Dana Davis News

Through no fault of the actors involved, season two's New Orleans story line never really caught on with viewers.

As a result, Dana Davis - who portrayed the new character of Monica - told The New York Post that she won't be returning to the show this year.

Q: Do you play a large part in season three?
Davis: Well, I would just say to fans of Monica's, I don't want to disappoint them, but her storyline wraps up fairly quickly.

Dana Davis won't be reprising her role on Heroes, at least not for any extended period of time, on season three.

Q: Why?
Davis: Heroes didn't get the same critical or fan acclaim in season two, so I think the creators felt a lot of pressure because the ratings dropped and it wasn't nominated for any Emmys. And with the strike, I feel like the writers had a lot of time to sit around and think. They wanted to come back really strong and go back to what the show was in season one - less drama, more action. And they took it in a different direction that didn't really include Monica.

Will Monica Dawson be one of the Heroes rumored to die on tonight's winter finale?

Dana Davis doesn't hope so. The actress has had a blast portraying a character that actually has fun with her powers, as opposed to her fellow Heroes that come across far more burdened by theirs.

"In the beginning, the producer sat down with me and they said, ‘Dana, most of the heroes on the show are burdened by their powers and we want to bring back the excitement, like with Hiro, in the beginning, who was so excited about his powers.'

They wanted to bring that back a little bit with Monica, which is refreshing and fun. I'm really excited to play somebody who is excited about their power," Davis told MediaBlvd Magazine in an interview.

So, what does the future hold for this woman with the really cool, photographic memory?

"Monica gets pretty tough. As far as whether she will be with any other heroes in some cool fights, we can only hope. I really can't say right now. But, I can say that you will see a lot of her fighting. It gets pretty exciting…

Monica is going to go to a place that no hero has gone before. It's going to be really fun to see her story unfold because it's something that's not been done on Heroes yet. It'll be very fun. We're sworn to secrecy. Sometimes [Heroes spoilers] get out, but we try to keep as much secret as possible," she said.

Dana Davis and Nichelle Nichols had a difficult enough job coming aboard Heroes for season two. Many fans are skeptical about adding new characters.

But these two actresses are also involved in a story line that reflects a real-like tragedy: the effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans.

They talked about that in a recent interview:

On whether it was emotionally difficult to play characters who had been affected by Katrina:
Dana: I have to say in the beginning it was, because when I did my research, I watched some documentaries about Katrina. I'm the kind of person that when I see someone crying I cry too. I take on that emotion, so sometimes I run from it. And when I got this part I couldn't run anymore.

It really made it real to me, because you know, Heroes is so surreal and it's fun. Bringing in this element of reality, it was hard for me. So I have to find a way to kind of put it in a box so I could play this fun, upbeat character. But I think it makes the character more real.

Nichelle: I watched Katrina on television like a junkie, I couldn't turn it off and I was at the crying stage daily, especially with the little children and the people who lost their homes, those who succumbed to the pain and those who stood tall through thick and thin. I thought, my god, this is real; this is the reality of what can happen.

I'm in the fire zone, and though my house is safe, it brought home just how delicate your existence can be at any given time and to be able to play this role and to have this circumstance, I could relate to her so powerfully and how she had stood tall and diffident and it either makes you or breaks you, and I could see that Nana was not broken. Injured but not broken.

Click here to read the full interview.

Dana Davis made a powerful impact on Heroes last week.

Afterwards, TV Guide caught up with the actress that portrays Monica Dawson and asked her about that cool WWE move...

TVGuide.com: After the tomato-carving and wrestling move, what else might we see her do soon?
Davis: Everything! Monica is so badass. It's cool to think of superpowers, like invisibility and mind-reading, but if you really think about it, God has blessed human beings with some serious gifts and abilities. Most of us "normal" human beings will never be able to slam like Michael Jordan or run like Carl Lewis, so imagine a human who can do it all. How exciting!

The sky is the limit with Monica. Lots of fans are wondering if she'll watch any martial-arts movies, and the answer is yep! She'll be doing lots of martial arts and even a little parkour action, to give just a few hints.

TVGuide.com: Was having Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) as your "grandmother" icing on the cake?
Davis: It was more icing on top of icing. I remember punching Greg Beaman, one of our producers, when he told me the news: "Shut up! No way!" I was so excited to work with her. Huge Fan. Everybody is.

TVGuide.com: How long will Monica be in New Orleans? Stuck there for a bit?
Davis: Stuck there for a bit, for now. Monica is making her mark in the city and bringing back lots of hope to a community very much in need. But don't worry, the writers have this awesome way of taking all these storylines and bringing them together. Just like they did in Season 1.

TVGuide.com: But might she still cross paths with original Heroes besides Micah?
Davis: Monica does run up with Sendhil Ramamurthy's Mohinder and Ali Larter's Niki — not to give away too much — so she's not alone down there in the Big Easy. And like I said, the Heroes always find a way to unite somehow. It'll be fun to see how it all plays out.

Let's just hope Monica stays clear of Dania [Ramirez]'s character, Maya. But Monica's pretty upbeat — I'm sure she can keep her happy. She'd better! Please nobody make that girl cry!

Another day, another new actor on Heroes.

Dana Davis has joined our favorite showas a regular, playing a new hot young hero whose powers are not yet known. Her name, though, is Monica.

Davis joins Dania Ramirez, who plays another beautiful young hero named Maya, as an addition to the cast. Also new in season two will be Nick D'Agosto, Barry Shabaka Henley, Holt McCallany, David Anders, Eriko Tamura, Lyndsy Fonseca and Dianna Agron.

This past season, Davis co-starred on ABC's critically praised The Nine and the CW's Hidden Palms.