Candice Patton portrays Iris West, the comic book future love of Barry Allen’s life, on The Flash. Probably best known for her recurring role of Tori on The Game, Candice is enjoying being part of the growing DC Television Universe. Warner Bros Television was once again kind enough to offer some time with their talent, and Candice filled us in on all things Iris West, including her complicated onscreen relationships, her excitement for Grodd, and the big upcoming Arrow crossover. Check it out below, but beware spoilers for the first episode of The Flash.
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The Flash debuted to a 5-year high for The CW with 4.5 million viewers. How does it feel to not only finally have the show on the air, but also have it be a certified success?
It’s surreal. I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re just kind of over the moon. We’ve been working on this show since we shot the pilot in March. So we’ve been sitting with it so long, hoping and not knowing whether it was going to be well received. To have it be so well received, it’s just amazing.
Will the fact that Detective West knows Barry’s secret and will have to hide it from Iris drive a wedge between their family relationship going forward?
I think we haven’t explored that yet – about Iris finding out, if and when that’s going to happen. But I can only imagine this will drive some kind of wedge between them as a family, because as family units go – especially this one – they don’t keep secrets from each other. So it’s going to be devastating for Iris to realize that her father and her best friend and practically brother, have been keeping this from her for so long.
The chemistry is so important and really worked for me in the pilot. What was it like developing relationships with your fellow cast members like Grant Gustin, Jesse L. Martin, and Rick Cosnett?
Yeah, that’s what I’m hearing a lot and that’s so relieving. I think a lot of it is just innate chemistry between people. I know I had to read with Grant and they had to see if there was any kind of chemistry there. Thankfully there was, because I feel like that got me the job. With everyone else that was something we discovered when we met each other on set. So we spend a lot of time with each other outside of the set and we’re actually friends in real life. So it’s easy when you come to work to just kind of slip into these scenes with your family or friends. It’s just easy.
Does that make it easy to slip up and call someone like Grant by his real name while in a scene?
No, I haven’t done that yet. But I’m sure that’s coming. I’m very good at separating Grant and Barry when I’m working. It does, it makes it a lot easier. And Grant and I have a very kind of brother and sister relationship. He teases me all the time and sometimes I’m like “Okay, Grant. Stop.” [laughs] But it’s fun, that’s how we really are in our real life.
If the show goes the way of the comic books and Iris becomes Barry’s Lois Lane, will that be weird to make that romantic shift from the brother and sister vibe?
I don’t think it’ll be difficult. No, just because I’m very aware of the possibility of that romance. So I’ve always kind of kept that in the back of my mind, even when I’m playing very brother and sister moments with Grant. It’s always in the back of mind that it’s a possibility on where we could go. So I don’t know if it’ll be difficult at all.
How are things going to go with Iris’s current relationship with Detective Eddie Thawne? His name alone implies a potentially villainous future, but they seem legitimately happy in the pilot.
Yeah, I don’t know the trajectory for Eddie and his character and what the creators have in mind for that. But I do know right now that he’s just Detective Thawne and he’s a very nice guy. He cares and really loves Iris and that’s fun to play. Iris met a great guy and I think that’s what makes it so difficult for Barry because he has to admit to himself, “I can’t hate this guy. Even though I’m in love with Iris, Eddie is a nice guy and he cares about her.” I think that’s kind of interesting to watch him grapple with.
Judging by the latest extended trailer it looks like Iris might be developing a bit of an obsession with The Flash as he becomes more of a public figure. Is that a potential problem for her relationship with Eddie?
Yeah, I think they’re pretty happy right now. But with every relationship that Iris has on the show, things will change and dynamics will change, just because Central City has changed. There’s been a huge change in Central City and that affects everyone: Iris and Barry and Jesse…[laughs] Jesse…I mean Joe, and Eddie. Her relationship and interaction with The Flash will definitely have an impact with everyone. Barry, her dad, and Eddie.
Can you tell us a little bit about what Iris and Barry are getting into in the second episode, titled Fastest Man Alive?
There’s obviously an event that they’re at where something bad goes down with a metahuman, but Iris doesn’t really see all of that and Barry doesn’t show her any of that. She misses it completely. But I think what this episode is kind of pointing to is that Iris is getting curious that Barry is disappearing and acting a little different. She is starting to kind of scratch at what is going on with Barry. Not to mention that she’s getting very curious about this mysterious streak or guy that’s saving people in Central City.
I got a kick out of one of your tweets (@candicekp) this week during the pilot broadcast that said simply “Effing Grodd.” How much of the actual Flash mythology were you aware before you came on to this project?
Yeah, I know the fans are very excited about the potential for Grodd! I was not familiar really with any of The Flash universe, so that’s something that I had to learn and explore. I’ve started to delve into all of that. So seeing stuff like Grodd, even in the pilot, it’s exciting for me because now I know who these characters are and I’m attached to them just like the fans. And like Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti have said plenty of times before, they’re never going to introduce something like that and not eventually explore it some kind of way. I think just the potential for us to have a Grodd episode is amazing.
I particularly really enjoy the S.T.A.R. Labs team of Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), Caitlyn Snow (Danielle Panabaker) and Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) on the show. Will Iris be interacting with them at all anytime soon? In the pilot, it almost seemed like they were in different universes.
I think that’s because Barry wants to keep them very separate because that would then jeopardize his secret. But [Iris and the team] do interact in small ways, so far. But I’m hoping that Iris will eventually find her way to S.T.A.R. Labs. I’m really looking forward to eventually maybe working with Tom who plays Harrison Wells. I hope Iris kind of steps more and more into that universe.
You all recently finished filming the crossover episode of The Flash with Arrow. What was it like working with the combined casts?
It was great having them on our set. It’s just cool because I’ve watched Arrow and I know these characters, and for them to be on location on our set is just kind of a nerd moment for me. Iris and Felicity interacting and Iris and Oliver interacting. I just kind of have an out-of-body experience with it, “This is so cool!” I think fans will really get a kick out of it.
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The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET on The CW.
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