SDCC 2015: Wesley Snipes Talks NBC’s The PlayerPosted by Wilson Morales
July 10, 2015
While at San Diego Comic-Con, the cast of NBC’s new action-packed conspiracy thriller, The Player, spoke with reporters about the series and what to expect when from its characters.
The series co-stars Wesley Snipes as pit boss Mr. Johnson and Charity Wakefield as the dealer Cassandra King for a high-stakes game where an organization of wealthy individuals gamble on the ability of former military operative turned security expert Alex Kane, played by Philip Winchester, to stop some of the biggest crimes imaginable from playing out. Can he take them down from the inside and get revenge for the death of his wife, or is it true what they say: The house always wins.
Snipes, who will be next in Spike Lee’s Chiraq, spoke about doing television and gave some insight to his character.
What attracted you to do a TV series?
Wesley Snipes: Woody Harrelson and I had a good conversation on his experience on ‘True Detective’ and I thought that if he can that kind of experience and be positive about it, I could have a good experience as well. That particular script was sent to me and at first I thought it was a film script because of the way it was written. That made it very attractive and it was one of the better action based scripts that I had been presented with. I worked out a pretty good deal that allows me to do feature films and with this I get to play a lot of different characters. I have disguises and accents and bring together some skills that most of that fan base unfamiliar with me will see.
How would you describe Mr. Johnson?
WS: Mr. Johnson would be the type of character Terence Stamp might play. He’s a little sophisticated, a little international, and comes from the streets. Then, there’s another mystery behind him, but he’s learned the culture and the behavior of the super wealthy. He’s a facilitator and his job is to get things done.
Does every character have their own agenda on the series?
WS: Everybody has their personal agenda. This is Vegas. All of them will be plotting with each other and against each other. They will be enemies and my enemies’ enemies is my friend. We have some of that as well.
Did you have to lot of research of Las Vegas for this?
WS: Not yet, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m not a gambler so I don’t get the suites and the plane. They know I’m not going to spend any money. I want to learn. I think it will make a better character if I have an understanding of how to play the game or how to gamble.
Within the series, will your character and Alex Kane be working together?
WS: In spite of the challenges that they face in the game itself, they are still somewhat interdependent. They need each other. They don’t exactly know it and we don’t reveal it in the first few episodes why they need each other but they will discover that they have to stick together because each one brings something that’s necessary for the bigger picture. That could be another game or that could be something personal.
A few years ago, you were in San Diego with Antoine Fuqua promoting a comic book. What happened with that?
WS: That was ‘After Dark’ and we’re now developing it for a feature film.
How many actions will you have on the show?
WS: I don’t know. I think we’ll do at least one per episode. It’s not going to be ‘Crouching Tiger” but it will be some good stuff and some stuff people haven’t seen me do to date.
Any more films on the horizons?
WS: Oh yes. We have some stuff coming up and a project that may put Blade to rest!
