DC’s Stargirl: Nick Tarabay Talks Bringing Eclipso to Live Action

After weeks of anticipation, Eclipso made his in-the-flesh debut on DC’s Stargirl Tuesday night. The terrifying entity broke free from the Black Diamond he had been imprisoned in, having been manipulating Cindy Burman (Meg DeLacy) all along. It marked the first time viewers have gotten to see Eclipso in his menacing true form and witness just how horrifying it is when he consumes the souls of his victims and according to Nick Tarabay, who plays Eclipso, the physical experience of being in the Eclipso costume helped influence how he brought the character to life.

In a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Tarabay talked about the process of finding the right physicality for Eclipso and explained that because of how the costume was constructed, it allowed him to in a sense feel what he imagined Eclipso as a character felt.

“The wardrobe department did an absolutely amazing job, I mean, these guys are pros through and through, and same with the prosthetics. When we first started it was about four hours, but by the time they finished, they got it down to less than an hour, which was very appreciated. I really appreciated it, but it was challenging in so many ways and I tell you, it really works for that character. Because what happened is, because the costume was so restricting and there’s a bodysuit underneath it, so once I put the suit on, I, Nick, the actor, couldn’t eat anymore,” Tarabay said. “I can’t eat while I have it on. And imagine having all this glue on you and all this stuff, and no matter how well and accommodating the wardrobe and the prosthetic people were, still, you feel like there’s something on you all the time.”

He continued, “Physically, the prosthetics were on my skin pulling me the whole time and the suit was holding me down. It was great because it almost felt like what Eclipso felt all these years being in that diamond. So, a lot of the times, I remember when we’d be shooting for a really long time, the frustration of trying to keep my focus while being under this costume, it was perfect. And at one point I think it clicked, I’m like, ‘I don’t know why I’ve tried to keep it there, I’m just going to release it. This costume is making me angry, so I’m going to put it in the scene,’ so, that worked really well.”

Tarabay also said that he wanted to make sure that Eclipso felt like he could be real so that the fear would be as real for the audience as it is for the characters on Stargirl.

“I wanted the audience to see this show as, don’t feel like, ‘Oh, this will never happen.’ No. I want them to see, look at this guy and say, ‘This person, or this entity, or this creature could really exist right now,’” he explained. “So I wanted to stay away from anything that was surreal or super anything, I wanted people just to feel its real presence, and this is where the animal work came in again. So I want the audience after seeing this episode to think, ‘Holy sh-t, before I go to sleep, I’m going to lock the door because this thing could really exist.’”

DC’s Stargirl airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.