-Welcome, guys. -Thank you.
-I'm so happy to have you here.
I want to congratulate you on the show.
But first, Nafessa, you are from Philadelphia.
-I am born and raised in Philly, and I'm celebrating all year.
-Oh, that's fantastic.
You have to take the whole year.
But you were not in Philadelphia last night, correct?
-I wasn't. I was here. -Yeah.
-I was, like, getting ready for you today.
-Well, thank you for doing that.
-I had to have my fitting
and watch the Super Bowl at the same time.
But it was good. We won. I'm good.
-That's great.
And I would feel bad, but I have to be honest,
when you schedule something, you would never think,
"Well, that will be the day the Eagles win the Super Bowl."
Never happened. -No. No.
You can't plan that. You can't predict it.
-Exactly. Well, congratulations.
-Thank you.
-The show is already incredibly popular.
What is it about the show that you feel
viewers are connecting with so early in its run?
-Well, I feel like the show,
even though it is about a superhero
and a superhero family,
it's very rooted in reality.
Like, when it comes to a superhero like Superman,
it's very fantastical,
and you don't feel like you can walk outside
and be like, "Ooh, it's a bird, it's a plane."
You know what I'm saying? -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-But with "Black Lightning," you feel like
you could see him walking down the street.
Like, "Oh, there's our neighborhood hero."
-Yeah, I think it's very relatable, like she said.
He's a guy in your neighborhood.
He's the father figure
that you want within the community,
which makes it pretty authentic and relatable.
-And it does use actual --
I mean, it uses racism, it uses gun violence.
Was that something that drew it to --
I mean, again, I assume when you first get a script
and you hear it's about a comic book hero,
you might not expect those things to be in there.
Were you excited when they were?
-We were really, really into the script when we read it.
The female characters are so strong
and powerful, confident,
just boldly walking in who they are.
And, you know, those are the kinds of roles that you want --
roles that are going to empower and inspire.
And the Akils, they have done such a great job
of bringing that authenticity to it.
-Yeah, I love the fact the show really tackles real issues.
And The CW lets us be unapologetically black.
-Yeah. [ Light laughter ]
-That's good. That's a good thing to be.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Yeah, you know what I'm saying?
[ Snaps fingers ]
-Snap, snap, snap.
-So, have you had -- have you had
great reactions from fans yet?
Is there one that stands out?
-Oh, yes.
We've had really great fan reactions.
I always love the little kids that come up.
And they're like, "For Halloween,
I want to be Black Lightning."
Like, those are my favorites. -Yeah.
-Yeah, and I think for me,
being the first black lesbian superhero...
-Yeah.
-...you know, I'm getting a lot of
just outpour of love and support of, you know,
"Thank you for representing us.
It took a while for us to see ourselves."
And I think representation is really important,
and we all need to be able
to turn on the television, see ourselves,
and be able to relate
to the characters that we're watching.
So, super honored to, you know, be that voice.
-And it's true, I was not just --
[ Cheers and applause ] -Aww. Thank you.
-It feels like not just black lesbian superheroes.
There haven't been many black lesbians on television.
That must -- Did you feel a responsibility to that,
or is it more like the freedom of, "Oh, I get to do this thing
that not a lot of people have seen and been able relate to"?
-You know, yeah, I'm just really honored
to give my voice over and more so proud.
You know?
And hopefully this show,
or my character in particular,
will be the first of many black lesbians on film.
-That's fantastic. -Thank you.
-And you had a background --
You did some criminal justice stuff in Philadelphia, as well.
-I did. I interned at the D.A.'s office
in the homicide unit. -Go ahead, girl!
-Oh, my goodness. [ Laughs ]
-Yeah, so I thought I wanted to be a lawyer,
and then I told my mom,
"Mom, I'm just gonna play one on TV.
That's -- That's the best I can do for you."
-That's right.
-The things that I saw within, you know,
the criminal justice system
are very parallel to the things that we're touching on,
the topics within the show.
So kudos to that experience, I guess.
I guess a degree wasn't, you know, a bad idea.
-Yeah.
So you have a little background there.
I'm guessing neither of you have actual superhero backgrounds.
So when it comes to stunts, how is your stunt work?
And are you getting to do some stunt work?
-Yeah, I do a little bit of butt kicking.
My powers actually come after hers.
-Okay, gotcha, so -- -So I've been in stunt training
since July, and it's been fun.
I've been pretty athletic and active throughout my life,
so it's just cool to keep that going.
And I do as much as my stunts as possible,
but my stunt double, Natasha, she is really, really dope,
and we have a lot of fun.
So I can't wait for you guys to see Thunder develop
and really start kicking butt.
We're just getting started.
-Oh, that's very exciting.
And I've heard that what you lack in stunts,
you make up for -- you do a lot of running on set.
-Oh, yes. -Oh, yes.
-While she has a really amazing workout routine,
my workout routine is running from craft services
back to the set. -Okay, gotcha.
-You know what I'm saying?
-So you run to get snacks. -Exactly.
-And then they're looking for you,
and you have to run back.
-And they really try to mess with me sometimes
because they put craft services on a different stage.
-Oh, wow.
-Yes. Then when we're filming, I'll be like,
"It's okay, I'ma get my snacks either way."
-Whenever they yell cut and you're looking for China,
crafty is where she's at.
-And do you have a favorite snack?
What do you -- -Laffy Taffys.
And you guys had them backstage.
-Yeah, we heard.
You like Laffy Taffy so much, it got to us.
-It made me really care about you guys.
I cared about you so much when I walked in here.
-Oh, well, thank you.
That's what we try to do with our Laffy Taffy,
and I'm glad -- Once again,
Laffy Taffy brings people together.
And congratulations, guys.
It's really just lovely meeting you both,
and continued best of luck on the show.
-Thank you so much for having us.
-Give it up for China Anne McClain
and Nafessa Williams, everybody!