That Franklin-Louie scene at the end of Snowfall season 4 had everyone shook, right?!
Angela Lewis sat down for the Blavity Original/Shadow and Act series Rewind the Scene to talk about her pivotal scene with Damson Idris in Snowfall.
In the scene from Season 4, Lewis’ character Louie Saint has a gun pulled on her by Franklin (Idris). The tension in the scene leads the two into a showdown that could have ended with Franklin dead. But Louie Saint leaves him alive out of respect for their past.
Lewis said that the scene was “an exciting night.”
“There were so many dynamics in that scene and the day was pretty dynamic. It’s always a super fun day. It was a lot of games being played, I feel like, or a lot of balancing acts,” she said. “…It was just raw emotion…I get to play with Damson and our scenes together are always a lot of fun. He’s a lot of fun to be on set with. I think we both were wanting to really feel the scene and make it as dynamic as we possibly could.”
She talked about how Idris had ideas for how the characters could interact in the scene, including wanting Lewis to yell in the scene instead of what was recorded for the final scene.
“Damson had some ideas for the scene that he wanted to include to really make it go. I think we all on the cast are team players…so I was listening to what he was saying,” she said. “…He wanted me to take the gun and just like really [growls]…and I was like, ‘Let’s try it.’ In my gut, I was like, ‘I don’t know if that works, I think that takes away from her power, but let’s try it.'”
Lewis explained that Louis Saint was in conflict regarding Franklin’s betrayal.
“It hurt her to have him pull the gun on her and it hurt her to not take him out in that moment. If it had been anybody else, they would have been dead on the ground,” she said. She also talked about how the character has taught her about the strength of Black women.
“Black women, we are strong, but we are also vulnerable and we have to fight for that vulnerability. We are a fighting group of human beings. This country was not created for us,” she said. “Every ounce of power, of resepct, of beauty that we have, we fight for it, and I have learned that I can not be afraid to take my piece. I cannot be afraid to say what I what. I can not be to say waht I don’t want. I can not be afraid to articulate my vision and my dreams.”
Watch the full video below.