Thanks to her iconic roles on Shadowhunters and Arrow , Katherine McNamara is forever connected to the world of superheroes.
Recently, she chatted with Diply ’s Alicia D’Aversa about the new superpower she harnesses both on-and-off the screen: crystal-clear vision.
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It’s something she got thanks to Alcon PRECISION1 lenses.
She also spoke about how she’s keeping busy during quarantine, how she’s staying in superhero shape, and, of course, her on-and-off relationship with her favorite workout buddy: Bob the Dummy.
There may even be talks of an Arrow spinoff… Basically, everything is coming up 20/20 for this star.
While trying to keep busy in quarantine, the actress stumbled upon a project that she didn’t see coming (quite literally): taking care of her vision.
She first learned about her vision issues two years ago when she went to the optometrist for a monster contact lens fitting (as we all do). It was there that she did a vision test on a whim.
The results were surprising: “I found out that I was very much in need of some vision help. So, I started wearing glasses, but given my active lifestyle and not being able to wear glasses at work, it became kind of difficult.”
“It’s very daunting,” she says. “Or it can seem so for someone who’s new to it.”
With more time suddenly on her hands, she dedicated herself to finding a contact lens option that would work. So, she called it “fortuitous” that she found Alcon PRECISION1 lenses at precisely the right time.
“That was it for me,” she says. “They’re so easy to use and I can wear them all day without even thinking about it.”
They’ve even given her a new outlook on life. “I’m used to only having superhero powers at work, but it kind of feels like I have superpowers because I can see really well without having to wear the frames on my face.”
Since she has such an affinity for the brand, she’s working alongside them for their See What Happens campaign.
“It’s such a great campaign because they’ve created this lenses love quiz, where you can go to the Lens Love Quiz and find out, based on your lifestyle, what your love lenses style is.”
Since she’s an avid reader (she recently built her own bookshelf!), having better vision has made this hobby — and so much else — better.
“The contact lenses help everything. If I’m running on the treadmill trying to read or sitting on my bike trying to watch Netflix.”
Having better vision has even gotten the Arrow star back into some of her old hobbies, like photography. It’s allowed her to view the world through an entirely different lens.
She likes taking her old film camera with her wherever she goes. She’ll even bring it when she travels with her Shadowhunters co-star, Will Tudor.
“Whenever Will and I travel, we just wander and take pictures. He’ll have his camera and I’ll have my camera and we just explore through our lenses.”
Whenever she’s not snapping pics, the actress has been keeping in superhero shape with her workouts. Her favs? Spinning, running, and hiking.
You can also find her boxing, which is something that she does with her boyfriend, Bob, AKA #BobtheQuarantineDummy. When asked about the status of their relationship, she says with a laugh that their relationship has sort of run its course.
“I am definitely ready to see other people now. We still cohabitate, we’re civil, we’re buds, but I think we’ve moved on.”
Other things that have kept the star preoccupied is catching up with friends and developing projects.
Sometimes, the two even go together, as she recently filmed a horror movie with her friends via Zoom (keep an eye out for that!).
Before the pandemic, she wrapped up filming for The Stand , a CBS All Access’ limited-series adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel.
It’s a much different role than Kat’s used to. “It had been a long time since I played a villain,” she says. “So that was kind of refreshing in a sense.”
Taking on this new role for size meant relearning a lot of new things, like walking in heels and dressing up in sequins, jewels, and glitter.
“I was so used to being in blood and boots and leather,” she says with a laugh. “That’s my favorite part of my job.”
It’s a good thing the *Arrow* actress has all this to keep her busy since she said that a lot of the projects she was working on pre-pandemic got put on hold.
This was understandably frustrating. “I was within weeks of starting them and then everything got put on hold. Every week, I hear some update on it, so we’re waiting with bated breath to go back to work.”
But taking time off has been good to the star, who says that she hasn’t had this much time off in almost 10 years. “It’s been a good learning curve for me since I’m not used to sitting still. I feel as if I’m in constant limbo, but I’m a stubborn optimist. So I’m just figuring it out as I go, as we all are.”
Speaking of being a stubborn optimist, Kat is hoping to see an *Arrow* spinoff just as much as fans are.
While nothing is currently in the works, she does say that she’s not done with Mia Smoak yet. “Worst-case scenario, I’ll be able to come back in another show or a crossover, but we would very much like to see the show happen.”
Shadowhunters fans shouldn’t cross out a reunion, either. “If Friends can have a reunion, then Shadowhunters can have a reunion,” she says.
In addition to these iconic roles, there is another that the actress takes very seriously: being a role model for women.
“As a young girl, I looked up to other people and I had role models of my own and I was always looking for these kind of characters to look up to.”
She says that her favorite Disney princesses growing up were Mulan and Pocahontas. “The women who fought their own battles.”
“It’s something that I always looked for, so I was grateful to come into TV at a time where so many of these characters were emerging. People were really starting to question the roles women had been playing, like ‘why are they not more complex’, and ‘why are they not more diverse.’ And that’s now extending to every area of representation, which is absolutely fantastic.”
She’s met so many incredible women over the years at conventions and Comic-Cons. “I’ve gotten to hear their stories and the friends they’ve made and the things that they’ve been inspired by.”
At the end of the day, she’s so grateful for the fans and the roles she gets to play.
“I love every project that I do and every role I’m a part of so intensely. So the fact that it can help someone or inspire someone, that’s the biggest gift I could ever ask for.”
