David Rapaport has helped cast Gossip Girl, 90210, Arrow, and The Flash. For the first time, he talks about auditioning the actors who became iconic faces of The CW.

Willa Holland (Thea Queen, Arrow)

“Melissa Benoist read for Thea,” Rapaport said of the actor he later cast as Supergirl. “We read a bunch of people for Thea and it kept coming back to Willa because, with all these characters on Arrow, there was a duality about who they were on the surface and the darkness behind that. Even being so young, Willa’s lived a bit and that’s what makes her so interesting.

“I had a harder time convincing her to consider the Gossip Girl spin-off, which she ultimately passed on, then I did getting her in for Arrow. I think at that point, enough time had passed [after she co-starred on The O.C.] and it was an exciting, different role with the opportunity to potentially become a comic book hero in the end. I think everyone saw how different and dark and gritty this project was going to be.”

(source)