Nottingham's Lisa Ambalavanar is Jinx in DC's Titans - We Chat to Her All About It

First things first, how does it feel to become a real life comic book character? How did you feel when you got the call?
I was in shock at first because it wasn't even a phone call - it was an email. I had to reread it a few times before I could get excited because I was thinking, ‘Am I reading this right? I don't want to get the wrong end of the stick here and get really hyped up for no reason.’ I felt like I'd done a good job with my audition but I was just hoping for a recall. I wasn't expecting to be offered the job at that point. So it was a real surprise. 

What was the auditioning process like? 
At first, it was actually quite tricky to figure out what they wanted, because there are two very different versions of the character out there. All of my auditions were done by self-tape so I had no real dialogue with anyone on the Titans side - there was no opportunity to ask questions or get a solid idea of what they wanted. So I just had to go on the limited information that I was given in the emails and the notes that I received. I was definitely more focused on what I needed to do to get the role, rather than thinking about the big picture of what it would mean for myself and my career if I then got the role. 

I did a deep-dive into everything I could about both versions of Jinx. I did so much research and read loads of comic books to really figure out what I wanted to do with the character, and meld that with what I thought they wanted. Once I got the gig, it was a really collaborative process - on everything from what we were going to do with the hair to how I was going to portray the character on screen. There were lots of costume fittings and chats about Jinx’s background, where she comes from and where she would fit in the show. So while I was initially excited to join this great DC series, it wasn’t until I got to set that it all started to sink in. 

Did you have any trepidation when signing on? Some actors talk about the challenge of constantly being associated with one particular character - was this ever a concern for you, even with you only being confirmed for four episodes? 
While Titans isn’t quite the size of Superman, for example, it has been going for quite a few years, and has amassed its own following - so I did have a bit of anxiety about what the fans would think of me. I knew that there'd be judgement about my casting and I knew that comic book fans can sometimes be very passionate and opinionated. But people have been largely supportive and liked what I've done, and there's been a lot of love for the character. It’s the biggest show I've done so far, so I knew I was opening myself up to a wider audience, which is something that I've not been through yet - and that'll probably expand again when it goes on Netflix, because that’s a global platform. While that’s a bit nerve-wracking, though, the experience has been really positive. 

How did you find joining a popular TV series when it was already four seasons in? Were there any challenges to that?
The cast and crew were lovely and I really cherished getting to work with them. They weren't cliquey at all. They welcomed me wholeheartedly and I became good friends with some of them. They are a really lovely bunch; there are no egos and they seemed to love working with me and loved what I did with Jinx. So it was a great experience. I don't think I was too worried about that looking back on it, because starting any job is scary. Whether it's been going for a while and you have to join a cast that already knows each other, or whether it's a brand new cast all coming together, it's scary working with new people. So I was nervous, but when I actually got to set and did my first scene with Brenton [Thwaites], who plays Nightwing, I just had that feeling of, ‘Oh yeah, this is what I do. I'm fine!’ 

Working on superhero productions is quite unique in that there’s more of a reliance on special effects and elements that actors themselves can’t see in real time. How did you find that process? 
It's interesting. There were moments where it would be literally just me in front of the camera, with the director calling out actions that I had to react to, like, ‘Now you're going to fight these zombies over there. And now you're going to say this.’ I often just had to react to nothing and no one and hope that my facial expressions matched what they wanted and that my eyeline was in the right place. But, in truth, all of that is just part of being an actor. Whatever project you work on, you have to have a good imagination. At the same time, some of the stuff was practical - like when I moved the lasers in my first episode. That all happened; the lasers were there and they all physically shifted. So there were some really cool practical effects as well.

Finally, to take you back to before your time as a Titan, you trained at The Actors Workshop Nottingham. How did your time there prepare you for this career path? 
I started acting relatively late, and I hadn’t trained in it before. I didn't go to drama school. But I felt like this might be something that I wanted to do, that I could be really good at. The main problem was that it's really hard at 28 years old to know where to start. And it's also a very nerve-wracking thing to do and get used to at that age. So I needed somewhere that could help me become familiar with acting in front of audiences, and where I could meet like-minded people - and that’s when I found The Actors Workshop. I went pretty solidly for about a year and it was the perfect place to gain confidence. I'm still friends with a few of the people that I met there. It was a really great community.

Series four of DC Titans will arrive on Netflix later this year

@lisa_amba