Still Saint Scarred? Isaiah John Talks Leon’s ‘The…
Leon Simmons is back, but the person viewers meet in The Drop: A Snowfall Saga is a long method from the hot-headed younger hustler first launched in Snowfall.
Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
Isaiah John returns to the beloved function with a quiet confidence and maturity that mirrors his own growth after almost a decade of bringing Leon to life. With The Drop formally making its FX and Hulu debut, BOSSIP’s Liz Smith caught up with John about growing alongside his character, the trauma Leon is still carrying, his difficult connection to Wanda, and what it means to select peace when you understand firsthand what the streets can take from you.
We began by asking John whether or not he had to change something internally to painting this older, calmer model of Leon. For the actor, the evolution got here naturally because in many methods, he and Leon grew up together.
“You know, what I like to say is I booked the show when I was 20 years old, and the plus in that was I was able to grow and mature with this character, because Leon was, you know, a young man turning into a man as well,” John told Liz. “So I would say that, you know, life is imitating art, and art imitating life kind of thing.”
Source: Frank Micelotta / Getty
But maturity doesn’t imply Leon has left every part from Snowfall behind. John said he approached The Drop by pondering about just how a lot his character would still be processing when viewers reconnect with him in 1991.
“I try to just honor where Leon could be mentally with everything that he processed and everything that he experienced,” he said. “I mean, we’re starting the spinoff in ’91, and just prior, storyline-wise, Leon had just saw Franklin not even a year prior. And so I’m like, okay, this is a lot of trauma to unpack.”
Rather than having Leon clarify all of that pain, John wished viewers to have the ability to see its weight.
“It’s a lot of things that internally he’s processing. So how can I really focus on conveying that on screen without words? Because it’s really heavy, you know?”
Source: Frank Micelotta / Getty
That growth is also evident in the best way Leon strikes through his previous neighborhood. He’s an OG now, and while the hood still respects him, he’s utilizing that affect in another way by pouring back into the group. We requested John what management means to Leon at this stage in his life.
“I mean, it’s everything,” John said. “You know, to a degree, for a while he was up under Franklin leadership. And so now that, you know, he decided to get married and take on this new, like, way of life, it’s everything.”
After spending years following Franklin’s lead, Leon now acknowledges that a youthful technology wants steerage of its own, one thing John said viewers will see explored in the new collection.
Source: Ray Mickshaw / FX
“He sees that leadership is needed because, like, there’s a lot of, especially the youth that we’re gonna tap into a little bit in the spinoff, it’s, like, it’s a lot of misguidance,” John explained. “And so I think he’s really trying to find a way to, in a sense, lead, you know, and set an example and just do right in some kind of way.”
Now, don’t get it twisted. Mature Leon could be transferring these days in another way, but there have been positively a few moments in the screeners that reminded us the previous Leon hasn’t gone wherever. We requested John just how a lot of that model of his character is still lurking beneath all that newfound peace.
“I think it’s all there,” John said. “You know, he just manages it differently because the life experience is still there. Like, you know, under the right circumstances, you know.”
Basically, growth is growth, but don’t tempt Leon Simmons because he’ll still throw arms.
Of course, Leon’s growth isn’t the only factor that’s modified. His relationship with Wanda appears very different in The Drop, but one factor actually hasn’t modified: when Wanda wants him, Leon exhibits up.
After watching him repeatedly come to her rescue, we had to ask the plain query: Why doesn’t Leon ever let Wanda fall and determine issues out on her own?
Source: Ray Mickshaw / FX
“Well, you know, we actually tapping into it as we watch the spinoff. So that’s the question, yeah,” John said before rapidly catching himself to keep away from giving an excessive amount of away.
“I don’t want to say— like, there’s literally, like, I don’t want to say too much,” he continued. “There is something in this season that the fans will understand this dynamic and why it is the way it is. Like, we really, really tie it all together.”
We don’t need to give out any spoilers, but whatever continues to pull Leon back to Wanda, there’s clearly more to the story.
While Leon is building a new life, The Drop makes it clear that his past is never too far-off. In one significantly quiet second, Leon appears through previous images, including one of his childhood best pal, Franklin Saint.
Source: Ray Micksaw / FX
After every part that occurred between the 2 males and where viewers finally noticed Franklin’s story end in Snowfall, we requested John whether or not Leon has actually made peace with it all.
“No. I don’t think that he’s made peace with it, because I think he’s still confused by it all,” John said, before clarifying. “I mean, not confused, like he understands. Like he understands the process, but it’s just like that was, that was his brother, you know what I mean?”
For Leon, understanding how issues fell aside doesn’t essentially make accepting the loss of that relationship any simpler.
“I don’t think that he’s, like, yeah, I don’t think he’s come to terms with that fully.”
Source: Ray Mickshaw / FX
And contemplating every part Franklin and Leon survived together, maybe that’s one piece of his past that even a more mature and developed Leon isn’t fairly prepared to put down.
Before wrapping up, John made sure to show love to the followers who have supported him, Leon and the Snowfall universe throughout the years. He inspired longtime viewers and newcomers alike to faucet into this next chapter and expressed his gratitude for everybody who has continued to trip with these characters long after Snowfall got here to an end.
And judging by every part Leon is still unpacking, there’s a lot more story left to inform.
The Drop: A Snowfall Saga airs weekly on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on FX and streams on Hulu.
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The post Still Saint Scarred? Isaiah John Talks Leon’s ‘The Drop’ Evolution, Wanda & Unfinished Feelings About Franklin [Exclusive] appeared first on GWN.
