Supacell is an exciting project to be a part of isn’t it? The writing is phenomenal.

100%. I’m always excited about Rap’s work, I was like, ‘This is going to change the game.’ I also knew the other director Sebastian Thiel, we were meeting about other projects, and he was like, “I’m directing this Supacell, for Raps.” I was like, “What?! I need to be involved because I know you and Rap’s work is amazing, so together it’s only gonna be fire.’ Then reading the script; whoa, the angles, twists and turns. Just great writing because you don’t know what’s coming next.

It's a superhero story which in itself is fantastical, yet this is very grounded, the characters, the situation, where they live, isn’t it?

I’ve seen Raps talk about it, it’s very true what he says that, “It’s grounded and relatable, no one’s in superhero capes, or tights. It’s, ‘I’ve seen that person before, I can imagine their struggles, and I understand why they are using their powers to do what they are doing.’” That’s what resonates most in terms of the script and that’s why it resonated globally with everyone else, because ‘I know this guy that doesn’t get to see his kid, and he’s hard on his luck, and he just needs to scrape some money together. And there’s this other person that wants to save his relationship.’ We’ve been in those situations. So having those powers that can help you do better is amazing.

With regards to your character Energy Hunter, it looked like a lot of fun to play.

[Laughs] It was dope to play. I remember my first day was rehearsals in terms of stunts, that was eye opening. I had never done stunts on screen before, never done fighting to camera, or trying to fly through the air. So getting the timing right, being able to manoeuvre your body and weight transfer was sensational. Then on set, in the final scene with all the green screen and working with the stunt co-ordinators. It’s funny, they say, “What would be the way you’d open a portal?” And you watch TV, you look at superheroes to see how they do things, and you’ve got this imaginary way you open a portal. You do this and they’re like, “Can you do something more like this and more like that?” [laughs]. And they are really shaping you to open these portals with your hand. Raps would come and be, “Yeah so can you slow it down and then do it like this and like that.” Which was fun because you have no idea of how this portal is going to look or how the electric is going to come out of your hands or anything, you’re just trusting that they’re not making you look like an idiot [laughs].

It must be wonderful to work in an environment that there is so much trust?

One of the stunt co-ordinators was a Ninja Turtle, I think he was Raphael or Donatello. When we found out, we were asking so many questions. But he was guiding us through our stunts and breaking it down. Having him there brought a lot more confidence in that it’s gonna look good and be great. It felt amazing doing all that stunt stuff, then when I saw it back, I was like, ‘Wow, this looks so real, it looks epic, and they’ve done such a great job of it. Funnily enough, in the final scene, when I do a thunderbolt at Tazer [Josh Tedeku], they time it. We actually see a bolt and things blow-up on set, which is phenomenal. It just sparks a huge reaction straight away.

It’s hard to say too much about where your character fits in the story because I don’t want to drop any spoilers, but can you tell me a little bit about his motivation and backstory?

I was always asking Raps and the other producers, ‘What is the backstory?’ And they didn’t want to give too much away and let me build it. It was a sense of, ‘Well, at first you can’t see their face or what they are feeling, you don’t really know. Are these people that really care about their job? What’s our purpose?’ For me my character’s backstory is that I’m doing this as a greater means. Something’s happened to someone in my family, it’s not that I want to be doing this, but there’s a reason why I have to do this, and it made a great pull when I was doing what I had to do. If not, my family may not be safe, I might not be safe, I may not be alive later on, so I have to do these things, never mind if I agree with it or not. There’s a whole universe which the world is yet to know about, but I do, and I know what goes on.’ So to stay alive I’ve got to sort these things out.

One of your costumes is futuristic. Are you an actor that is well prepared but when you put on the costume it’s the final part that completes the character?

With the normal outfit, it was close to home, but the futuristic costume took me away from that close to home element. I put on the mask, boots and the hooded outfit. Your walk begins to change, your head movements, the way you carry yourself, your posture, it’s all that stuff that aligns and you’re like, ‘Oh wow. I am the Energy Hunter.’

