‘Supergirl’: Laura Benanti Talks Playing Astra, Exit From The CW Series

Laura Benanti said that she had a blast playing a villain on “Supergirl.”

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Benanti said that playing Supergirl’s (Melissa Benoist) aunt Astra in Season 1 of the CW series was unlike anything she had done before. “That was awesome. It was incredibly fun,” Benanti said of portraying the evil twin sister of Kara’s biological mom, Alura, which the actress also played. “I like to explore a bunch of different things and that was a muscle I had never sort of tested.”

Benanti made her debut as Alura and Astra in the series premiere. Astra was killed by Alex (Chyler Leigh) in Season 1, episode 13 and was last seen as a corpse the following episode. Alura, meanwhile, continues to appear on the show in dream sequences, but the character is now being played by “Smallville” alum Erica Durance.

Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg announced the recasting last July. “Unfortunately Laura, who Greg [Berlanti] and I have worked with for years going back to ‘Eli Stone,’ was unable to continue in the role due to work commitments in New York,” Kreisberg said in a statement. “But we are so blessed that Erica has come aboard to offer her own interpretation of Kara’s mother. We had tremendous success with a former Lois Lane last season with Teri Hatcher. We know Erica will continue the proud tradition of legacy actors joining our shows and creating new and exciting takes on classic DC characters.”

According to Entertainment Weekly, Benanti was unable to reprise the role of Alura due to her commitments to Broadway show “Meteor Shower” and TBS’ comedy “The Detour.” “I was sad I couldn’t return,” Benanti told the news outlet. “But I’m just not able to go to Vancouver for that long period of time. So, I’m really sad. I really miss them, but I really couldn’t do it anymore, unfortunately.”

Executive producer Robert Rovner told Entertainment Weekly in July that they decided to keep Alura on the show because her presence “connects Kara to Krypton and her roots.” “It’s an emotional grounding that’s always important,” Rovner said.

“Supergirl” Season 3 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on The CW.