Supernatural: Felicia Day Reveals Why She Couldn't Resist Playing Charlie Bradbury
On November 19, The CW will present the final journey in its longest-running drama series, Supernatural.
For fifteen seasons, we've followed the Winchester brothers – Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) – as they've battled demons, shapeshifters, angels, vampires, more demons, those pre-human-existence-creatures the Leviathan, and even fairies. Those last two, in particular, were some of the monsters they took on with the help of Supernatural's own much-beloved spitfire – Charlie Bradbury, played by Felicia Day.
With just four episodes left, IGN continues our stroll down memory lane with members of the SPN family, and for this installment, we spoke with Day, who reflected on the impact of her character and the show as it comes to an end.
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"I was offered a part on Supernatural in March of 2012, I think, and I was in the middle of launching a company – a huge company with YouTube, so I wasn't even thinking about jobs at the time," Day told IGN about her invite into the franchise. "But when I read the script, I was like, 'Oh my God! This character's incredible,' You don't see a character like this come along every day. It is just so special, so up my alley."
And truthfully, Day – an alum of The WB's Buffy the Vampire Slayer – was also a little worried that 2012 could mean the end of the road for the hunter family of brothers, so she had to say "yes" to the gig.
"I was thinking Supernatural's probably going to get canceled this season – because of Season 7 – so I probably should just do this now to be on the show because it's a cool show.' I swear to God that was one of the factors because Buffy lasted seven years and that was the other show I was on that was kind of a cult classic. So, I was like, 'I gotta get in while I can!'" she recalled. "And that was only supposed to be the one-off episode, but it turned into eight years of my life on and off and I'm so, so blessed."
From her first episode, hacker Charlie – a smart, witty, confident, and proudly nerdy woman – became a part of the team. She was essential in helping the Winchesters with the Leviathan problem, and each successive appearance – which often came unexpectedly and usually in a delightful way (Ren-Faire live-action role-playing and making out with fairies, or visiting Oz with Dorothy) – showed more and more of Charlie's unique identity.
"She represents a little bit of the fandom of Supernatural, which is mostly women, which is kind of great," Day said, reflecting on Charlie's impact. "Also, she is an equal to the guys. She is strong; she's a person out of her element at first, and then she grows to be a part of the team and adapts to the world. So, it's sort of every wish-fulfillment in a way.
"At the same time, she's representing a kind of woman we don't see on screen a lot. Like a lot of women, she's in a very masculine world in a sense, and she is just herself. She's bringing herself into the world versus adapting to it and changing herself [for] it," Day continued. "There's not a lot of nerdy women [on TV], there's not a lot of women who are gay, there are not a lot of geeky women ... I think she gave that window of fans really seeing themselves and that's what I hear over and over again."
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Charlie's introduction to SPN also helped expand the Winchesters' world and social circle, which always remained narrow due to the dangerous nature of their work.
"She became like a surrogate little sister. It was really lovely. … Dean and Charlie had this great relationship where he was really kind of saving her a lot. She had a lot of demons that started popping when she began to hang out with him to take care of demons," Day laughed. "And I think that relationship was really heartening to see – that kind of caring broadened out to more people besides Bobby and his brother, Sam. So, I think that was really impactful."
Asked about how the character affected her own life, Day said playing Charlie not only brought fans over to engage with her other work projects, but that the character proved personally inspiring for her too.
"[P]laying Charlie really made me braver, in a sense," Day revealed. "She really is a person who wasn't afraid of being herself in a really genuine way and she's also really bold and a lot more of a badass then I am in person, and I really believe that helped me get out of my shell a little bit more, be more bold in asserting who I was, especially outside of an internet persona that I had kind of been trapped in, almost. Charlie wouldn't care what people thought about her, Charlie wouldn't care what people expected of her. She's just going to be herself authentically and I think that really inspired me over the years."
Now that Baby's wheels are rolling closer to the end of the road for Supernatural, we asked Day to reflect on the show's impressive run and legacy.
"It's amazing and really is a testament to [creator] Eric Kripke who laid the groundwork for this," Day said, pointing out the show had to be "innovative enough, but varied enough not to lose an audience."
"Everyone should appreciate how hard that was to craft. And then a combination of that and a network that was supportive and then, also just the chemistry between Jared and Jensen," she added, touching on the magic formula behind SPN's longevity. "You can't fake chemistry."
Ackles and Padalecki's tireless work on the show – both on set – and off (which extended into conventions with fans across the world), "really created a fanbase," Day said. "But also, just a world where you just wanted to see what they did every week and really, they're amazing actors alone, but together they're just magic."
Supernatural airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW. The series finale airs on Nov. 19.
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