Georgia native Danielle Panabaker, who currently plays Caitlin Snow on The Flash and Arrow on The CW, sat down with reporters for a 9AM press conference on Saturday. Hot topics ranged from her experiences with comics fans to the role of Killer Frost to toilets in “the pipeline.”
Panabaker was introduced to the extraordinariness that is Dragon Con with being informed that there will be people dressed like Caitlin. Panabaker replied, “Really? People are like, I don’t know how to dress like Caitlin. I’m like ‘it’s so easy. It’s a pencil skirt and blue top.’ Throw on some heels and you’re good to go.” Another reporter added that a S.T.A.R. Labs notebook would make the perfect addition. Not a bad idea for the next time you’re short a costume.
Her first experiences with the passion comics fans possess were through Twitter. While Panabaker is still fairly new to the social media scene, Twitter plays a big role in her interaction with Flash fans, as the cast and crew often work 80 hours per week.
Panabaker’s favorite fan experiences are when parents tell her that they adore the show and they watch it with the whole family. She loves it when they relate to Caitlin, and she hopes that the character inspires people to go into the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Panabaker said, “I was a total nerd growing up. I spent too much time in the math lab.” Her advice on the best way to pursue a career is to “put yourself out there.”
Their weekly hours are quite grueling, but Panabaker’s audition was “super duper fast.” In a few short days she was cast for the part of Caitlin. She didn’t really have very many expectations when joining the show because she’s new to the comic book world and didn’t know who the Flash was. She did read some of the comics and enjoys seeing how the writers stay true to the original story while adding their own variations to it.
To Panabaker, every time they start filming is a new, exciting, and often challenging experience. She stated that, “It’s like really? We’re going to pull this off? All right, can’t wait. Sign me up.” She went on to say that the entire cast and crew truly take pride in their work. The hardest thing on set, however, is often just the ability to keep a straight face. “We have such a rapport, and we have a lot fun,” Panabaker laughed.
When asked about what she could reveal about Killer Frost, Panabaker excitedly answered “No one is more excited for Caitlin to become Killer Frost than I am. Unfortunately, I don’t know when that will happen.” She does think that it would be ingenious if Captain Cold was somehow involved with how Caitlin becomes Killer Frost.
The first season finale left the characters reeling from a number of changes. In response to how these changes will affect the dynamics of the team, Panabaker said, “I think what’s good about the show is that there is an inherent chemistry between us all … I think that will stick.” Season two begins after some time has passed, but the characters will address the singularity and other events from the finale.
The most pressing question of the morning was: how do the toilets in “the pipeline” work? When nature is calling, the technologically advanced toilets slide out from the wall and then slide back in when the paperwork is done.
