Neva Howell did not know she was auditioning to play Superman’s mother when she first read for the role of Martha “Ma” Kent in James Gunn’s 2025 “Superman.” Scripts sent to actors during the casting process used altered character names, a common industry practice when trying to deter spoilers, and Howell said it took her roughly three rounds of interviews before she understood who she was actually reading for.
“I guess it was maybe the third interview when I realized who it was, and at that point it was a mixture of excitement and terror,” Howell said.
Howell spoke with me, the Daily Planet Editor-in-Chief, for an episode of Rooftop Conversations, discussing her path to the role, her research process and her hopes for how the character will be remembered.
Grounding the character in real life
Howell said the weight of stepping into a role with the character’s history in the DC canon was not lost on her. To find her footing, she said Gunn sent her an audio recording of a Kansas farmer whose voice became a touchstone throughout production.
“Hearing her voice on the tape over and over, I got this really solid sense of being on that farm in Kansas, and what that was like for her,” Howell said. She added that she has since become friends with the woman in said recording.
Howell said she also drew from her own family history, blending the toughness of her grandmother with the gentler nature of her own mother.
“My grandmother was like a lion, and I could feel that in her, but she would do anything for her family,” Howell said. “But I could also feel another energy, which was this loving kindness that was over everything, and that reminded me of my mom.”
Rather than try to distinguish her performance from prior portrayals of the character, including Phyllis Thaxter’s turn in the 1978 “Superman,” Howell said she leaned into the same grounded instincts, adding a harder edge she felt reflected her own upbringing.
Favorite scenes, and the hardest days on set
I asked about her favorite scene to shoot, and Howell pointed to the now widely discussed phone call between Ma Kent and Clark, which she said has become one of the film’s most memorable moments for audiences.
“I felt it was going to be iconic, and I think it is,” Howell said of the scene. “I think that’s the scene that they go for.”
She said her favorite scene to watch, rather than to shoot, was the film’s closing sequence, which she said gave her a physical sense of the character’s full arc after filming disconnected pieces of it across a single day.
“This is such a moment of closure, such a moment for Clark to come to the realization: This is your family,” Howell said. “And you are so blessed to have them.”
The most demanding parts of production, Howell said, were physical rather than emotional. She recalled running through a dark field pocked with potholes during a nighttime sequence, and enduring nearly triple-digit heat with no air conditioning during a farmhouse porch scene involving co-stars Rachel Brosnahan and David Corenswet.
“I would stand there through their scene over and over, and just hope,” Howell said. “I had to hold onto the sides of the wall a couple of times because I thought, I’m going down.”
Working with the Kent family
Howell said most of her scenes were shot in isolation from the broader cast at the farmhouse set, giving her a close working relationship with Pruitt Taylor Vince, who plays Jonathan Kent.
“He was so accessible and so grounded and so funny and so available to me from the beginning that it was just a blessing,” Howell said.
She described her character’s early read on Lois Lane, played by Rachel Brosnahan, as cautious rather than fully warm, reflecting a mother still sizing up her son’s new relationship. Howell also spoke about her scenes with Corenswet, saying the character carries some quiet grief over her son’s growing independence even as she takes pride in his success.
Howell also praised director James Gunn’s on-set demeanor, describing a calm, confident presence she said put the cast at ease even during high-pressure days, while noting Gunn was capable of stepping in firmly when a scene drifted from his vision.
A visit to Metropolis, Illinois
Howell described a visit to the Super Museum in Metropolis, Illinois, where she was allowed by curator Morgan Siebert to hold an original script page and the face mask worn by Christopher Reeve in earlier Superman films.
The visit started casually, Howell said, in the museum’s gift shop, where she admitted her first reaction was mild curiosity rather than awe. That changed once she stepped into the museum’s main collection and came face to face with a display honoring George Reeves, the actor who played Superman in the 1950s television series “Adventures of Superman.”
“That’s when it started to sink in, like, oh, this goes so far back,” Howell said. “This adoration of these characters.”
The moment deepened, Howell said, when she reached a case dedicated to Christopher Reeve’s era of the franchise and spotted the original script from his 1978 film. Before she had fully processed what she was asking, Howell said, she found herself requesting to hold it.
“I wanted to touch it,” Howell said.
Curator Morgan Siebert unlocked the case and let her hold the script, Howell said, along with the face mask Christopher Reeve wore on screen. Holding both pieces, she said, triggered something she still struggles to put into words.
“I began to shift,” Howell said. “It was like I was understanding, finally, how big this universe was that I was suddenly a part of.”
Howell said the experience gave her a sense of stability she hadn’t realized she was missing as she adjusted to her new role in the franchise, describing it as the moment she finally “found her footing” within the broader Superman mythology, not just as an actress playing a part, but as someone now carrying forward a legacy that stretches back nearly a century.
“I walked out of there a different person,” Howell said, “with regard to my place in the universe.”
What Ma means to fans and to her
Howell said fans at conventions have repeatedly told her that her performance reminded them of a mother or grandmother they had lost, and that the character has shaped how she tries to carry herself.
Asked what she hopes fans take away from her portrayal, Howell returned to a message about the impact of small gestures.
“Even the smallest of hands, and the tiniest of gestures, can change the world in a positive way,” Howell said. “You never think that because your hands are small, you can’t make a meaningful impact in someone else’s life.”
Howell said she associates the sentiment with Jewel’s song “Hands,” which she said played in her mind during an emotional bedroom scene with Corenswet, and which she has come to think of as capturing the character’s guiding theme of kindness.
Supergirl praise, and a tease for ‘Man of Tomorrow’
Howell offered praise for Milly Alcock’s performance in DC Studios’ “Supergirl,” which was released earlier this summer, saying Alcock’s version of Kara Zor-El charts a distinct emotional path from Superman’s own story. She also praised Jason Momoa’s performance as Lobo in the film.
Looking ahead to “Man of Tomorrow,” which is set for release on July 9, 2027, and expected to bring back much of the “Superman” cast, Howell didn’t share plot details while I cited the Daily Planet’s policy against spoilers, which she said she supports.
Howell said she believes reactions to her performance will remain divided among longtime fans, while newer audiences without the character’s history may embrace her more readily. Either way, she said she hopes viewers walk away with a simple message.
“I believe we can bring joy and kindness through who we are, and who we are with each other,” Howell said.
