On The CW series Arrow, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) is still behind bars and unable to protect his family, his team and his city in the way that he’d like to. Meanwhile, Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) is getting in deeper when it comes to tracking down and dealing with the growing threat of Diaz (Kirk Acevedo) once and for all, and Curtis (Echo Kellum) goes undercover on a mission for ARGUS with Diggle (David Ramsey) and Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson).

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, which was held at the Warner Bros. Television offices in Los Angeles, actor Echo Kellum, aka Mr. Terrific, talked about the changes of Season 7 and what new showrunner Beth Schwartz brings to the show, what it’s like to be living his dream of becoming a superhero, getting to be a part of Team ARGUS, whether Curtis prefers to be in front of the computer or out in the field, the dynamic between Curtis and Felicity, what’s it meant to him to work with Emily Bett Rickards, how Curtis feels about the new Green Arrow, his involvement in the upcoming “Elseworlds” cross-over episode, and his dream mission for his character.

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Image via The CW

Collider:  I love the trio of Lyla, Diggle and Curtis. What were the Team ARGUS scenes like to do?

ECHO KELLUM:  It’s definitely fun to work with Audrey [Marie Anderson] and David [Ramsey]. They are absolutely extremely talented and professional, but they’re also just so much fun and down to earth and silly. It’s always such a pleasure to work with them. It definitely feels different. That’s the thing I love about our show. You can really mix and match some pieces to get some different dynamics and gold, in a lot of aspects. In Season 4, I had never worked with John Barrowman until the last two episodes. It’s so funny that you can have an entire season and never see the actors, and then come in together and have these fun, interesting scenes with each other. It’s really cool.

Is it fun for Curtis to feel like he’s the one who’s sort of in charge of the mission because they’re relying on him to guide them?

KELLUM:  Yeah, it’s really fun! I always love Curtis when he’s focusing on tech and that aspect. I always love him being in the field, too, but it’s nice to switch it up and have him be in charge, in the van and on computers, and telling them what to do.

Do you feel like Curtis is much more comfortable with hanging out in a van with computers than he is going out in the field and fighting as Mr. Terrific?

KELLUM:  Just based on seeing his trajectory, going out into the field, I would have to say that he’s probably more comfortable in the van. There are less punches being thrown his way, so that’s always nice. But I really do feel like he was coming into his own in the field, too. If he had a preference, it probably would be behind the computer with tech. He can send the T-Spheres out.

When you think back to when you first signed on to be a part of this TV series, is where you’re at with the story and character now, in Season 7, anything like you could have imagined?

KELLUM:  No way! You can think many different things, but until you’re actually thrust into it, you just don’t have the perspective. It’s interesting. But I really love where the characters went, and I love what the writers have done for them. It’s a blessing, just to get to see how it all has been playing out, over the last four years. There’s definitely been a lot of surprises, along the way, but I think they do such a good job with the show. I do my job, but then I get to go home and look at the rewards from the hard work that we’ve put in, and see how much the fans love it and reach out. It’s been really cool.

As someone who’s clearly a fan of this type of project, did you have any hopes or expectations when you signed on, and did you meet them?

KELLUM:  Yeah. What’s funny is that, before I auditioned for this show, a couple of best friends and I had come up with this thing, called Let’s Take Over Hollywood. Basically, what that meant to us was working out every day, writing as much as we could, and really giving in fully to our careers. I went to the gym and was going hard and was like, “We’re gonna be superheroes!” And then, I booked this show. They said, “Well, he has the potential to be Mr. Terrific,” and I was like, “That’s pretty sweet!” And then, when it actually started happening, I was like, “I can’t believe it! This was a game plan of mine, two years ago, and now it’s actually happening and coming into fruition. This character is really dope!” It’s still very surreal. I look back now and I’m like, “Wow, that’s part of my life!” This is all still a shock, and I pinch myself. It’s one of the coolest things in the world, coming up and getting picked on for being a nerd, my entire life, to having the privilege to show people what I saw, as a kid. To get beat up and then rewarded for the same thing is really cool. I’m just in a constant state of shock that I even get to do this in my life, and to get to do it with such a cool character on such a great show, and run by a great studio and network is like all of the cherries on top. I’m just so grateful. And I’ve got a super suit. I literally have a suit that will forever be tied to me. That’s so cool, that I will be in the echelon of the DC comics lore.

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Image via The CW

As a fan, do you ever think about how you’re a part of the show that launched all of the other DC shows, and that you also get to have cross-over episodes that bring everybody together?

KELLUM:  That is never lost on me. It’s very surreal. I’m still very close with my best friends, from when I was 9 and 10 years old. We still talk, almost every day, and every once in awhile, we’ll be like, “Dude, life is nuts!” This is really, really, really, really not something we thought would ever happen, getting to be on a comic book show for the comic books we used to read, as kids. I’m so fortunate, and I’m so thankful that I get to be in this position in life, where little kids get to look up to this character and say, “I wanna do that!,” or “I wanna act!” That’s the most amazing thing. That’s what I saw as a kid, watching people on TV, like Will Smith and Jim Carrey, when I said, “I wanna do that!” The fact that there might be a group of four friends out there who love comic books, watch the show and go, “I wanna act!,” that is one of the dopest things in the world.

Are you a part of this next cross-over?

KELLUM:  Yeah, I did get to be a part of the cross-over. It was really cool. It definitely has a different feel, and it’s awesome. It was really awesome to be on set, during this cross-over, and get to work with everyone, to get to see Grant [Gustin] and Stephen [Amell] like I’ve never seen them before, and to get to work with John Wesley Shipp. It was the coolest. I feel like this whole interview is just me saying that I’m blown away and can’t believe my life, but it was just one of those moments where you have to take it in and be like, “Woah, this is my life. This is what I do.” It was very, very awesome to be a part of the cross-over this year.

