CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

We chill out with the DC Universe’s coolest character

Prison Break escapee and Legends Of Tomorrow’s Captain Cold, Wentworth Miller.

Few actors have been so well cast in superhero comic book adaptations as Wentworth Miller, who’s brought the dry, laconic delivery he perfected on such projects as TV’s Prison Break and the Resident Evil films to the role of Leonard Snart, aka the cunning, methodical supervillain Captain Cold, arch- enemy of the title hero in Warner Bros’s hit series The Flash. It’s no wonder then that Miller has landed a lead role in the DC spin- off series Legends Of Tomorrow. Co- starring Prison Break buddy Dominic Purcell as Snart’s partner, the hot- tempered Heat Wave, the show brings together a handful of the DC TV Universe’s finest in the company’s first ever live- action series devoted to a team of heroes and antiheroes. As Miller reveals, Snart, like the actor who plays him, brings an unbridled love for his job to his latest project...

How easy is it for Captain Cold to fit into the Legends of Tomorrow team?

My hope is that it’s not easy at all. I hope there’s lots of conflict and fireworks. I think Captain Cold is used to calling the shots and used to being the guy and now that has to change. And I think that will be a problem for him, and therein is hopefully some great drama. So Snart won’t get along with his teammates?

It is a bunch of heroes and villains who have to work together toward a common goal, which is to take on this sort of mega- villain [ Vandal Savage]. But that doesn’t mean they’re gonna be a happy family en route. As an audience member, I don’t want to tune in to watch a show where everybody’s getting along. It doesn’t sound particularly interesting to me. So I think the purpose of Snart and Heat Wave and Caity’s character [ White Canary] is to keep things edgy and interesting. What’s it like having your own action figures?

It’s extraordinary. A friend of mine, when she saw the Funko Pop! doll, said, “Don’t you think it’s kind of weird that you don’t have a mouth?” I said, “Who needs a mouth when you’ve got that sweet ass widow’s peak going on?” Is being a lead on this show going to keep you away from screenwriting?

Potentially. I’m not a multi- tasker. It was all about writing, and now it’s all about acting, and that’s fine by me. When I was not acting, I began to miss being on set and enjoying the kind of community that only happens on a film and TV set. There’s something kind of pure and satisfying about showing up, memorising your lines, and bringing a character to life using someone else’s words and ideas. Is Snart ever going to question the path he’s taken? Is he ever going to say, “I should’ve been a superhero”?

He’s got his pride and I think he does what he does well, and there are reasons why he does what he does. But I don’t see him ever becoming a full- on good guy. I think he does have a code, which the other characters potentially speak to. I think we’ve seen the Flash trying to speak to Snart’s sense of honour, such as it is. But my hope is that he stays a baddie even though he’s pursuing a positive goal. Will he someday get another costume? Or will it remain the parka?

I like the parka. It works for me. Except when it’s August in Vancouver and we’re shooting outside. Snart has been kind of a brother’s keeper to Heat Wave. Does that relationship continue in Legends Of Tomorrow?

I feel like Captain Cold is, at this point, the one person that Heat Wave potentially listens to. Some of the time. Heat Wave, I think though, is a full- on baddie. I’m not sure if there’s anything redeeming there. Maybe I’ll be surprised. As Snart slowly, perhaps inevitably, moves toward a more heroic aspect, I think his relationship with Heat Wave could become more problematic because I don’t see Heat Wave taking the same journey. Working with Dominic Purcell, are the choices you make as actors informed by your shared history, by the fact that there was a chemistry before this project?

Yeah, I think our characters, Captain Cold and Heat Wave, were meant to have history, were meant to feel kind of like brothers who are getting along and not getting along at the same time. Dominic and I have that by virtue of our history as actors, which I think adds another layer of juice to the script and the scenes. Do you hope to continue appearing on The Flash? Or is that chapter of Snart’s career finished?

No, no, no. I’d be really disappointed if I had to hand in Captain Cold’s relationship with Barry Allen. Because I think there’s a lot more there to explore. So my commitment is to do both, if they’ll let me.

Legends Of Tomorrow is on The CW in the US. It will air on Sky 1 in the UK.