Wentworth Miller says he finds the shades of grey characters the most interesting which is why he’s enjoyed taking on Leonard Snart/Captain Cold first in The CW’s The Flash and now in Legends of Tomorrow. “What I love about Snart is that Snart is Snart 24/7. He’s never not Captain Cold so if you ask him who he is, he’ll tell you. There is honesty and authenticity there. Whereas you have some other characters running around in masks who are wrestling with secret selves and hidden identities who, if you ask them who they are they might in fact lie to you which is not quite heroic in the traditional sense,” explained Miller during our 2015 San Diego Comic-Con roundtable interview. “I think there is something in Snart that is kind of admirable and in alignment. It’s always in alignment with himself and I really respect that.”
Legends of Tomorrow finds villains teaming up, but Miller says that won’t necessarily mean they’ll all of a sudden get along. “Well, my hope is that it’s not easy at all. There’s lots of conflict, fireworks, and Captain Cold is used to calling the shots. He’s used to ‘the guy,’ and now that has to change,” said Miller. “I think that will be a problem for him and therein is hopefully some great drama.”
“Hopefully they’re not going to get along. It is a bunch of heroes and villains who have to work together toward a common goal, which is to take on this mega-villain. But that doesn’t mean they’re going to be a happy family in route. As an audience member, I don’t want to tune in to watch a show where everybody is getting along. That doesn’t sound particularly interesting to me. I think the purpose of Snart and Heat Wave and Katie’s character is to sort of keep things edgy and interesting.”
Miller admits he thought he would be in a couple of episodes of The Flash and never anticipated he’d be playing Snart/Captain Cold in a spin-off series. “I had no idea of this potential,” acknowledged Miller. “It was just a guest star at Greg Berlanti’s invitation, and I have a lot of respect for him and what he’s achieved in this business and so of course I was intrigued and said yes. And the fact that it’s become what it’s become and now there’s this show and there’s a doll that’s really cute, it’s extraordinary.”
Miller’s actually only played the character four times and shooting on Legends of Tomorrow – other than the teaser trailer – hasn’t yet begun. Nevertheless, he already has a good idea of Snart’s personality. “I think he’s got his pride, and I think he does what he does well. There are reasons why he does what he does and we’ll find out more about that. But I don’t see him ever becoming a full-on good guy which the other characters potentially speak to. I think we’ve seen The Flash try and speak to Stark’s sense of honor, such as it is,” explained Miller. “But my hope is that he stays a baddie even though he’s pursuing positive things.”
Speaking of pursuing positive things, Heat Wave (played by Miller’s Prison Break co-star Dominic Purcell) isn’t likely to turn into a hero anytime soon. Asked if he believes Captain Cold will be his brother’s keeper, Miller responded, “I feel like at this point, Captain Cold is the one person that Heat Wave potentially listens to some of the time. Heat Wave, I think of as a full-on baddie. I’m not sure there is anything redeeming there. Maybe I’ll be surprised. So as Snart gradually moves toward more heroic aspects, I think his relationship with Heat Wave could become more problematic because I don’t see Heat Wave taking the same journey.”
Watch the full interview with Wentworth Miller on Legends of Tomorrow:
