Mikaela Hoover Reveals Which DC Icon She Wants Screentime With In Man Of Tomorrow [Exclusive]

Mikaela Hoover has been a consistent face across film and TV over the last twenty years, especially in the films of James Gunn. However, she took an even bigger step forward in the last few years, with a memorable turn as Floor the Rabbit in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 setting the stage for her next voice role, Tony Tony Chopper, in the Netflix adaptation of One Piece. Coupled with her memorable turn as Superman supporting character Cat Grant and a quietly important role in the second season of Beef, Mikaela Hoover has been getting a good chance to flex her talents as a performer with very different types of characters and settings.

During the LVLUP Expo in Las Vegas, ComicBook.com got the chance to speak with Mikaela Hoover about some of her most high-profile recent roles — including Cat, one of the reporters who works alongside Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen at the Daily Planet. Given the sheer scale of the DC Universe teased out in Gunn’s cinematic universe, there are plenty of people that Cat could run into in upcoming films like the Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow — but Mikaela already knows who she wants to spend more time with on-screen.

CB: Given the scope of the new cinematic DC Universe, who are you hoping Cat gets to spend more time with in upcoming films like Man of Tomorrow? Are there any dream pairings you’d like to see?

Mikaela Hoover: Well, the thing is, Cat really likes Clark. She doesn’t care as much about Superman, but there’s something about Clark that she’s just absolutely crazy about. He represents all the good. He’s a real, sturdy, kind-hearted man, and she has never experienced that. I’d love to see more with her and Clark. I’d love a little bit more of them together.

The rest of our interview with Mikaela Hoover continues below, as we discussed how she was cast to play Tony Tony Chopper in One Piece, the emotional weight of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and what makes James Gunn such a unique collaborator to work with.

Courtesy of Netflix

When adapting something like One Piece, I’m always curious about how the actors approach the characters. How much did you look at the source material, whether that be the manga or the anime, to bring Tony Tony Chopper to life?

Well, when I first got the audition, I passed on it because I was filming another project. It just said it was three episodes on a Netflix series, and it was an animated series. I had been auditioning for animated shows since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and I wasn’t getting callbacks; I wasn’t getting feedback. So I just passed on the audition. A week later, my agent Stephanie called and said, “Casting asked for you specifically. I really think you should take a look at the sides.” I looked at the sides. There was a code name on it, and the description was that [Tony Tony] was this little forest creature who had been picked on his whole life, who was an outcast, who was really ugly.

In my mind, I thought of him as this little slimy, green, one-eyed, disgusting creature. And I never get to play characters like that! Then they said it was for facial capture as well, so I was like, ‘This is great!” So I went in for the audition. I remember having more fun in that audition than I think I’ve ever had. I was playing around with different things, and the slides were very similar to the scene where Doctor Hiriluk locks him out. I was getting really emotional and throwing myself completely into this character and loving him so much. Usually, when I do an audition, I don’t think about it afterwards. I sent that audition in, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for over a week.

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I called my agent [asking about updates until] she said, ‘The producers want to see you.’ I went to the producers and was embodying Chomper, and I remember being on the chair, hunched over, having one eye, because I still didn’t know what it was for or who he was. I did the scene with Hiriluk again, and one of the producers was tearing up, and he said, ‘Oh my God, people are going to love Chopper so much.’ And I went, ‘Who’s Chopper?’ [Laughter]. I had no idea! Then they threw me into Tadum very fast, and I hadn’t even really seen what Chopper looked like.

When I saw him, I was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s so cute!’ I think, because of my initial impression of him and thinking that he was this monstrous creature, it really helped me and worked to my advantage. Chopper doesn’t think of himself as cute; he thinks of himself as a monster. So when I play Chopper, I never think about how adorable he is. Every time people at conventions are like ‘Chopper is so cute!’ and they show me pictures, I have to agree. But when I’m playing him, I never feel like that. I think my not knowing what the project was really helped me.

What is your first reaction when you get a script from James Gunn? You’ve worked with him on so many projects over the years. What separates him from some of the other filmmakers you’ve collaborated with in the past?

James always has me audition. Cat was the first role he was just like, “You’re right for her.’ For Guardians of the Galaxy, when I got the audition slides for Floor, he told me I wasn’t going to get it because they were looking for someone with a really mechanical voice. That was how James wrote that character, with a very harsh, mechanical voice. He was like, ‘They’re most likely going to go with a name for that role.’

That was what allowed me to have more freedom while auditioning for it. I was able to do my own interpretation of what James wrote. When I read James’ stuff, when I read any writing… as actors, it’s our job to use our imagination to create a character we think aligns with us and the character in the script. We have to make it all come together.

When I read Floor, I didn’t read her as mechanical. I read her as this sweet soul that had been hurt over and over again and, despite that, was still just so loving and trusting no matter what the world had thrown at her. It’s what I love about James’ scripts. He is the master at the most heartbreaking stories, at really pulling at our heartstrings. I love that about his writing. He is so fluid in the way that he connects that all. I appreciate him so much as a writer. Getting to read his stuff, my favorite thing is always going to the heart of the story, which he is so good at.

He really does have that ability to make you laugh and then cry in the span of a minute. How do you approach that kind of emotional vulnerability and flexibility in those films?

For every character that I do… I have a dog. She’s 14 years old, and she’s my soulmate, the love of my life, and I always put her into every single character. She’s my muse for Chopper. She was my muse for Floor. But when I had sad scenes in both Guardians and with Chopper, I thought about something happening to my dog. Which is so dark! But you can hear my voice crack in that stuff, because that’s my worst fear in the world. For weeks after doing these scenes, I am puffy, I am drained. Your body doesn’t know the difference.

I still cannot watch that scene in Guardians, because it takes me back to that time when I was playing this bunny rabbit. Everybody on set was crying. It was not an easy day on set. It’s the same with Chopper… there’s something about those scenes [in episodes 7 and 8 of One Piece season 2] that is just so heartbreaking. I think it’s because they are animals, with those big eyes and those big expressions. You want to protect animals at all costs. I think that’s why people feel so much for them and why those stories can be so hard and heartbreaking.