Tenika Davis is having a busy morning. It’s the day her new show Jupiter’s Legacy is finally out on Netflix and she’s buzzing with excitement that people will finally see her character Petra Small/The Flare II come alive in the superhero drama on screen. Adapted from the comic books by Mark Millar, the show follows an older generation of superheroes grappling with their powerful children who struggle to follow in their parents’ legendary footsteps.
“I feel like I’m observing something amazing happening in someone else’s life,” the actress tells Complex. “I haven’t really registered that it’s me yet.”
Born in Toronto, Davis launched her career in the modeling world as a finalist on the TV show Canada’s Next Top Model. After signing with Ford models, she began acting and appeared on Skins, The Book of Negroes and Private Eyes.
Complex caught up with Davis to discuss the show’s connection to Toronto, filming stunt scenes, and the power of diverse representation.
So the show was filmed in Toronto, and you’re from Toronto. What was that experience was like? Were you the go-to person to show your co-stars the ins and outs of the city?
It’s quite interesting, because when I got cast for the show, I was in L.A. So I don’t think a lot of my castmates realized that I was Canadian until they [wondered] how I knew all this stuff about Toronto. I grew up here, I went to school here. They actually shot one of the locations for Jupiter’s Legacy at the University of Toronto, where I went to school and I thought, This is crazy. The Union of Justice in the show was shot right at City Hall, where I’ve gone to fight parking tickets before!
My castmates definitely were asking me questions about places to go eat and things to go do. I tried to help be the best guide for them. The summer that we shot, it was absolutely beautiful outside as well too. We worked really hard, but we also had lots of time to appreciate the city, which is pretty cool.
That’s awesome. In the show, you play Petra Small. So, if you want to just tell me a bit about the character, and what drew you to her?
What drew me to the character was really anybody that’s really worked hard for something, and then maybe fell a little short of the goal. And how you sometimes beat yourself up about certain things. Anybody who’s a bit of an overachiever, I think, goes through that sort of battle and struggle. That was the first thing I noticed about her in some of the dialogue and language that she was using. That initially was the thing that really spoke to me, because like anyone I’ve tried to achieve the best I could. I think if anybody has had high standards, they’ll find themselves in this character
Also, there’s a dynamic of wanting to make your parents proud with Petra. I think anybody that has any sort need or want for their parents to really approve of the things that they’re doing, that was the second layer in which I [felt], this character, she’s totally me. But she’s everybody, any child or adult. My mom is in her sixties, and she still thinks about making her dad proud. All of those layers are what really spoke to me with that character, and I found myself in [her].
“Now to be able to have someone like Petra Small that people potentially could be looking at and saying, ‘I can see myself doing these types of fantasy things and being this type of character,’ I think was really important for me.
I think a lot of people are going to relate to that. For sure, I can definitely relate to all the things you just listed.
It’s really important to realize that if you’re doing your best, it doesn’t matter really what the outcome is. The point is that you tried and that you did what you had to do. There’s a lot of realizing that we’re all just hoping for the best. I think Petra is really that person.
She’s definitely a superhero, but she’s got the same struggles as the rest of us.
These are very human characters, right? It just so happens that they’re superheroes, but I think humanity is really what draws people to these characters and realizing that they’re flawed and have conflicts like anyone else.
Obviously, Petra does have some cool powers. Were there any that stood out to you?
I can brighten up someone’s day and channel good energy! I’ve always kind of been that person. When this character came along, I didn’t know what her powers were originally when I auditioned for her. And then after they [told me] she shoots energy blasts and her power comes from the sun and light. And I was like, this character is made for me.
She’s got super intelligence as well too. Her and her dad read a lot of books and they’ve educated themselves on everything. She flies as well. Who doesn’t want to fly, right? She also has that, but then she also has super speed.
Oh my God!
She’s got this amazing combination of everything and on top of all that she’s super strong. In a lot of the fight sequences that you see, she throws punches, and she’s got a bit of a boxing background to her as well. With my martial arts background that kind of helped, to be able to fight that way too.
I didn’t even realize you had a martial arts background, you used to do Taekwondo, that’s so cool.
Call it God, call it the universe, but I feel like your roles find you. I don’t think when I got cast in the show that the producers knew. There was no questions asked about if I was able to do stunts. I think this role kind of just found me and fell into my lap. And it was like, we’re going to use everything from your past to put into this character.
Yeah, I was actually going to ask about the stunts. I’m assuming they would have been a little bit easier to do knowing you have that Taekwondo experience under your belt?
I remember the first day that we all get put into stunt choreography, all of the cast members were like, “Did you guys know that we’re going to have to do this?” We had two months to train and become these people. They took whatever skill we had, and then built on top of that. I will say that it wasn’t easy. There was a lot of pain, a lot of ice baths, lots of chiropractor sessions, lots of massages. I’m just glad that I had a bit of a fitness background to be able to do that.
Yeah, for sure. Another thing I was wondering is, what are some of the things you hope people take away from the show after watching it? Are there are any main messages or themes that you really hope will resonate?
I think one of the main themes I really hope resonates with people is just, you know, every family, every human being has conflict and struggles. We’re all going through stuff, no matter the kind facades that we put out there.
Also, the dysfunction of family relationships, but also how those relationships can be mended. The dynamic between my [character’s] father and me, Fitz Small and Petra Small, is kind of the hopeful, optimistic side of things where you can see that despite the dysfunction and the brokenness, things can come together. You can find that love with each other, even though things have been damaged. I really think that will speak to people.
I know the series is based off of the comics, but your character is not in the comics. What are some thoughts you have on how your character changes things on screen?
The showrunner Steven DeKnight said the characters in the comics are a certain way, but [he] wanted to really take these characters and apply them and adapt them to the new world that we’re living in, looking at more diversity, and looking at more people of different backgrounds.
My character actually is based off of Fitz’s son, I believe his name is Peter in the comics, but he’s a little boy and he’s angry at his dad for cheating on his mom and leaving his family. That is literally where my character came from. I think it’s pretty amazing that someone could create that person and flesh out their storyline. It just shows how, you know, in this new world, we have more diversity. I think they did a beautiful job of showing the world as it is right now and where it’s going.
I would also agree, that’s very cool. It’s definitely, I think, a better experience for viewers, because people want to see people that look like themselves when they’re watching shows like that.
As a little girl, I was really into X-Men. I used to look at Storm, and read the comics, and I thought, she kind of looks like me, she’s got the white hair. Maybe I’ll go gray one day! But I never got to be Storm. And then my next favorite character was Mystique, because she’s darker, and I’m dark too. She fights as well and she seems like she has a martial arts background, so I kind of saw myself in that character. Now to be able to have someone like Petra Small that people potentially could be looking at and saying, “I can see myself doing these types of fantasy things and being this type of character, I think was really important for me.”
Especially when it comes to diversity and having examples of people of different backgrounds living the fantasy and being the superhero. Doing all that is really important, because these thoughts create images. These images are now things that people aspire to. I think that that’s really cool. I definitely do take the responsibility on of what that means to a lot of people out there. And I really want to do it justice.
