The Surprising Reason Mickey Sumner Loves Her Snowpiercer Character - Exclusive
As security officer-turned-detective Bess Till, Mickey Sumner sees a lot of action on "Snowpiercer." In fact, as each season passes, she seems to become more and more essential to the plot, finding herself basically being the right-hand woman of Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs) in Season 3, which airs Monday nights on TNT. Together, Till and Layton solve crimes and mysteries together on the nonstop train that's circling the globe while carrying the last remnants of society who have survived a modern ice age.
It's arguably Sumner's biggest role to date, having previously starred in films such as "CBGB" and the critically acclaimed "Frances Ha." It's a character that allows her to flex her acting muscles, but what is her favorite part about playing Till? During an exclusive interview with Looper, Sumner — who's the daughter of iconic musician Sting — revealed the surprising reason she loves her "Snowpiercer" character so much.
Mickey Sumner loves how 'awkward' Bess Till is
While it may seem like starring on "Snowpiercer" would be both physically and emotionally grueling, as much of the filming takes place in a confined space mimicking an actual train, Sumner can't think of one challenge when asked. "There are no real challenges," she says. "The challenges are all fun. I embrace all of them."
What makes Bess Till so much fun to play for the British-born actor? "I love the physicality of this character," says Sumner. "I love her awkward, vulnerable moments when she struggles to trust and struggles with connection. I love her loyalty towards Layton — but, especially in Season 3, she really starts to question and prod at his mission, which was really fun ... to not always agree with Andre."
As for that connection to Layton, whom Till is often seen high-tailing it through the train with in order to foil a crime, Sumner jokes, "One day, they're going to write a [spin-off] show for Daveed and me, where we just get to play cops or detectives and get to be in every scene together because it's just too much fun ... Yeah, no challenges, just all fun."
New episodes of "Snowpiercer" air every Monday at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.