EXCLUSIVE | 'Black Summer' star Bechir Sylvain says Season 2 is all about finding place to start over
Season 2 of ‘Black Summer’ is finally streaming on Netflix and fans are absolutely loving the newest edition of the show. The latest season saw Rose (Jaime King) and her daughter Anna (Zoe Mareltt) trying to survive the zombie apocalypse and the damning cold. Apart from them, all the other characters are trying to reach North and catch an airplane that would take them to a safe location.
Season 2 is darker and better than the previous edition. The introduction of new characters has taken the show to a whole new level. Rose and Anna are trying everything to reach the airstrip while others are also battling the odds to reach there safely. However, things do get out of hand when they reach the airstrip and the ending of the show has made us believe that the story isn’t finished yet.
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Jaime King and Zoe Marlett are once again the standout performers. However, one of the new actors on the show have come out as a surprise package and stunned everyone through his impeccable acting. The actor we are talking about is none other than Bechir Sylvain.
Sylvain portrays the character of Braithwaite. Although he has a screen presence of merely one episode, he makes a lasting impression in the viewers’ minds. The actor has been a part of the entertainment industry since 2004 and made his TV debut with the TV series ‘Burn Notice’ in 2007. Since then, he has acted in more than 50 projects which include ventures like ‘How Men Become Dogs’, ‘Mulaney’, ‘Fuller House’, ‘Black-ish’, ‘Better Call Saul’ and ‘This is Us’.
MEAWW caught up with Bechir Sylvain to discuss ‘Black Summer’ and why he believes that his character in the series is just a shadow that keeps on following Spears (Justin Chu Cary) when he is walking alone.
Details of your character were kept a secret, not a lot was known. However, as soon as the show came out, fans applauded your acting. Can you please elaborate on how the role was sketched out?
The character shows up as a shadow that’s following Spears when he is walking alone in the snow. From the homework I did and the collaboration I had with the showrunner John Hyams, I approached this character in 3 ways, physically and strategically. I thought of a coyote, and I learned a lot about their characteristics. For example, a coyote is very resourceful – they can mimic dogs and wolves to blend in and one of their hunting partners is the honey badger which I found very interesting. Spiritually, with every role I take, I ask: ‘Where is God in this?’ What popped up for me was forgiveness. Forgiveness of self and others who have done you wrong. True forgiveness is extremely hard, especially when you are in the right. So, I flirted with the idea of when I would tell him that I know him, even though the script had it specifically at the fire scene, it was great to just have the thought of forgiveness floating around, which either triggered me to always be in a place of ‘should I’ or ‘should I not’. And my last approach mentally was just the aspect of survival and allowing the environment to affect me. We shot in September, thank God, but it was still cold especially during the rain scene. So, allowing these moments to affect me naturally instead of fighting was great.
The maiden season was all about people turning into zombies and the Army trying for an evacuation. Clearly, they are in a different headspace now. Do you think their purpose in life has changed after what we saw in the finale?
I think fighting back and possibly trying to create a controlled environment. Right now, folks are just trying to find a place to start over and it might be amongst the zombies, so creating their own army and communities is a focus, I think.
Did the pandemic impact the way certain scenes were shot? How would you say it was different from filming during regular times?
Absolutely, the pandemic had a huge impact but to me, it was for the better – Netflix did such an amazing job following protocol and making such a safe environment that made us comfortable to do these intimate scenes. The fact that my episode was only the two of us was actually better and I felt we had plenty of time to prepare.
'Black Summer' Season 2 Ending: What are your thoughts on it? What would you say it means for the future?
The ending was the breath we all needed after watching this much intensity. I think it means a new path, possibly a place that either explains how all this happened or a place where there is brand new chaos. Either way, I’m all for it.
Will there be a Season 3? Fans are eager.
I am just as eager as the fans, we’ll see – I hope so.
'Black Summer' Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.