‘Snowfall’: Damson Idris On What He Learned From John Singleton; Wants Denzel Washington For Season 6

Damson Idris reflected on his early days working on FX’s Snowfall, and the words of inspiration he received from series creator John Singleton. Singleton died in 2019 at the age of 51.

“In essence, that symbol implanted in me was to just be truthful,” Idris said during the show’s CTAM panel on Thursday. “To just stay true to the story, true to the people of the times, and really respect this time. We often talk about the bad that came out of this time, but there’s so much good that came out of it too. It had a huge impact on pop culture, fashion, music, and that’s what the show shines a lens on.”

He continued, “Singleton would always say, ‘Everyone that you meet on the way up you’re going to meet on the way down.’ So I’d say the seed was actually making me a leader. It was really deep-end stuff. I came from London, and here I was the lead on a huge TV show. But Singleton took me under his wing. So did Walter Mosley, Dave Andron, and Tommy Schlamme. [Singleton] really guided me to walk this path, this journey. I’m incredibly thankful to Singleton and I hope he’s proud of what we’ve done this season.”

Idris also discussed the possibility of collaborating with Denzel Washington after the two made headlines together in December. Idris tried out for the role of Washington’s son in the 2016 film Fences but didn’t get the role.

Someone brought up Idris to Washington at the red carpet premiere of A Journal For Jordan, but the Academy Award winner had no recollection of Idris. A fact the young actor took in stride.

“He called me, he’s going to be in Season 6 as the villain,” Idris joked when asked if Washington could potentially appear in Snowfall. “No, [he won’t be]. Denzel is my idol and he’s a giant in this industry. I’ll never have anything bad to say about him. I just hope he watches Snowfall this season.”

Season 5 of FX’s Snowfall premieres on February 23.