Despite his young age, Gustin had been the "guy that was hoping to get jobs" for nearly two decades, and the success of The Flash is the direct — if unexpected — result of those years of hard work. "It is surreal that I get paid to be an actor on a superhero television show. I thought, for sure, that right now I would be a waiter, living in New York, and I'd be working in theater," said Gustin, who began taking tap lessons at 8 years old before attending a performing arts high school in his home state of Virginia and majoring in musical theater at Elon University in North Carolina. "My friends and I used to joke, 'Let's go be movie stars first and then get a lead in a Broadway show that way.' What's funny is that's more likely as far as my Broadway career is now concerned."

Gustin said the career he has is "very different" from the one he thought he'd have. "I knew I would be pretending to be somebody else for entertainment, and that's about the only thing that's turned out the way I thought it would," he said.

While the actor still dreams of a career on stage, it's a goal that — given the time commitment live theater requires — will likely have to wait until his time on The Flash ends. And that reality that doesn't bother Gustin. "I have pinch-myself moments every single day on set," he said. "I feel so lucky to be on a show that has some of — if not the — best special effects that have ever been on television, really smart writing, and really good characters. We make people cry and then have them laughing one second later. As an actor, you can't ask for a better show. … I want to continue making sure I'm doing the best job possible on the job I already have before I'm worried too much about something else."

Putting his initial passions on the professional backburner has been made even easier now that producers have told Gustin about Barry Allen's arc in Season 2. "The finale doesn't reset things, but it is a little bit of a new show next year," he teased of the Season 1 finale, which airs May 19. "There are no scripts yet, but [the producers have] broken the second season to me and it's going to amazing. It's going to be even more comic book-y, which is fun, and it's going to go in the direction I want to go with Barry, which is a little more confident and cocky with his powers. Tonally, I think we'll have even more of a brighter show."