British actor David Gyasi has made a career of making big blockbusters with an allegorical message—look no further than his work in “Interstellar,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” and now on the CW’s “Containment.” He spoke with Backstage about starring as Lex, a man caught in quarantine after a deadly virus outbreak.
On playing his character.
“Lex is a major in the Atlanta Police Department, and he has—I think it’s fair to say—a little bit of a conundrum in that the area of Atlanta that he is in charge of has fallen victim to this viral outbreak. He is tasked with making a lot of big decisions and choices, both personal and professional.”
On the virus’ larger meaning.
“It gives you pause for thought on how these things are out there in our real lives and in our real societies. A news report about something in Sierra Leone or any other country… how these things attack not only our immune system but also our humanity. And how we start to cordon off these countries or start to think, Well, that’s happening over there, so we’ll carry on with our business. [The ‘Containment’ virus is] a starting point to really reveal who we are as people underneath the day-to-day of getting on with life.”
On challenges in filming.
“The ambition of the show, to do that in seven days—[it was a] huge challenge. But I think [it was] made easier because everyone was 100 percent committed to making it the best that it could be. Our biggest challenge became our biggest asset.”
On his initial interest in ‘Containment.’
“I was actually in line to do two other projects, and I was flying to America to do those and then this script arrived and I thought, Wow. For someone to be so ambitious, to take a situation that happens way over there usually and place it in the heart of a place that we recognize, in the heart of a community that we understand, that eats the food that we eat and dresses the way we dress and talks the way we talk… to see what that does, the prospect really excited me. When I read it and heard that they were considering me to play Lex, I thought, Well, this is something that I have to meet for.”
On doing impactful projects.
“Somewhere along the line, I always think if I get several options coming in and one has an element of [real-world consciousness], I will just be naturally drawn to that. It’s not the be-all and end-all, there is other fun stuff I like to do, but untold stories or something that has movement in it [and] a sense of catharsis really attracts me. I’m interested in that combination—how do we make it entertaining but still have some essence in there, some remnants of truth or education?”
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