Sean Bean talks Snowpiercer's Season 2 finale and his character's Trumpian qualities

The New York Times

Was there any aspect of Donald Trump that affected his portrayal of Mr. Wilford? "He’s an easy target," Bean says of the former president with a laugh. "If I’m honest, I used to enjoy watching Donald Trump. I found him highly entertaining and rather funny. I didn’t trust him. I didn’t like much of his policies, or what he believed in. But he talked like a regular guy, and that kind of brought you in. He also could just dismiss someone very quickly and start laughing about it. I couldn’t help but notice that and apply a little of that attitude in Wilford. Trump liked to use the rhetoric and the platitudes that a lot of American presidents use, including Joe Biden: 'We’re all in this fight together' or 'Loyalty is rewarded.' It sounds a little more sinister coming from Wilford, but it’s the same kind of message — it sounds grand, but it doesn’t actually mean anything. Wilford’s a good orator. He likes the sound of his own voice, and he likes dressing up to address an audience. That’s why he’s successful — he’s attractive, charming and witty. But that just masks the savagery, barbarism and cruelty. But there are other monsters out there, present-day and past, who are more fitting comparisons for Wilford. I don’t think Bill Gates is a particularly attractive character — he’s certainly a man who relishes control, and I’m a bit wary of that kind of guy. Jeff Bezos, various others, they’ve got so many billions, but they’re still trying to get more. It’s not even the money. They really want to be influential in the world and put forward their ideas. They want to continue trying to get to the top, whatever the top may be. That’s Wilford. He just wants to be top dog and have ultimate power over life and death."

ALSO:

• Snowpiercer executive producer Becky Clements was happy with how Sean Bean's Mr. Wilford turned out: "We had so many talented actors and so much plot, and there's often quite a bit at stake," says Clements. "Tonally, it's often quite difficult to fit in an oddball character moment, or an off-beat tonal shift, in the storytelling when you have someone's life at stake. In season 1, we had such a significant mutiny story and in season 2 we just chose very early on to have Wilford play his version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets Hannibal Lecter, in a way. Is he insane or the most brilliant human left on earth? We don't know. What I love about Sean is, you just don't know what's coming next in the performance and in the character, so it's very fun. He brings such an unpredictability. We have such very strange moments with him."
• Clements says Snowpiercer can go "on and on" past a fourth season: "It just comes down to the networks"