The hero in the new action series Arrow is officially known as the Green Arrow, but you'd be forgiven for failing to discern the hue of his dark hood as he unleashes cold fury upon the bad guys who cross his path.
This show is dark - literally and figuratively, admits star Stephen Amell.
The ominous shadows, dilapidated warehouses and darkened back alleys where this bow-and-arrow vigilante lurks are all meant to underscore a gritty, sober take on the DC Comics character.
"We want to do a comic-book show that's sort of grounded in reality," Amell explains at a promotional stop in Toronto earlier this year.
"Sort of like the Chris Nolan universe in Batman where if I get hit with a bullet, I can die. I don't have superpowers and nobody in our show has superpowers, as yet, and I think that the plan is that nobody will. So [it's] dark, yes, but it's dark because it's real."
Amell stars as spoiled billionaire Oliver Queen, a former playboy who survives a boating accident that kills his mogul father, only to be stranded on a remote island.
The show, which debuted Wednesday on CTV2, begins with Oliver's rescue and long-awaited return to a mother and sister who believed him long dead, but it's soon clear he is no longer the carefree son and brother they once knew.
Haunted by his father's final words, Oliver embarks on a mission to right the wrongs that plague his hometown of Starling City and he starts by taking out the high-powered enemies of his father - while disguised as a deadly alter ego.
The Toronto-bred Amell says the show, parts of which were filmed at Hatley Castle, will be more than just spectacular stunts and adrenalin-pumping fight scenes.
"If you talk to the writers, it wasn't the superhero stuff that was important for them in the pilot," says Amell, whose road to leading-man status included parts on NCIS: Los Angeles, New Girl, Heartland and Private Practice.
"It was the family dinner scene and it was the interaction between Oliver and [ex-girlfriend] Laurel and it was making people believe in those relationships. Because if you're not invested in that, the other stuff doesn't matter."
This isn't the first time the Green Arrow has hit the small screen - Justin Hartley took aim at the role for the Superman-focused Smallville. Amell says his Oliver is a very different guy, noting that "every new comic-book show is a chance to establish a new DC universe."
The 31-year-old says his preparation involved a variety of workouts in order to be a believable action star.
"I was excited for the physicality involved in this role because I remember reading an interview with Brad Pitt when he did Troy and he was like, 'I'm in my late 30s now ... everything still works. I want to see how far I can push my body.' "
Amell underwent basic fight training, took archery lessons, studied parkour [a training discipline] and mastered the punishing "salmon ladder" - a strenuous variation on the pull-up made famous on American Ninja Warrior.
He's happy to have a chance to put his own spin on the dark hero, noting that he spent years struggling to make a name for himself as an actor in Toronto and Los Angeles.
Despite his clean-cut good looks and everyman appeal, the six-foot-one Amell says he spent years hopping from job to job without gaining much traction, losing his direction and drive until he "hit rock bottom."
"I had jobs in Toronto and things would go OK, but one job would never lead to another. And part of me at the time thought that this was the Canadian industry and more of me now thinks that this was me just not doing as good a job as I could."
In December 2009, Amell committed himself to pursuing a career, not just a job. He says he got rid of everything he owned, moved to Los Angeles "and that was it."
"I was there for the right reasons and I saw the response immediately. I went through pilot season without getting cast but I screen-tested three times."
The exposure soon led to parts on CSI Miami, NCIS: Los Angeles and Vampire Diaries.
Arrow airs Wednesdays on CTV2.
