The actor shares the secret his character is hiding from his fellow heroes.
David Ramsey’sArrowversehomecoming has been a long time coming.
Ramsey thinks his talents as an actor-director were well suited for this pivotal hour.
David Ramsey as John Diggle in the series finale of ‘Arrow’.The CW
This was supposed to begin in 2020 but didn’t start until January 2021.
It’s a different feeling.
You’re in the same city, but you’re looking at this thing from a different vantage point.
Wolé Parks as Captain Luthor/The Stranger on ‘Superman & Lois.'.The CW
“How did you handle working on a show with a lighter, goofier tone?
It’s the new show.
It has a different pacing, a different tone within the Arrowverse.
David Ramsey as John Diggle and Grant Gustin as Barry Allen on ‘The Flash’.Katie Yu/The CW
It’s also, I think, the most inevitable progression of the Arrowverse shows.
[It’s] where all of these shows have to go.
Ultimately, I think it’s at the pinnacle.
ButLegendsis one of these shows, and I’ve said this before, that’s indulgent.
“What do you want to do?
What different types of stuff do you as an artist want to bring to the show?”
The actors are having a great time.
Production’s having a great time.
You as a director, you’re like, “Let’s try this!”
That’s not to say they don’t support your choices on the other shows they do.
It’s just that every show has a tone and you don’t do certain things.
What were you allowed to do that really surprised you?
We see him both times as we come up through the floor.
You don’t really do those types of transitions onLegends.
[They said], “Do it.”
There’s another snap zoom I did, which is just a technical term.
And we just snap-zoom between the two.
Let’s bring some of thatArrowstuff to it.
Just make it fun.”
How did it feel to step back into John Diggle’s shoes after such a long time away?
Did it take a while for you to find the character?
It was like putting on older shoes.
It wasn’t that difficult to get into character.
I’m not thinking about how things cut together, about the bigger script at large.
I’m just thinking of my moment and where this fits into the script.
That adjustment was a bit more difficult.
Playing John Diggle, a beloved character, was just fantastic.
Coming back to the Arrowverse with this character has been a blast.
Where do we find Diggle when he returns to all these shows?
What is he dealing with?
He was on his way to Metropolis and was intercepted by a glowing green box.
Whatever was in that box, he refused its invitation.
There are consequences for that.
This is the very preliminary story of telling what those consequences are.
We find John Diggle as a co-leader in ARGUS with his wife.
He’s going to Gotham, Smallville, and National City as an ARUGS leader.
That’s his day job.
But he’s hearing voices; he has debilitating headaches.
So he’s coming there with a purpose, but he’s also hiding something.
What does that say about what he’s refusing?
I would challenge that notion.
This man has gotten another lease on life.
The last thing he’d want to do is accept becoming an intergalactic policeman, for example.
But I would also say his destiny is ultimately cosmic.
I don’t think he would’ve readily accepted it.
We know theSupergirlepisode you directed and appeared in wasco-written by Azie Tesfaianddeals with racial discrimination.
How did you approach directing an episode with a heavy theme like that?
There was some heavy lifting.It was very ambitious.
It doesn’t venture to find the answers, but it begins the conversation.
So the episode is trying to accomplish a couple things.
UnlikeSuperman & Lois,Supergirlwas trying to accomplish a lot of things in that episode.
I think they did.
Superman & Loisairs Tuesday at 9 p.m.
ET on The CW.
