Gustin Reflects On “Flash” 10th Anniversary

The CW
To many today, when you say The Flash you are more likely to think of Grant Gustin’s popular TV series incarnation than Ezra Miller’s more contentious failed film version.

Gustin played the role of Barry Allen on The CW series across nine seasons, taking his final run in 2023. Now, on the tenth anniversary of the series premiere, the actor reflected on the series and its achievements.

In a posting on Instagram, Gustin reshared a post by digital artist BossLogic with an image of The Flash’s boots as the superhero walks away in the rain. He also wrote the following caption:

“10 years since the first Flash episode aired… wild. Changed my life and forever connected me to a character that now means so much to me. Thank you to all the Flash fans that have showed me so much love and support over the last decade.”

The comments follow on from an interview he gave Men’s Health earlier this year where he said he never expected he’d become so well-known for playing the role and almost didn’t even try out for the part as he didn’t fit the physical parameters:

“It never crossed my mind. I mean, I was 23 when I auditioned for that show and thought I had no chance of getting it. I didn’t even want to go to the audition. I was like, ‘This is a waste of my time and their time.’ In the breakdown it said he was late twenties to early thirties.

He’s big and buff and blonde in the comics. I was just like, ‘Why are they even seeing me?’ I had impostor syndrome about even going to that audition. The idea of ‘Do I want this?’ never even crossed my mind. Getting to play a superhero someday wasn’t even something I could have dreamed.”

He did get the role, first appearing in a two-part episode of the second season of “Arrow” in late 2013 as a pre-lightning strike Barry Allen before “The Flash” series launched nearly a year later.

The show drew its biggest numbers in its early days and, like “Arrow,” its a show where its first two seasons are seen as its strongest both critically and ratings-wise. Of all the Arrowverse shoes, “The Flash” is generally seen as the most successful popularity wise and was the final ‘survivor’ of that universe.

“The Flash” series is available to stream on Netflix.