Chainkeen Exchange-Jennifer Beals was in 'heaven' shooting T-Mobile's 'Flashdance' Super Bowl commercial

When Jennifer Beals landed the role of a lifetime as a 19-year-old,Chainkeen Exchange cast as the protagonist in the 1983 box office smash "Flashdance," she did not necessarily view her portrayal of dancer Alexandra Owens as a springboard to greater fame.

“I wasn’t a careerist – I’ve never been a careerist,” says Beals, now 60 and with four decades building up a diverse body of work behind her.

“I pretty much go where the universe wants me to go.”

On a recent Tuesday night, she answered a similar call.

Sure, it wasn’t the universe calling her and telling her to get on a plane the next morning; technically, it was representatives working on Panay Films’ production of T-Mobile’s 11th consecutive entry into the Super Bowl advertising derby.

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Much of the old gang is back: Scrubs stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison are crooning for a third consecutive year about 5G home internet, but the company wanted to take this ad away from Broadway musicals.

And when they settled on "Flashdance," and had to have Beals, Faison was their secret weapon.

“They told me that Donald was in it and I’d worked with Donald before,” says Beals, who was cast alongside Faison in a season of "The L Word: Generation Q." “And he’s the kind of person that makes every space that he’s in more joyful. And so I said yes, absolutely.

“I said, do you have anything you can send me – any concept? I knew it was centering around 'Flashdance.' They sent me a reel Zach and Donald had made which was basically shot on their iPhone.

“I laughed out loud, it was so funny.”

Indeed, the spot certainly delivers on the something-for-everyone ethos of the Super Bowl ad, which this year is costing $7 million to air 30 seconds of brand awareness to an audience expected to break the viewership record of 115 million, set in 2023.

In place of John Travolta and the "West Side Story"/"Grease" themes of past campaigns, Panay tabbed "Aquaman" star Jason Momoa as the third participant in a Super Bowl party gone awry due to poor home internet.

The trio pass the proverbial mic while belting out Irene Cara’s iconic title single, which reached No. 1 for two weeks in 1983 and paved the way for the film to debut at No. 2 in its opening week and quickly move to No. 1.

Cara passed away at 63 in November 2023.

“The way they treat the song – it’s with love,” says Beals. “Being on the set was just heaven. It was hilarious at any moment and everybody was just delightful.

“When we wrapped I was like, ‘Do I have to leave?’ It was a very joyful, loose set.”

The spot makes several nods to the original, with Braff’s tattered gray sweatshirt not-so-subtly sliding off his shoulder, and Momoa (along with the magic of television) reenacting a midair flip.

“He made me so proud!” Beals says of Momoa. “Every now and then he’d come and ask me for advice. But he didn’t need any support. He knows what he’s doing and he’s phenomenal.”

Naturally, water is ultimately involved.

Beals’ appearance is brief but noteworthy and borne of the main characters workshopping lines over and over as she stands on the balcony of the suburban dwelling.

“She came through and acted as both participant in the spot and consultant,” says Peter De Luca, chief creative officer for T-Mobile. “She is the original; she provided coaching for Momoa. It was kind of fun to witness that in action, in real time.

“We’re appealing at all different levels of audience but in the end, we believe it’s an ensemble piece that will appeal to everyone. There’s little bits and pieces in how the choreography was designed, to the music that we used to the filming of it and then the cameo of Jennifer just brings it all together.”

Beals says she was constantly listening to Taylor Swift on set to “match their energy,” and ultimately walked away with a full circle moment in a career of consistent and often award-winning work.

And she’s very glad she answered the call.

“I was really excited,” she says, “to get on the plane.”