“Todd and Brent made certain, to their nice credit score, that I used to be snug with this storyline,” Tulloch tells me. “That they had pitched it to the studio and…then they known as me and stated… ‘we all know, it’s extremely intense, it’s going to be emotional, and the way do you’re feeling about this?’ I assumed, What a cool concept to make one of many major villains for season three be a villain that tens of millions and tens of millions of individuals around the globe can relate to, or have been affected by themselves or somebody that they love. And never solely that, however a villain that Superman can’t simply simply take out. There’s no simple repair to this. It’s a really human downside that she’s having. It was a little bit bit daunting as a result of the form of breast most cancers Lois will get is known as inflammatory breast most cancers, and it’s extraordinarily aggressive. It’s not even detectable till it’s stage three. So it’s a sophisticated and aggressive form of breast most cancers. I used to be excited. It was a problem, like I knew it will be. And I used to be additionally happy that they they felt that they trusted me sufficient with one thing this severe.”

Simply because the writers and producers did their homework, so did Tulloch, going to the CDC, breast most cancers survivors she knew, and extra.

“I did a ton of analysis,” she says. “A buddy of mine who’s a director and a producer had breast most cancers and she or he set me up along with her breast most cancers surgeon, Dr. Kristi Funk, who was Sheryl Crow’s physician, and she or he did Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy. She’s extremely great and sensible. I had some lengthy conversations along with her particularly about inflammatory breast most cancers, as a result of it’s actually uncommon and it’s so aggressive. I wished to ensure I used to be getting that particular journey proper, as a result of there are a number of totally different sorts of breast cancers and a few of them are rather more simply treatable than the one which Lois has.”

It was by way of Dr. Funk that Tulloch began talking with survivors of this particular sort of breast most cancers. 

“She set me up with a lady named Diana Franklin, who was superb and who’s an IBC survivor,” Tulloch says. “Her angle in the direction of it was principally what I attempted to infuse in my efficiency as a result of Diana principally was so sick when it was detected that Dr. Funk thought, ‘this girl might be not going to make it.’ However Diana as a substitute had apparently had stayed up in a single day doing a ton of analysis and walked into the workplace with a a three-ring binder and was like, ‘not solely am I going to beat this, however you and I are going to be associates, and no matter you inform me to do, I’m going to do it 110%.’ And she or he did and she or he utterly beat it and has had no proof of illness for for years now. In order I spoke to Diana I used to be pondering, ‘that is type of how Lois’ angle can be.’…I ended up interviewing about 11 totally different breast most cancers survivors, earlier than it bought to the purpose the place I virtually needed to drive myself to cease as a result of it was weighing me down lots. , it’s unattainable to not tackle a few of that emotional weight, as a result of each dialog I used to be having was actually emotional and provoking… nevertheless it was a number of double, triple checking to ensure that on all our elements to ensure that we had been getting Lois’ journey as as practical as we presumably might throughout the confines of being a tv present.”

However the second that Clark finds out about Lois’ analysis could also be a excessive level not only for the episode, however for the sequence up to now. As Lois actually talks a suicidal girl off a ledge, she reveals the reality about what’s been occurring, and Superman learns the reality alongside the viewers. It’s a strong second (and one which sharp-eyed comics followers might discover is a intelligent inversion of a equally emotional beat in Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s basic All-Star Superman), and considered one of Tulloch’s most interesting performances as Lois Lane.