Daveed Diggs Talks ‘Snowpiercer’ As A Franchise, Sean Bean And The Confidence Of Season Two

“I think first seasons are hard because you don’t know what you’re making,” mused Daveed Diggs as we discussed the second season of Snowpiercer.

“By season two, we knew how to make this show. There was a lot less wasted time, and by that, I mean time spent learning the mechanics of it. That time covered everything from working out what kind of shot works in a certain situation, in an action scene, what will give you the biggest bang in the shortest amount of time because shooting schedules are crazy. We knew all of those things going into the second season. We got to keep a lot of our same crew, so it was just easier to make, and it did feel more confident as a show.”

Diggs returns as Andre Layton in Snowpiercer’s second season. Jennifer Connelly, who plays Melanie Cavill, also returns. Among those joining the cast of the TNT show’s sophomore outing is Sean Bean as the villainous Joseph Wilford.

“You get so close to people because you spend a lot of time with each other, and not having to start a relationship over from scratch is always nice,” Diggs explained. “I know Sean’s work, and he’s fantastic here. Sean’s so great as Wilford and really fun to work with. He’s so laid back, and I don’t know that you would assume that of him from his portrayals. He’s genuinely not tripping off anything. He’s unphased by everything.” 

“Snowpiercer is hard s**t to shoot. He’s very level-headed, just comes in and starts playing, and I think the energy he infused in the show is vital, especially as a new character. His performances were so fearless. He never worried about where the camera was, he made bold choices all the time, so when you’re acting with him, you get to do the same. You’re actually forced to do the same thing, or he’s going to eat you alive, you know? I had a wonderful time working with him.”

Diggs added, “With Melanie as a character, as my adversary last season, that relationship is now very nuanced, and they grow to respect each other. Layton and Wilfred don’t f**k with each other, they don’t understand each other, but I think they are both at times amused by each other. That was a fascinating wrinkle and easy to play with Sean. He’s so damn charismatic. Once he turned the Wilford thing on, I found myself, and by proxy Layton, jealous of his outfits and his one-liners. The jokes he makes are so good. I was like, ‘Oh man, I’m mad at you because you’re having more fun than me, and also you’re evil.’ It was so cool.”

Bean is no stranger to being part of worldbuilding and franchises on TV and the big screen. The idea that Snowpiercer could be considered a franchise hadn’t ever really occurred to Diggs.

“It’s interesting, but I didn’t think of Snowpiercer that way, although I probably should have. For me to work on a thing in the TV space, I have to forget that anyone’s ever going see it or I can’t do it,” he confessed. “As soon as we start working on it, it’s fun. When the show comes out, I’m excited, even though I will have a hard time watching it. I look forward to getting feedback from the world, which is always interesting. Once we start working on it, I have to focus on that and just make the thing and try to make the best choices for the show. Once I start thinking of it as a franchise, I actually can’t do my job, if that makes sense.”

“Also, I’ve never been a lead on a TV show before. I was literally in the dark about all of that. I didn’t know how to do any of this, but it seemed like a cool thing to do. I remember having the conversation with my team that if this were to go for a long time, I think there’s enough to do here, I don’t think I’ll get bored. Maybe that’s a reason to say yes to it? That’s where I was approaching it from, and there are interesting things that come along with it. Obviously, this year, we didn’t do Comic-Cons, so I’m not as connected to the audience and how they’ve latched on to particular characters or what they like, and, in general, I don’t like not being connected to audiences. I’m a theater guy, and I like that interaction. In terms of making a thing, maybe it’s a little bit of a blessing in this case because I still get to put my head down and make something. I’m not having a conversation with somebody who has said, ‘My favorite thing about Layton is this,’ and then knowing immediately that I’m trying to change that. I don’t have to deal with that.”

Ahead of Snowpiercer’s season two premiere, it was confirmed that the show had been renewed for a third season. However, that wasn’t as certain as the second season was, for several reasons.

“We had already begun shooting season two right before season one came out, so it was already planned and already rolling. That is rare for a TV show, but I think it also is probably one of the reasons that it does feel more confident,” Diggs explained. “There was no other metric except we watched season one, and we learned what we learned from that and could carry that into season two. We didn’t have to have all these other voices in our heads. Hopefully, in the next few years, now that we really know what we’re making, we can start to at least listen or hear these other voices and decide whether or not to include them or not.”

“We did have to go back and finish season two. We’d got maybe two weeks away from the end of shooting before everything shut down because of COVID. I am amazed by the safety protocols that allowed TV to continue to be made these days, but it’s not very fun. I’m working on producing another show right now, and I think what I look forward to, should we get to go back to Snowpiercer, is just being an actor.” 

Between the seasons, Diggs is already at work on Blindspotting, a TV spinoff of the similarly-titled 2018 comedy-drama that grossed $5 million. He both stars in it and is an executive producer.

“The stress of being a producer and a creator of a show is heightened right now because I am so nervous about anybody getting sick on our set,” he said. “When we went back up to shoot season two of Snowpiercer, I was an actor, I felt safe, I felt like I was able to do my job, and other people had my back. It has to happen, but it sucks because you’re trying to communicate with the director through it an N95 mask and a face shield, but once we were shooting, it felt safe, and that’s amazing. As someone higher up in the decision-making process on Blindspotting, it’s very, very stressful, and I’m not totally sure we should be doing it. But I’m glad that people have jobs, you know? It’s hard.”

Excited and challenged by his production work, would Diggs like to direct an episode of Snowpiercer? 

“I don’t think I would in season three. I don’t think of myself much as a director. I have a special skill as an actor in that it’s very easy for me to ignore anything that’s not my job,” he laughed. “If a line is not mine, I’m not worried about what anybody else says, and I’m not worried about where anybody else moves. I know what my job is. I’m very good at just reacting to whatever happens to be happening while I’m doing my job. Being a director is the opposite of that. You have to hold the whole story in your head and be aware of what everybody wants to do, so I don’t know.” 

“I know it scares me to death. If we were ever to get to do a season four, maybe then. I feel compelled to try it out, but I don’t think I’m there yet. I would indeed have more to play with after season two. There are more cars, we get to reveal more, and we learn more about the train. Big Alice now exists, and that’s a whole new train to learn about, so that’s cool. There are options at our disposal. Yeah, the Snowpiercer world got a lot bigger.”

Season two of Snowpiercer lands on TNT on Monday, January 25, 2021.