In TNT series
SNOWPIERCER
Photographer:
JONNY MARLOW
Creative Director:
DEBORAH FERGUSON
Interview by ALLIE KING
Mickey Sumner, English actress, starts 2021 with the exciting news that “Snowpiercer” has been renewed for its third season. Sumner plays the role of Bess Till in the series, which is a thriller based in the same world as the 2013 Bong Joon-ho film. Sumner talks to ContentMode about what led her to this point in her career, what inspires her character, and how “Snowpiercer” is more realistic than you could think.
Interview by ALLIE KING
AK: First, just want to start by saying Happy New Year! Being one month removed from 2020, how are things going for you?
MS: Let’s be honest, January 2021 was intense – it felt like an entire year in itself! I’m doing OK I think, so grateful my husband and my mother-in-law got over Covid over the holidays and are doing great thank goodness, grateful somehow my son and I didn’t get it. I’m so happy there is a new administration in place that seems to have compassion and common sense. I feel deep grief for all the death, loss and anxiety people are suffering through right now, people missing their families and friends. And I am also hopeful (some days are easier than others). Shout out to all the parents right now trying to make it work for their kids and themselves – it’s a lot. It’s all a lot. There is no way to answer this question in a smart succinct way. It’s messy (But it’s honest).
AK: You began acting and studying acting while you were in college. What caused the shift to make you want to pursue acting as a career?
MS: I was actually at Parsons school of design studying Fine Art but I was also filming short films on the side with my friends Josh and Benny Safdie, Alex Kalman and Casey Neistat. They really were the ones who got me hooked on films and acting. I loved painting and making things with my hands but it was lonely practice, I realized what I really loved was collaboration. I wanted to make things with people and film making and acting felt like the perfect medium for that.
AK: How have you prepared mentally for your career in this industry?
MS: Hmm, I’m not sure I have ever thought about that. I’m a pretty stubborn and resilient person – I think those are qualities that have helped sustain me through my career.
AK: You have said before that Noah Baumbach gave you your big break in “Frances Ha.” Can you talk about your experience on that set and how it changed the path of your career?
MS: I think Noah and Greta saw something in me that maybe I was not confident enough to see for myself. Playing Sophie, being directed by Noah, learning from Greta and the whole amazing cast, as well as Sam Levy our DP was really pivotal for me – I think it gave me permission to really believe in myself as an actor – again I loved the collaboration – I loved the family that was created in the process.
AK: You have worked on a lot of film sets, but this is one of your few recurring roles in a series. What do you like about acting for TV?
MS: There is so much more time to develop a character – I’ve been playing Bess Till for 3 years now – I really know her – in TV you have the time to morph and grow and show so many different aspects of your character – in film it’s so condensed. I also love working for 5 months at a time. I love that the turn around is pretty quick and I love that the audience becomes so invested in the story week to week – that feels so satisfying to me.
AK: Is there anything you found difficult about the transition?
MS: Moving back and forth to Vancouver with my family every year definitely takes a toll, especially with a little one. My son was 7 months when we shot the pilot – he is now 4 years old ! I love Vancouver but find the uprooting, adapting and re-adapting somewhat ungrounding.
AK: Before you landed your role in the TNT Series adaptation, were you a fan of the Bong Joon Ho’s movie? How has the movie inspired, if at all, your work as Bess Till in the series?
MS: Yes! I’ve been a fan of all his movies. I remember going to the movie theatre to see The Host in 2006 and thinking who is this film maker?!! I found The Host so thrilling, scary, funny and had an intimate quality so usually lacking in big special effect horror movies. I’ve been a fan of all his movies ever since. I love Director Bong’s perspective on society, class and family. In regards to Snowpiercer the movie and Bess Till – there wasn’t really a character that inspired her from the movie. I actually took a lot of Till’s qualities from two female retired NYPD detectives who were generous enough to share their stories with me while I was prepping.
AK: After a full season, what was different about the mindset going into filming and releasing Season 2?
MS: I don’t get lost walking from my trailer to 1 of the 49 sets?! Actually that’s a big lie – I still get lost – thank god for ADs. Season 2 felt like coming home – coming home to Snowpiercer, coming home to the cast, coming home to Till – there is just a level of understanding and ease that you don’t have shooting the first season.
AK: Your character, Bess Till, was promoted to Train Detective. Without spoilers, can you talk a little about the journey that this title takes her on?
MS: Till is really suffering in Season 2. She has PTSD from the revolution in season 1. We find her somewhat lost physically, professionally and spiritually. No longer a Brakeman, but not quite trusted by the revolutionaries she fought besides and no longer with her partner Jinju, she is struggling to work out who she is and what her purpose is in the new fragile democracy. It is beautifully complex.
AK: This series draws attention to a theme of injustice within class and racial divides, which is relevant worldwide. Can you talk a little bit about the importance of this theme and the storyline surrounding “The Tailies?”
MS: I’ve always felt this show was not really sci-fi, nor set in the future but really an allegory for the present set in the microcosm of Snowpiercer. What has always struck me is even at the end of the world, even when there are only a few thousand people left on the planet, all living in this very fragile moving ecosystem all the same behaviors of power, greed, oppression and cruelty play out, and at the same time there are people on the train working together and standing up for what is right and acting on the core value of “One Train”. It’s bleak and hopeful at the same time. “Who and what are you in service to?” is a question I think Till asks of herself frequently – I think this would be a good question for all of us to contemplate on a daily basis.
AK: Congratulations on being renewed for a third season of Snowpiercer. What are you looking forward to most about being back on set?
MS: Being back with my Snowpiercer family!! I love this cast and crew so much and I miss them.
AK: Aside from the continuation of season 2, what can we look forward to from you this year?
MS: I directed my first short film in quarantine with myself and my son called “I’m Listening” – its part of a series of quarantine shorts produced by Maven Screen Media. It’s in the last stages of post-production. I’m pretty excited about it.
QUICK Q’S
AK: Three items you would want with you in a post-apocalyptic world?
MS: A kindle. Hand warmers. Coffee.
AK: An item you want to (or did) keep from set?
MS: My alpha industries bomber jacket from season 1 !
AK: Recent TV binge?
MS: Ramy, Fauda & most recently Call My Agent.
AK: Current favorite song or album?
MS: Baby shark on repeat. Kidding but not really.
AK: Goal for 2021?
MS: Get vaccinated. See and hug my parents, siblings and nieces and nephews(it’s been over a year!!). Finish the script I am writing!
Photographer:
JONNY MARLOW
Interview by:
ALLIE KING
Creative Director and Fashion Editor:
DEBORAH FERGUSON
Makeup:
ELIE MAALOUF
Hair:
ROD ORTEGA
Web Layout:
TORI SMITH
View the “Snowpiercer” Season 2 Trailer here:
