Franz Drameh on Legends of Tomorrow and Jax’s Own Episode

We caught up with Franz Drameh at WonderCon to talk DC's Legends of Tomorrow, what's next for Jax, and that '50s episode.

This article contains some Legends of Tomorrow spoilers if you aren’t all caught up yet.

As one half of Firestorm, Jax (Franz Drameh) could be the most volatile character on Legends of Tomorrow. Although it’s a close call with Mick (Dominic Purcell) around. Maybe it’s the whole fire powers thing.

Drameh joined the cast of Legends of Tomorrow for a WonderCon panel and press room roundtables after. We got to find out what’s coming up for Jax, including a special episode that focuses on his family, and reflect on recent episodes like his journey in the ‘50s.

How did you feel starting on The Flash and becoming the centerpiece of this show?

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It’s good. It’s really nice being able to explore Jax and really bring him to life. We kind of get to know, as the season progresses, we really get to know who he is and his background and stuff like that. It’s really cool.

Have you ever had a mentor in your life like Stein is to Jax?

No. [Laughs] Not really.

Firestorm always has a partner. Do you enjoy that or do you enjoy the individual scenes?

I love working with Victor. It’s so fun. We literally spend all day just taking the piss out of each other, insulting each other.

I make him take really weird pictures of me, weird selfies. He’s like, “Franz, I don’t understand. What am I doing?” I’m like, “Just do it. It’s going to be fun.”

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I use loads of London slang he doesn’t understand. He’s just like, “Can you please speak English? I don’t know what you mean.”

It’s great. We get on like a house on fire. As our characters, we start off really going at each other. We’re at loggerheads a lot and we kind of learn to work together. We build this great relationship which we kind of have this father/son kind of bond towards the end. It’s really nice.

Will there be an episode that focuses on Jax?

We definitely explore Jax’s family and his relationship with his parents. That definitely gets explored.

I believe episode 12 is a good one for Jax. There are some really lovely moments in that, that kind of explain, we find out why Jax is the way Jax is which is nice.

Do you think Jax has given up on Kendra?

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Yeah, I think he’s feeling the burn, man. We’ll have to see how that whole relationship pans out, but yeah.

It’s fun to see Stein try to help you, but terribly.

I know. He tried to be a wingman but just ended up doing the wrong thing.

What is the mood on the ship after the episode where you left Ray, Kendra and Sara back in the ‘50s?

Yeah, we leave the three behind and they’re there for a while. They’re there for a good couple years and they come back, spoiler. So yeah, there’s definitely a different dynamic when they come back for sure.

Does Jax have a conflict with Rip over leaving them behind?

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Yeah, that definitely gets addressed. I’m trying to word this so I don’t give away too much. Yeah.

If you had the Waverider for the day, would you go to the past or future?

I’d go to the past. I’d really love to check out medieval times. I’m obsessed with that kind of stuff, like on a horseback with a sword. That would be cool.

What did you think of the ‘50s episode and the way it addressed racial issues?

Yeah, that episode, I really liked getting to explore that. We didn’t go too, too heavy with it but we definitely wanted to make sure that we addressed that time period and the things that were going on. It was cool.

How did you like wearing prosthetic makeup?

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That was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed that. I think I came on set playing “Thriller.” I felt like I was Michael Jackson in “Thriller.” I was doing the whole routine. It was a lot of fun but it took ages. It was a four and a half, five hour prosthetic, but they did a really good job on it. It turned out really well.

Who’s the troublemaker on the set?

I think you’re talking to him. I think you’re talking to him. I’m always trying to play pranks on people and doing silliness, singing extremely badly and extremely loudly on set. We have a blast.

Arthur’s funny. Everyone kind of gets it a little bit. I have this annoying thing of just tapping people on the shoulder and running away. They’re just like, “Can you please, please stop.” We have a blast.

I get on well with everyone so we’re really lucky to have such a cool cast that everyone gets on. No one gets mad. That’s the worst, when you don’t like the people you’re working with. It’s always better when you do.

 Legends of Tomorrow airs Thursday nights at 8 PM on The CW.

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