I hadn’t even seen a script before signing: Wentworth Miller

Wentworth Miller took a leap of faith and gave his nod to DC’s new show legends of tomorrow; says his trust was so strong, that he didn’t feel the need to get into specifics

Wentworth Miller, who shot to fame with the popular action drama series Prison Break, gets chatty about his new show, the soon-to-be-launched DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow. The Golden Globe nominated actor plays the role of Leonard Snart/Captain Cold in the new series. The show premieres on Colors Infinity on January 22. Over to Miller

How excited were you to work with Prison Break co-star Dominic Purcell again That’s one of the treats of working on this show. It was so unexpected to have him join the cast, but it’s fantastic. I had a random conversation with (DC Entertainment’s Chief Creative Officer) Geoff Johns talking about casting him. The character is a firebrand, someone unpredictable and a force of nature – and there was the only name I could think of. And here we are.

Does this mean you got Dominic Purcell the job I put his name out there. Let’s say that.

How does your history of working with Dominic help your characters in the show I feel like our characters are meant to have history. They are meant to feel 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 adds another layer of juice to the scripts and the scenes.

What physical preparation did you undertake for the role I took it one day at a time because I was still finding out what my character was capable of in terms of the action and the stunts. My priority was to create a kickass character and if there’s a stunt sequence, that’s amazing. I have no ego about doing my own stunts, so if that means tapping my 20-year-old stand-in to step in and execute a scene, I don’t mind.

When you started work on the show, were you told your character’s path for the entire season I know next to nothing. What’s extraordinary about this situation is that I hadn’t even seen a script for the new show when I joined the series, so it was a leap of faith based on what (executive producer) Greg Berlanti and DC Comics had already created in the universe. My trust was so strong that I was willing to sign on without knowing the specifics. I was especially super-excited about the cast. It’s a great group of actors, and I was really excited to work with Victor Garber and Caity Lotz, among others.

Your character has very distinct movements and talk patterns. Did it take you a long time to master them It’s a work in progress. He’s by no means cooked and done. Part of the challenge and the beauty of TV is there’s never enough time, so you’re discovering things on the fly. When I started work on the character, I initially thought he had a low whispery voice – and he was always cool and in control. Then I read scenes where he’s screaming across a parking lot or yelling across an airplane hangar, so I had to figure out for myself in the moment – how does this character sound when he’s yelling, when it’s cold outside

At points, I was screaming and starting to lose my voice, so I suddenly gave it a more nasal twist to protect my vocal cords – but it also felt right for the character. It’s sort of snarky; it sounds a little like his last name and isn’t that perfect The pieces came together in a beautiful way that I couldn’t have manipulated while running lines in my living room.