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Image via The CW

Without revealing any spoilers, was there a specific stand-out moment for you?

KELLUM: Absolutely, there was a moment. The biggest moments for me were when I got to work with John Wesley Shipp. I can’t really go into detail on what was happening in the scene, but I had to keep reminding myself to stay in the scene and not get lost in working with him.

It seems as though the team is pretty spread around this season. Everyone has the same bigger goals, but all of the characters also have their own things going on. Has that been an interesting shift for you?

KELLUM:  Yeah. If you look at the first part of last season, especially before we split up, there was a lot of team stuff. Especially when Diggle was Green Arrow, we were all heavily teamed up. So now, to be in these different pockets is a very interesting perspective. I really like it, though. It’s nice just to mix it up sometimes, but we definitely still get to play with each other, which is great, and have those team aspects. It’s nice to be in your own zone and have the different dynamics with the characters.

With Felicity seemingly willing to go to any lengths to get Diaz, is Curtis starting to worry about her? 

KELLUM:  How traumatizing is it, everything she’s been put through with Diaz? Her husband is in jail, and this guy is still trying to terrorize her. She’s off, trying to live her new life with pink hair, and this dude is still coming at her and William. The thing is that she’s just tired of running and tired of being chased by this guy. She wants to be proactive and take him down. Sometimes when you’re blinded by revenge, it might not work out best. She almost left John hanging on the train. I get that aspect of enough is enough. That will create some friction between her and Curtis, for sure, but in the end, he will support his friend. They all know that Diaz is a problem and they want him off the grid, not creating and sewing confusion and destruction in the city. Curtis will go about it the traditional way of using ARGUS and the police. They’re all supporting the same mission, but they have different ways of going about it, which they definitely will discuss with some tense back and forth conversations.

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Image via The CW

Because we’ve really gotten to know Curtis through his relationship with Felicity, what’s it been like to have Emily Bett Rickards to share this experience with?

KELLUM:  It’s been amazing! She really set the tone for what the show was, when I came on. I remember when I first booked the role and I was watching it, I was like, “Oh, man!” It’s a little intimidating to go onto a hit show because you feel everyone is gonna be like, “Don’t look me in the eye, and also refer to me as Mr. Amell!” But then, when I got on set, Emily treated me as if I had been there from the beginning, and that’s how everyone is. Everyone is super accepting and loves working with each other. It was a very amazing moment to work with her and see how down to earth she was, and the rest of the cast. I literally love working with her. She’s a really great person, and really funny, too. Everyone is so funny. We laugh so much on set, and they’re screaming at us like, “Actors!” We’re like, “Sorry!” When you have fun on set, that really comes through on screen. You can see that people really enjoy each other, and we do that. That’s what I learned from Emily.

What can you say to tease what’s next, after this week’s episode, especially for Curtis?

KELLUM:  Definitely, you’ll see Curtis getting into the field in some different ways than you ever have. He’s gonna be going undercover with ARGUS in some capacities. Whether he’s 100% on board or not doesn’t matter, he definitely will do what he can. You’re also gonna see him really struggling with the consequences of last year and what he wants to do, in terms of either getting back out into the field or chilling at ARGUS. There will be some really interesting things happening for him, in the future.

How does he feel about where things are at now?

KELLUM:  He’s definitely torn. A part of him definitely enjoys being at ARGUS, and a part of him misses being more active, out in the field, doing what he can to help the denizens of Star City. I think although he is torn, he’s probably landed on the side of doing what he can while abiding by the plea deal and running the innoventions department at ARGUS.

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Image via The CW

How does Curtis feel about the new Green Arrow vigilante?

KELLUM:  He definitely doesn’t agree with everything that the new Green Arrow is doing. There’s a part of him that thinks, if the person is doing the right thing by the citizens, that maybe it’s a good thing, but he also wonders what’s going on with this person.

At the beginning of this season, when they clued you in on the general idea of where things would be headed, did they tell you who the new Green Arrow is?

KELLUM:  Nope! They stopped telling me secrets about the show, a long time ago. I used to give out way too many spoilers. I spoiled who Prometheus was before the show ever aired, and no one caught it, thankfully. I posted a picture of the whole cast, and Josh Segarra as Prometheus was right there. I posted it online, and then one of the people in the office was like, “I don’t think you can post that picture.” I was like, “Oh, my god, I’ll take it down!” Nobody ever saw it, but now they know not to share stuff with me, so I have no idea. I’m definitely curious. I think that what Beth [Schwartz] and her crew are doing is some really fun stuff. People are in for a great time this season.

What’s it like to have a new showrunner in Season 7, with Beth Schwartz taking over?

KELLUM:  It’s always nice to switch it up and get a fresh pair of eyes on it. Obviously, Beth has been in the trenches of the show. She started off as an assistant and now she’s so showrunning, so she has a personal feel for the show and knows everything about the show. She’s such a brilliant study of all that comes into this, and she’s done such a great job, jumping in feet first. We’re all really thankful that she is as talented and brilliant as she is, and that she’s breathing a lot of new life into the show. I think people are gonna be really, really happy with where it goes this season.

If you could have Curtis go on any type of mission, what would it be?

KELLUM:  A mission to get the T-Spheres to have the ability to fly Curtis around the world. That’s the mission I want him to work on. He needs to be flying. We need to work that out. If you could talk to the effects people, Warner Bros. and Beth, tell them that I want to get that in. I wanna fly and go through different dimensions.

Arrow airs on Monday nights on The CW.