VANCOUVER, BC. Actor Wentworth Miller, the Golden Globe nominated star of “Prison Break,” hasn't been seen all that much lately.
You have to go back to a 2011 episode of “House” or “Resident Evil: Afterlife” to see Miller's last mainstream credits as an on-screen thespian.
On the other hand, screenwriter Wentworth Miller has been quite busy. “Stoker” played at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and earned some of that year's most respectful reviews. “The Disappointments Room” has attracted a cast led by Kate Beckinsale and is expected to open next fall.
Wentworth Miller, actor, will be back on-screen this week when he begins a key guest turn playing Leonard Snart — bka Captain Cold — on The CW's “The Flash.”
“I had not heard of Captain Cold before, but I had heard of Greg Berlanti, had a lot of respect for what he's achieved in this business, so I came in to meet with him and liked what I heard,” Miller explained to a small group of reporters huddled above the Vancouver location for a key midseason “Flash” scene that I can't describe for you. “And I saw the pilot, which I thought was really strong, and I thought this was something I want to be a part of.”
Had Wentworth Miller, screenwriter, been missing his acting roots? Did he have an itch?
“What I missed most I think, was the sense of community because there's a kind of family dynamic that happens organically on a set,” Miller said. I feel it when I come and visit this particular set. It's a very ambitious show and the cast and the crew are in it together to put together great story week after week after week and that's something I'm familiar with, or was familiar with on 'Prison Break.' When I was writing for two or three years and just writing, it was me alone in my living room and I was my own boss to a certain degree, but it was also a lonely experience and I missed, I missed that sensation of, you know, we are all in this together. And it's about putting something great on TV, each and every week.”
Miller also played a role in bringing in his former TV brother Dominic Purcell to play fellow Flash adversary Heat Wave, both suggesting Purcell to producers for the role and sending an email to encourage the reunion. Purcell won't be arriving on “The Flash” for a couple weeks.
The writing is obviously an important part of his professional life, but for now Miller is enjoying making a part his own again.
“When I was cast, I went online and I Googled a few images and some of them I responded to and some of them I did not and then I thought, 'Let me take my cue from what the writers have planned,' because I got the sense early on that there was a willingness to respect what's come before, but also an interest in reinventing and giving things a fresh spin, so I thought, 'Let me take the character from the pages of the script, specifically.'” Miller explained. “And what I responded to was this very powerful guy, who I think has been at the top of his game for a long time and maybe he's gotten a little bored, a little complacent and then all of a sudden this extremely worthy adversary shows up and suddenly the game's interesting again, and I think while he has it out for The Flash, on some level there's also an appreciation and a certain degree of respect and I like the fact that he's a villain, but there's hints that other things are stirring beneath the surface.”
Check out some very lo-fi video highlights from Miller's interview with reporters above.
And tune in to “The Flash” on Tuesday, October 28 at 8 p.m. on The CW.