Why Crazy Jane From Doom Patrol Looks So Familiar

DC may trip over its feet any time it tries to make a movie about characters not named Bruce Wayne, but it continues to shine in the world of television. Perhaps because the medium lends itself to a tonal hodgepodge of goofy and gritty, DC's stories pop off the TV screen. The Arrowverse has been ticking along for years with several successful and increasingly complex shows on the CW, and it doesn't seem to show any signs of slowing.

The format has been so successful that Warner decided to launch their DC streaming service, DC Universe, with the standout hit series Doom Patrol. The story about an unlikely team of superheroes living in a decrepit manor became an instant hit with viewers, achieving enough popularity that it's now set to make the jump to HBO Max for season 2.

Diane Guerrero leads the stellar cast as Crazy Jane. As she flits between her 64 personalities and the associated superpowers, viewers can't help but think of Guerrero in other roles. After all, her role on Doom Patrol offers a window into this young actress' stunning range. Here are some of the other places she's had a chance to show off her chops.

Before she signed on with Doom Patrol, Guerrero had major roles in some of the most celebrated television series of the decade. On Jane the Virgin, she played Lina Santillian, the best friend of the titular Jane. While many of the characters on the series could be secretive and scheming, Lina stood out for her straightforward and no-nonsense demeanor.

On Orange Is The New Black, she played a role that was somewhat close to her own life. Her character, Maritza Ramos, was an undocumented immigrant who grew up in the United States without any knowledge that she was actually living out of status. According to Guerrero's 2016 memoir, In The Country We Love, she also grew up the child of undocumented immigrants. She revealed that her parents were deported to Colombia when she was only 14. Since Guerrero had been born in the United States, she remained in the country even though her parents were tragically removed. 

Guerrero has continued to work on television following the end of OITNB and Jane The Virgin, and she says that she's thrilled to work with the ambiguous nature of Doom Patrol's so-called heroes.

"It's just a wacky universe, right? It really just has no boundaries, which I tend to see in a lot of superhero shows where they have clear lines of good and bad," Guerrero told DC Comics. "There's black and white, there's not much gray area. That is what's wonderful about Doom Patrol. It embraces that gray area to the max."

Guerrero also pointed out that Doom Patrol is one of the few series grappling with the trauma of the events that become superhero origin stories. "This show really questions the brain and human behavior and what trauma does to a person's brain and their development," she said. "I like these heroes' reluctance to save the world. They're answering more existential questions."