You shot on an Estate in South London, how did that inform your character?

That was shot in a block in South London. There were so many kids and people around watching us shoot that scene which brings that whole new level of energy, because as actors if someone’s watching you’re gonna perform [laughs]. You wanna give it your absolute everything. Also, what was weird is that there was a lot going on as we were filming, so it was quite an energising vibe. There was a big commotion within the general public. Remember it’s an estate and things go down. Everyone was like, “What the hell is going on?” So that brings that heightened energy to set that, this is real. Things were happening as we were filming, so you get to feed off that experience and use it. I think it brings a reality for the other actors as well, “We’re in this so-called hood or South London jungle where it’s everyman for himself.”

And touching upon that authenticity, gangs do feature quite heavily within the plot. How important is it that gang culture and knife crime isn’t glorified for TV and that it is represented responsibly? 

Super important. That was one of the things I was scared about in terms of the script, but when I read it, it wasn’t heavily prevalent. I remember talking to the guy that plays Tazer, Josh [Tedeku], phenomenal actor. I saw him on set and was like, ‘How do you feel about this?’ He was like, “Bro. I weren’t not going to do this role because of the knife crime and what not.’ He spoke to Raps about it, and he was like, “The angle they are going about is not glorifying people being stabbed, but there’s a real person under there. What’s that person’s journey? What’s his psyche? Why has he done this? What’s his background for doing this.” That is so important, [rather] than seeing people kill each other and stab each other, because that’s not what it’s about. There is a reason why they have chosen this life, or that life chose them. We see this kid is a normal child when he’s at home with his grandmother, we see that he comes from a household with no mum, no dad, the mum was taken away. And it’s like, when he’s out with his friends he’s one way, when he’s at home he’s so obedient, it’s like, ‘Wow, the juxtaposition.’ I feel Raps had a great way of showing it, because it is real, it does happen, it’s not saying let’s hide it, but let’s explain why things happen, rather than saying we’re not gonna talk about it at all. For me it was super important that it was told the right way, we’re not glorifying it, we’re not sensationalising knife crime in the UK. It’s more about educating people and making them aware of why people go down a certain route.

Supacell catapulted to number one. Have you been surprised by the reception and had you got your own ideas about the kind of audience that Supacell was targeted towards? 

I knew that it would do well. I knew it was gonna shoot to the top because you’ve superpowers, a top rate show that brings that urban element of the UK, and you’ve got romance. All these things put together, come together to make a number one show. What I may have been surprised with is how fast it got there. I was like, ‘Wow. No one slept on it.’ It’s great that it’s not just hitting black audiences, it’s a global phenomenon which means everybody’s been taking it in and finding something to relate to. I feel it is so important because you want everyone to watch your stuff. Being a filmmaker myself, I don’t want just black people watching my stuff, I want every demographic watching it. And because the message is so deep, which is about sickle cell. The black community know about it but being able to make everyone aware is just amazing.

Comparing other films that have been made within this genre, how do you feel Supacell has elevated that storytelling?

I think what elevated that hugely was the platform it was on, Netflix. It’s touched over 180 countries, so definitely a huge help. Raps had six episodes to set a world, which means we can go into depth about what’s happening. It worked because it’s not about one thing, it’s about love, awareness of diseases, friendship, protecting people and I feel when you touch on those subjects, everyone can relate, that it’s universal. Where predecessors may only have 120 minutes to put everything into one thing, Raps had a lot more time. Things that came before also helped because we’ve seen that, and now your mind is open and accepting of something else as well.

You’re a filmmaker yourself, you’ve made short films, you’re clearly interested in the big picture and not just how your character fits within the story. How important has the production value of Supacellbeen for you?

