's so convenient having short hair. It's so nice. And if I wanted long hair,

01:12I guess I could just pop on a wig.

01:13I read that Shirley Temple and Judy Garland are some of your biggest inspirations. So

01:17if they could tell you if, what do you think they'd say about your acting career and how you've,

01:23you know, spoken about them?

01:25Wow. I hope they'd be flattered. I would want to ask them about their experiences. I think

01:29they'd be really surprised, you know, with the opportunities that I've been given. I think they

01:33grew up in a different time where things were really challenging and times were hard. And I guess

01:38they're hard now too, in different ways, but I hope they'd be proud. I think they would tell me to

01:43sing more in my projects because I know they were beautiful singers and I love to sing. So

01:48I would love to do a musical further down the line to just make them, make them proud.

01:53Have you ever had a real life experience of saving someone or something like Superman?

01:58Yeah. For some reason, I'm always saving animals. Whenever humans are in trouble around me,

02:04I feel like it's always a group effort, but whenever it's animals, I feel like,

02:08I don't know, it's just like a more microscopic need of help that, that I just, I've always found

02:14myself in those situations. And I know exactly what to do. I mean, back in Cleveland, Ohio,

02:17I would always come across animals in the road that were injured. And I was like, I'd get out

02:21of my car immediately and, and help them. And I knew, I knew like where exactly to go. And they

02:26would see me all the time. Cause I would always bring the animals to that specific nature center.

02:31Well, and the costumes and the makeup, obviously for like the DC universe for a live film,

02:36like are just wild and crazy. How long did it take you to get into character? And what was that

02:41experience like for you? I think it was a long process that really only clicked for me when I

02:46saw all of us together, like Green Lantern and Mr. Terrific. And I even got to meet Maxwell Lord,

02:54who's played by Sean Gunn, who's amazing. And those guys, all of us together, standing together

02:59for the camera test was the moment that it really clicked for me. I think by myself, I didn't feel as

03:05super, but then, you know, with that, it definitely, it's, it's a team. It's always been a team.

03:10And that was, those are my favorite elements of this, of the DC universe.

03:14Was it hot in there? Were you sweating a lot? Like how, how long would it take you to get ready?

03:20And like, when you finally were able to take it off, was it like a big, like,

03:23moment? Yeah. I felt very claustrophobic with all of the harness work. It's very tight. It's like a

03:29corset. And then you're also lifted up from it. So it's just, it's very tight. I'm like taking deep

03:34breaths right now. Just thinking about it. That was probably the most challenging thing for me.

03:38Uh, but at the end of the day, I knew it looked cool. It just, it was really hard to look cool.

03:43I will say, cause when it, when you got so much going on in there, it did, it's, it's an art to

03:48make it look effortless. Um, and that was my first time really experimenting with that and, and having

03:54that. Um, and I think that was, that was it for me. That was the most challenging part.

03:59So do you think now you've got like, you know, when you're invited to the Met Gala or whatever next

04:03year, are you going to like corset it up because you're now a corset professional or are we like

04:08done with corsets now? I've always loved a corset. It's a fun experience. If it's not too tight, you

04:14know, if it's custom, maybe I'll go for something more comfortable now, just in anticipation of

04:18future work on, on these projects. Okay. And you kind of touched on this and you are like a little

04:24bit of a comic nerd. So what makes you one? Less with the comic books, more with the series,

04:30like the Justice League Unlimited was like my show growing up. I loved Hot Girl and that,

04:36even though it's a different version of Hot Girl, it's still like a reincarnation. She's a,

04:39she's a frequently reincarnated character. And that's what I find really fascinating about her

04:44as well as the Superman animated series growing up as well. Um, I was mostly watching reruns because

04:50those shows came out before I was old enough to really get invested. Yeah. That for me was,

04:56it's, it's nostalgic. And you know, there's so many big players in this movie. I mean,

05:00was there anyone that you met for the first time that made you like a little starstruck,

05:04a little giddy? Cause for me, it was Anthony Kerrigan. I'm a really big fan of his work.

05:08He plays Metamorpho in this and he did a great job as Noho Hank and Barry. And that's that. And I've

05:13also seen his other projects, but that for me was, was a standout and just, he's undeniably

05:18talented. I think it was great casting. Apparently he was, he was the one for them. They didn't even

05:22ask anybody. They asked him to come in and be, be the role. So, um, props to him, but also James

05:28Gunn, like James Gunn is the reason that I, that I wanted to join this. I was a big fan of his work

05:34growing up with the Scooby-Doo live action films. That was like one of the first things I mentioned

05:38him was that I loved, I loved those films as well as Guardians of the Galaxy. I just think he,

05:43he's always had such a distinct voice and that's the most important thing.

05:47Did you get to take anything home from set with you to like commemorate this experience overall

05:52Oh, I've always collect stuff from my projects, especially if I had a great time. So I have so

05:58much merch that I was gifted to me or that I collected. And that's the thing is whenever you

06:03wrap a film, each department does like their own little wrap gift that they give out to the crew.

06:09And it's so sweet. And, and I have so many, so many little things like a crystal from the Fortress

06:15of Solitude of Superman is one of my favorites.

06:18Let's talk about progressive and the fact that they're trying to be as super and, and having

06:24their own Superman moment with you. So why did you want to partner with them? It kind of made sense,

06:28right? Yeah, it actually makes perfect sense to me. I think it's a good tie into like the fact that

06:33I love it in this movie. Superman is always there. He's there immediately, but unfortunately we don't

06:39have a flying man on earth with us right now. And that's the beauty of film is that you can imagine

06:44that. So progressive being quick and smart with it, they were like, we're going to tie in to this

06:49and do something really clever and cute, inspired by the action comics, number one cover. And as a

06:54fan of comic books, I thought it was amazing. And I was, I was geeking out. So I thought that was

06:58great. And then also making up for the fact that we don't have a Superman on earth. They have a quick

07:03accident response installation that you can have. If you go to progressive.com, you can basically like

07:08get a few taps. If you get into an accident, they will be there and help you. So it's like,

07:12it's like, um, you know, a good substitute for, for Superman.

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