Diane Guerrero Steals the Show in DC’s Doom Patrol
In recent years, Diane Guerrero has been quickly making a name for herself, starring as Maritza in Orange is the New Black and the ever-entertaining Lina in Jane the Virgin. She’s an outspoken activist, frequently touching on issues relating to mental health, immigration reform, and acceptance. Now, the 32-year-old Colombian actress can add another role to her increasingly impressive resume: Crazy Jane. Spoiler alert: she is killing it.
You’re probably asking yourself: Who is Crazy Jane? To be fair, she’s not an entirely well-known character as of yet (but then again, Iron Man wasn’t either until Robert Downey Jr. took on the role in 2008). Crazy Jane is a pseudo-superhero from DC Comics’ Doom Patrol, a series cataloging the events of a group of misfit heroes.
Each of the characters struggles with trauma from their individual checkered pasts. Of course, being experimented on by a mad scientist didn’t help either. No character embodies this more than Guerrero’s Crazy Jane, a woman with 64 split personalities. When Jane was a child, she was abused and in order to protect herself, she split her personalities. Perhaps most intriguing is that each separate personality has their own set of superpowers, resulting in some stellar performances by Guerrero.
Jane’s character (and by extension, the rest of the Doom Patrol) is one of the most unique I’ve ever seen. It would be all too easy to play Jane’s illness for laughs like so many projects have before, but instead, Doom Patrol does something completely refreshing in its portrayal of a mentally ill woman: they show her respect. As an outspoken mental health activist, Guerrero admits to being drawn to Jane’s character for that reason, declaring her to be an “interesting study in mental health.”
Guerrero’s performance is nothing short of incredible. From the sharp-witted “Silver Tongue” to the explosive “Hammerhead”, Diane is able to convey raw and powerful emotions, dominating the screen every time she appears. As Jane struggles to balance her emotions, the watcher is on the edge of their seat. It’s hard not to feel empathy for her plight and for a show that so heavily relies on absurdity, there’s something painfully realistic about Crazy Jane.
Doom Patrol airs every Friday on DC Comics’ DC Universe Online streaming service.
Are you a fan of Doom Patrol? What did you think of Diane’s performance? Let us know in the comments below!