Raps shot on an Arri 35 that enhances the black skin. Nothing has ever been shot as beautifully for black people which he has done so well, that just filled me with confidence. He takes pride in production value, because so many people don’t, they want a big star, and they’ll pay a whole lot of money to get them on board, and then the production value suffered because their budget has gone towards the star. Also knowing that they didn’t rush anything, if it weren’t done, they were going back another day to make sure that was how it was meant to be. Makes you trust in the process.

If I can take you back to the beginning of your career and your training. You trained at the Stella Adella Studio of Acting, where Robert DeNiro, Marlon Brando, Harvey Keitel attended, so hardcore method acting!

I was a child actor I did The Bill and Kerching! and I went to drama school at the weekend. I said to my mum, ‘I don’t want to act no more.’ I was about 13. I went to university and did something totally different, after the first year I missed acting. I studied drama and English and made a few short films. My friend and cast member Michael Salami [Gabriel] auditioned for Stella Adler and got in. I was like, ‘Yo bro congratulations, that’s amazing, I wish I could do something like that.’ He’s like, “Apply. Do it.” They came to the UK for in-person auditions, but I’d missed them, so sent a self-tape, one contemporary piece and one classical. I got accepted into both New York and LA. I’m more interested in film and TV, so LA was the perfect fit. I was over there for two years. I went to grasp the accent, the culture, learn the process. The fundamentals of what Stella Adler taught, was script analysis, acting the method, improv, movement, embodying physicality, and being able to imagine and making things real. In class the teacher would give a scenario, “Sanchez, you’re in this cave, and you’re now going into quicksand, and there’s gnats biting you. It’s about imagining and seeing things but making that resonate on camera. That helped with Supacell because we’ve got all these special powers, so how can we make that resonate on camera, when you can’t really see it. Being at Stella Adler definitely helped, I would recommend anyone to go study your craft.

Would you like to share with us a little bit more about the differences of acting for theatre and film / TV?

Theatre is my favourite, nothing can beat being on stage, it’s live, it’s in the moment, you can’t drop the ball, and I love that. Just being present is everything that an actor loves and lives for. That’s why they get into the game, to show real emotion. And when you are on stage, you’re working against someone that’s giving you something, and you’re giving something back. No night is the same. If any night is the same, then you’re acting. It’s always gonna be different. They’re gonna say something different, feed your line different, and you’re gonna react off it. So for me acting for theatre is an amazing medium. With film, I enjoy it because it’s seen by millions, anywhere. We shoot scenes in a different order, you get to retake if it’s not done well enough, you get to look better in the edit, or we can chop it up and piece it together. But when you’re on stage you just get to feed off the audience and the audience get to take something away, straight away. There’s nothing better than being in the audience and watching it for the first time and feeling every single moment, hearing a pin drop, the silence being filled with your own thoughts, your own emotions, thinking, ‘Oh my God, this actor is going through this right now.’ Looking into their eyes and witnessing stillness on stage is just phenomenal. Nothing ever beats, being able to portray that. Theatre is where my heart is, but film is a great medium to show the world what you’ve got.

What’s been the biggest reward of being part of Supacell?

Working with my friends that I have come up with. When I got on set and I saw people like Nadine [Mills], Tosin [Cole], Michael Salami, Calvin Demba, these are people that I have grown up with, [seen] in auditions, weekend drama schools, birthday dinners, saying, “One day we’re gonna make it. We are all gonna be on set together, be at the Oscar’s together.” Then to come on set and we have all been cast in the same project, that is about our people. I was like, ‘Wow.’ It’s emotional because you know how hard someone must have worked, it’s been over 10-15 years, for a lot of people it’s their final hurdle. It’s like, “I’ve got a family now, I can’t keep doing this.” So, for all of us to achieve that big win and told its number one. I don’t want any of my cast members to forget those moments of dreaming about being here. That was the biggest take away, seeing all my people winning and doing great things. There’s nothing like it.

SANCHEZ BROWN stars in SUPACELL available on NETFLIX