Original-Cin Q&A: Daveed Diggs talks TV's Snowpiercer, Bong Joon-ho and seeing himself onstage in Hamilton for the first time
Snowpiercer is an upcoming post-apocalyptic dystopian thriller television series that will begin streaming on Netflix on May 25th. It is based on both the 2013 South Korean-Czech film of the same name, directed by Oscar winner Bong Joon Ho, and the 1982 French graphic novel Le Transperceneige, from which the film was adapted.
The series, a reboot of the film's continuity, stars Daveed Diggs (Hamilton, Blindspotting) and Jennifer Connelly and follows the passengers of the Snowpiercer, a gigantic, perpetually moving train that circles the globe carrying the remnants of humanity seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland. Like much of Bong’s work, Snowpiercer questions class warfare, social injustice, and the politics of survival.
Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Daveed Diggs about the series, how it differs from the film and how starring in the original Broadway production of Hamilton changed his life.
Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly in Netflix’s Snowpiercer
ORIGINAL-CIN: People are really excited for this series because the movie Snowpiercer was so highly praised. Bong Joon-ho gave us such a brilliant film and then of course, he most recently gave us Parasite. When you decided to take on a role in the series, had you seen the film and did you feel any pressure?
DAVEED DIGGS: “I hadn't seen the film until I read a very early draft of the pilot script, and then I went to watch the film and loved it. But did not feel pressure. With the series, we are telling a different story and we get to do things. that the film couldn't do because of the nature of film time constraints.
“We get to spend time understanding the mechanisms of this train, and spend time in every class. We don't have to run from one end of the train to the other. So one of the reasons I said yes was because it felt like I was able to still be a fan of the film but create something different.“
OC: Your character Layton Well is very different from what we've seen you play in the past. Did you find any challenges taking on the role?
DIGGS: “ I always try to do things I haven’t done before and with this, there were a lot of things I hadn't done before. So yeah, I definitely loved the challenge and working on this series was definitely a learning experience. Plus I had great people around me, great directors and Jennifer Connelly is obviously no slouch!”
OC: How many train cars did you have on set?
DIGGS: “ I think there were about 15 at any given time but as soon as we were done with one, they would tear it down and build another one. So it was an ongoing production construction site that spanned four soundstages. It was a massive undertaking.”
OC: Did Bong Joon-Ho visit the set at all?
DIGGS: “He came a couple of times. I met him the first time he was walking through. He’s incredibly nice and super supportive, and seemed very impressed.
“Our budget is 100 times what his was - which is another amazing thing about what he was able to do. He had to shoot the whole thing on one train car. He was blown away by how many trains we had to work with.”
OC: It's ironic that we are getting this series now at a time where people are living through isolation. Of course it’s not the same
DIGGS: "Yeah, I think that’s the thing that stands out most especially with what we are all experiencing in these times. The thing that everybody shares on the show is this great sense of loss for the world that used to be. It takes place seven years after an ice age has set in, and so everyone remembers the world but can't participate in it. They’re now entering a new world, and that feels very familiar. It's that common feeling right now.”
OC: I was privileged to see you on Broadway a few years ago in Hamilton, two weeks before the entire original cast left the production, and I have to say it is an experience I will never forget. This week’s announcement that Disney+ is going to be streaming the original cast performance on July 3rd is absolutely amazing!
DIGGS: “Yeah, I literally found that news out the same time everyone else did!”
OC: It’s a huge deal and will be a game-changer for other Broadway productions to follow suit. There's no question in my mind that for you being in Hamilton changed your life forever.
DIGGS: “Definitely, there's no question about that. There's no way I would be here talking to you today if it weren’t for my break in that show.”
OC: You were absolutely brilliant originating the roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson.
DIGGS: “Thank you.”
OC: Does it shock you how that show has impacted the world? A sold out Broadway run and tickets are almost impossible to get in every city where it tours.”
DIGGS: “I mean it's not shocking. But you know, at the time that we were doing it, I was a guy doing his job inside of a thing. You're just making the thing. So the fact that it means so much to so many people is truly fantastic. But my experience of it is the same as pretty much every experience I have had up to that point, which is I was making art with my friends.
“So that is what I continue to do. I look forward to watching it along with everyone else because, obviously, being in it, I have never seen myself in the show.”
OC: You have a lot on the go and in addition to Snowpiercer, audiences are going to get the chance to hear you in the new animated musical series, Central Park (coming to Apple TV+ on May 29th). You play Helen, an assistant to Stanley Tucci’s character, a very rich and obnoxious woman named, Bitsy. (Yes, both Diggs and Tucci voice female characters).
DIGGS: “Yes, poor Helen. What she won’t do for money. (Laughs) It is incredibly fun doing the voice for that series. There’s so much to work with and the scripts are really funny. The nature of doing animation from my sides of things is that it is so fast. As soon as I get a script I record it so I have this experience that I am laughing in real time at the jokes that my character is making so I end up wasting a lot of takes because I can’t stop laughing.”
OC: Plus being a musical, we get to hear you sing! Do you ever get nervous doing that?
DIGGS: “I always get nervous singing. But they make it really fun and easy for this show, especially since now I am recording from my home so I am pretty comfortable.”
OC: You are also working on a TV series based on your movie, Blindspotting and we are going to be hearing you in the upcoming PIxar film, Soul among other things. How do you keep it all together?
DIGGS: (Laughs) “I just have someone on my team send me a text every day about what I need to do each day! I'm very fortunate and I'm getting to play in a lot of different worlds and trying to take as much advantage of it as I can while it lasts. These moments don't tend to last forever. So I'm just trying to enjoy it while I can."