Bisexual 'Batwoman' Star: I Wasn't Out to Mom When I Was Cast

New "Batwoman" star Javicia Leslie had to have a coming out talk with her mother when she was cast in the role, the bisexual actor revealed in an interview with Health Magazine.

Leslie, 33, told the magazine that she and her mother "had to have a conversation when I got this role because I knew my sexuality would be discussed." The character is LGBTQ, and the show's producers had sought an LGBTQ actor to play her.

"She and I had never talked about it," Leslie went on to say, adding that she found ready acceptance. "She was like, 'You don't have to talk to me about it. I'm your mother, I've known since you were a child.'

"Once that was said, I didn't have to speak to anyone else about it because my mother knew me and understood me," Leslie said.

Leslie is the first Black actor to portray Batwoman. "I felt honored," Leslie said about winning the part. "I was a big superhero kid – I loved action. So to be an example to other little girls means a lot. I'm proof that it's possible."

Leslie stepped into the character's costume - which will be redesigned early in the new season - when original star Ruby Rose left the CW superhero series after its first season.

Rather than simply recast the role of Kate Kane, producers decided to create a whole new character, named Ryan Wilder, who would take over the Batwoman persona and, like her predecessor, fight crime on the streets of fictional Gotham City.

Leslie's run on the series begins Jan. 17 with the Season Two premiere.