From Georgia peach to Superman's mom: actress lands role of a lifetime

A small town actress from Dade County, Georgia will be starring in an iconic role on the the big screen this weekend!

Neva Howell lives in Dade County, which is located in the northwest corner of Georgia and entrenched in the southern Appalachian mountains.

Howell beat out other actresses to receive a starring role in the new Superman which comes out this weekend! She will play Martha "Ma" Kent, the adoptive mother of Clark Kent, one of the most beloved mom's in movie history.

Howell has been acting for more than thirty years, and says this is her biggest role yet and it came as a total surprise to her!

When she auditioned for the role nearly two years ago, she had no idea what the role or film actually was, that's because the script they initially sent her had all the names changed.

This film, if I'm going to be in a Superman film, I am so glad it's this one, because it has more heart and such a beautiful, beautiful heart that I'm proud, I'm proud to be part of this particular Superman, said Howell.

However, when she found out it was for Superman's mom, and that she got the role, it was a dream come true for the Southern native. It even made up for years of rejection she's received in her 30-year career.

That made up for a lot of rejection. I've come close before, very close and didn't get it so for this to happen, and I still, you know, up until we went to film, I was thinking, this is not going to happen, not going to happen, but it did, said Howell.

You may recognize Howell, she's been in several TV shows and movies, such as The Originals, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, among others.

She attended acting school in New York and spent several years in Los Angeles, but she always wanted to come home to Georgia.

It was about a year and a half ago when she auditioned for her role as Ma Kent.

James Gunn, called me over and he said, I don't want you to have to wait. We want you to be our Ma. And I just kind of, I kind of fell into him. I was so I was so shocked, said Howell.

Howell says she was given an audio tape of a woman in Kansas who was a farmer's wife, which was the tone and accent that James Gunn, the writer and director, wanted.

She used that tape to prepare for her big role.

I listened to it over and over and over every day for months. That was the main thing that gave me the flavor of Ma. And then the other thing that I did was I can kind of combine my grandmother, who was a very stern salt of the earth Christian woman, and my mother, who was a very gentle, loving, unconditionally loving person, said Howell.

Howell says she knows fans are extremely invested in "Ma Kent," and hopes they love her in this new Superman.

I think so much of it depends on the fans, you know. So I'm just praying and hoping that they know that I didn't take it lightly, and that I know how much this role means to them, and I just hope they like her. If they do like her, I think my life's about to change, said Howell.

Superman flies into theaters this weekend!