Man of Steel World Premiere: Exclusive Interview with Aleyet Zurer

Superman's birth mother is a character who, through various incarnations onscreen and in the comics, has traditionally gotten a bit of the short shrift, compared to the rest of his parents. Not so in Man of Steel, says Israeli-born actress Ayelet Zurer, who plays Lara Lor-Van in Friday's release. Not only does Lara get a bit more time in the sun this time around, Zurer told us, but so does Kryptonian culture in general--perhaps a carry-over because this time, unlike in the past, Zod and the Kryptonian villains came first. In the Donner films, after all, we saw them briefly on Krypton but never got a lot of backstory on their crimes mostly because by the time they reappeared, Krypton was long gone and Superman established as a character. This time, the sequence of events makes it necessary. Zurer joined ComicBook.com for an exclusive conversation on the film's black carpet World Premiere last night. Zurer agreed with our assessment that she could be back for potential sequels to Man of Steel, and also said that she researched the part by looking back at the history of the character's creators, where they were coming from and why they had Superman doing what he did. Before we could get into the meat of that--a potentially significant area of discussion for an Israeli actor, consider Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Jewish heritage and the frequent comparisons of early Superman the Golem of Jewish myth, we had to wrap up, but not before talking to her a little bit about Zack Snyder's creative process, how she got into Lara's skin and what it was like working under all that ornate Kryptonian armor. ComicBook.com: You're in the interesting position of being the opposite number of Jor-El at a time when Jor-El is clearly more present and prevalent than ever before. Did some of that splash onto you? Ayelet Zurer: I think what's nice about the part of Lara, and the whole story of Krypton is that it gets a little bit more time in this movie because it's really essential to what Superman is facing, which is a conflict of identity. He doesn't know where he comes from. Plus to be feeling that with him, we need to see where he comes from and we do. And so that was really cool--this part actually had more meat and bones. ComicBook.com: One would think that being dead you'd be at a disadvantage but given the technology that Jor-El has, you guys could theoretically show up indefinitely in sequels. Zurer: I could show up in your house! ComicBook.com: Well, that would probably get me in trouble. Zurer: Yes, that would. Me too, by the way! But yeah--I think that's what's fun about adapting the same material again and again and again. You can play with the reality in which we live in and use it to the story's advantage. And in this one, it's going a little more modern than we've ever seen it before, I think, and in a nice way still keeping the glorious Superman but at the same time, it's realistic and emotional. ComicBook.com: With Lara, you had a bit of a blank canvas, no? Even in the comics, she's not all that well fleshed-out. Was that freeing? Zurer: Yes--yes, I didn't have to go anywhere but into my own psyche and emotional territory and to look at Zack's notebooks because he had everything painted and illustrated. He has the amazing ability to do that and to get you into the story through his paintings. So yeah, that part was fun. ComicBook.com: I know that Henry read a handful of specific things. Did you read the source material at all? Zurer: I did! I didn't, to be honest with you, go back and read the DC ones from the '30s. To be honest, I couldn't get my hands on them. If I could, I would have, probably just because it's interesting. But I did go back through some things, especially the history factor of the creators in this thing and I really liekd it. I liked going into their psyche and seeing where they came from and what propelled their storytelling and why they told the story in this particular way--what's the metaphor, really? ComicBook.com: Well, I see we're getting a wrap-up signal, but you and Russell have to be glad that you didn't have wear those big, black body socks like in the John Byrne Man of Steel comics. Zurer: [Nodding] But trust me, our clothes were heavy as hell!