Melissa Benoist to make her directorial debut with 'Supergirl' season 5

"Supergirl" star Melissa Benoist is set to make her directorial debut with the 17th episode of season five.

The 30-year-old actor, who has been essaying the titular character in the CBS/CW DC Comicsbased superhero drama series since 2015, said she always wanted to direct an episode in the show, but things could not materialise due to "scheduling conflicts".

"I've been wanting to direct since season 3, but couldn't last year because of scheduling conflicts, so David Harewood did it first, Benoist told Entertainment Weekly.

"I just felt really drawn to it for a couple of seasons now, just because you know the show so well, and you get to know the character, and the world, and the tone of the show so well that you can't help but envision certain scenes in a certain way. I want to play with that," she added.

Even though the episode directed by her will not air until next year, she has already started preparing for it.

"I'm literally trying to be a sponge, and I will learn something new every single day I'm shadowing. It's just a matter of talking to actors, making sure everyone feels creative and collaborative even though we have these massive constraints with budget and special effects.

"It's like a chess game, I've realised. You move your pawn one way, and then someone knocks your rook down because you can't do a certain stunt you wanted to do. It's all about compromising and trying to be as creative as you can within those boundaries, which is a cool challenge," she said.

"Supergirl" season five will start airing on The CW from October 6.