‘The Flash’: Kiana Madeira Talks Creating Her Version of Spin

Kiana Madeira came to The Flash this week as Spin, a bundle of “fake news” metaphors wrapped up in a perky, pretty package with an instant connection to Nora Allen (Jessica Parker Kennedy).

Maybe the most interesting part of that connection is not just the revelation that XS is attracted to women (something that fans had guessed, but which had not been previously established), but that watching Kennedy helped shape Madeira’s approach to Spin.

“It really helps me see Nora introduced, because Spencer Young and Nora are around the same age, and I like the energy that Jessica Parker Kennedy brought to the show,” Madeira told ComicBook.com. “It’s a young, charismatic energy that I tried to embody as a villain.”

Madeira has not been a fan of The Flash all along, but dove into the series when she was up for the part, trying to get a sense for the show’s dynamic so that her performance would feel at home on the CW hit.

Luckily, her turn as a supervillain played to some of Madeira’s strengths, because apparently she knew basically nothing about her character before landing the gig.

“I was given a lot of creative freedom with my character,” Madeira said. “When I first auditioned for it, the breakdown did not reveal the fact that it was a villain, or a comic book character. It was a general thing about who Spencer Young was, so I used that to craft my own take on it — and then after I was cast, they trusted me with what I brought to it originally, my instincts, so I was fortunate to be able to play off of that.”

Madeira is actually pleased with the decision, since she would likely have made very different decisions if she had known the nature of her role — which is recurring, so we haven’t seen the last of her yet.

“I definitely think I would have [brought something different], now in hindsight,” she admitted. “Even the fact that it was originally a male character, maybe in the back of my mind, being a woman, I’d feel like I have to bring a certain kind of masculine energy to it, which I definitely did the opposite of and it’s interesting to see that’s what they’re looking for.”

The Flash airs on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT before episodes of Black Lightning on The CW.