Luke Wilson reveals how he prepared for his role in new DC series Stargirl

He may be a veteran when it comes to acting, but Luke Wilson admits he “took for granted” just how difficult his latest character would be to portray.

He’s been in showbiz since 1993, with close to 100 credits to his name.

But Luke Wilson admits he completely underestimated the acting chops required to tackle his latest role.

The 48-year-old American actor, who you’d know from films like Legally Blonde, Charlie’s Angels and Idiocracy, is one of the leading stars of the new DC Comics series Stargirl, which hits streaming on Binge today.

The 13-episode series follows high school student Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) who – you guessed it – becomes the DC superheroine ‘Stargirl’.

Wilson fits into the puzzle as Courtney’s step dad Pat Dugan, who just so happens to be the former sidekick to Starman, S.T.R.I.P.E, which he transforms into with the help of a special powered armoured suit.

Having grown up watching Star Wars, Wilson told news.com.au he naively thought portraying an other-worldly character would be a cinch.

“One of the things that struck me was like, I just assumed it would be easy. You’re flying this robot around, you get in the cockpit, like Han Solo flying a Millennium Falcon,” he said.

Stargirl hits streaming on Binge today.

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“And when you’re a kid, you really believe that dialogue. It’s outlandish and it’s other worldly but he (Harrison Ford) makes it totally believable. And now that I’m doing it I realise it’s a real skill.

“So we watched these Harrison Ford scenes, I wanted to seem like a fighter pilot or something.

“Reading the script, I took for granted that you really have to concentrate even though it might seem kind of simple.”

The series kicks off with Courtney discovering the cosmic staff, a powerful weapon which activates and sees her take her assumedly rightful place as Stargirl.

This is not Pat’s first rodeo, having worked alongside the previous owner of the staff, but he is gazumped as to why or how the staff activated for Courtney, who speculates her estranged father could have been the original Starman.

As the series develops, Stargirl becomes the inspiration for a new generation of superheroes who become the ‘Justice Society of America’ with a mission to defeat villains of the past.

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Brec Bassinger in a scene from Stargirl.

It may be a crowded world, but Bassinger, 21, said she felt Stargirl stood out on its own from the field of superhero flicks.

“Some superhero shows go for shock value with action, but this really had everything,” she said.

“It has those comedic moments, the heart, the family unity and unique family dynamic with the separated parents and the stepfather and stepdaughter coming together.

“I also loved the high school aspect, I find it so interesting seeing a group of kids navigating high school as well as being superheroes.”

Wilson added he found it “rewarding” to be a part of an anticipated series, which aired new episodes weekly in the US, admitting he’d never experienced that in his lengthy career.

“My brother and I (are) outside and his boys came out at 7.55pm going ‘It’s Stargirl night, it’s Stargirl night, you gotta get inside’,” he laughed.

“We’d started the show and I was talking to Geoff Johns (Stargirl creator), and he wanted to do something that had a good feeling to it, that had great stunts and cool effects and that it was also something the family could all watch and that’s a cool idea.”

Stargirl is available to stream on Binge