Sweet Tooth season 2 is breaking it! We sat down to chat with Nonso Anozie, Dania Ramirez, and Adeel Akhtar about the humanity and reason for their characters Jepper, Aimee, and Dr. Singh to fight. Ready?
Here we go!
To kick off our talk, Nonso Anozie, Dania Ramirez, and Adeel Akhtar shared their favorite and least favorite aspects of their characters. Dania hates the situation Aimee ends up in because “the fact that she’s without her children is a very difficult and challenging place for her to even start. And so, therefore, as an actress, it was a very challenging role to continuously play. There’s a lot of emotion there. I love the essence of who she is and what she’s fighting for.”
Adeel Akhtar jokes about Dr. Singh’s choice of trainers because “they’re comfortable.” But, focusing on his character, one who becomes a villain he hates to be, Adeel confesses that he likes that Dr. Singh “is principled.” But he hates that at the same time “because he seems like he’s gonna be willing to sacrifice a lot for his principles.” Although, thanks to it, enjoy “the emotional depths that get to play with.”
Lastly, Nonso Anozie made us laugh when he joked about how much he hates “the number of layers that I have to wear in hot New Zealand weather or hot Studio, you know, another cardigan on top if pink leather puffer jacket wasn’t enough.”
Next, Nonso Anozie, Dania Ramirez, and Adeel Akhtar spoke to us about the moment in season 2 that kinda gave them cheer and they got excited.
Nonso Anozie shares that he loved the scene in “Aimee’s office” at the end of season 1. When they actually shot the scene, he was emotional because he “felt like we’re getting the story started.”
For his part, Adeel Akhtar adds that “there was a scene that I did with Nonso [Anozie] in the engine room. There was a point at which Dr. Singh and Jepper knew and I was nervous. And there’s a point there that we were like acting opposite each other. I can’t really speak for Nonso, but for me, the characters popped and they became really real for a moment to the point where I was like, oh, I think I got the rhythm of this show.”
“So it’s was like acting alongside somebody really good, but at the same time getting a real sort of grip on the character, which is the beauty of doing something for such a long time, you don’t know when that moment’s gonna catch you, and it definitely caught me in that moment,” Adeel pointed out.
Dania Ramirez explained that it was her that season 2 “it’s very different from season 1 for me.” In season 1, she “worked with Wendy [Naledi Murray] and a puppet. So the first day that I got to go to set and work with another adult, I was like, oh, this is really exciting.”
“And it was a great journey to and a really great place to start, and I knew that it was gonna feel different from there on in. Even how I related with the kids again the minute that we really that Jepper and Aimee do become this team, and they finally get into a different place. If I really get to see the thought of me getting to see the children again, it was so powerful and palpable. And I get to be vulnerable with Nonso’s character. It was just really exciting for me,” Dania Ramirez added.
Apocalyptic shows are on the rise lately, and while everyone tends to get darker, Sweet Tooth has always had a light that sets it apart from everyone else. Nonso Anozie, Dania Ramirez, and Adeel Akhtar discuss with us this aspect of the show.
For Dania Ramirez “it’s in human nature to reach out the hope and something positive. And it’s an easier choice to make when you’re pessimistic and fatalistic about stuff. It’s an easier choice to make a dark ending. But it’s actually quite hard to end with something that gives people a little bit of hope. It’s like a harder thing to pull off. So yes, it’s important to have more of those stories out there.”
Nonso Anozie adds that “the writers have done a really good job of that the moment you feel like it’s got a bit too light or it’s got a bit too funny, they’ll bring in some of that darkness. And the moment where it gets a bit too dark and you feel a little bit depressed, they’ll bring some hope in there as well. This season of cranking up the pace of the show. It’s much faster. Zips along this season. But also, they do a great job of doing a pattern between the light and the dark. That’s purely down to the writers and Jim [Mickle], our showrunner, who has done such a great job of just, you know, setting the tone for the show.”
On this, Adeel Akhtar thinks that “dealing with children it’s such a hopeful perspective no matter how dark the moments get if you think of things, the most complex things are the most simple, and children can find the simplicity in everything. So the show being told from Gus’s perspective and having all the other hybrids in season 2, really allow you to find humor and lightness in these really dark moments. And it really drives the adults to a different path and a different place because of it.”
In Sweet Tooth season 2, Jepper and Aimee become a team but the question is will their union bear the weight of Jepper’s past? Nonso Anozie and Dania Ramirez give us their opinion about it.
Nonso Anozie tells us that “they have to learn to trust each other and understand that they need each other. But inevitably, when you let someone close to you, they start to find out different things about you. Aimee starts to find out about Jepper’s past. It’s gonna be very interesting to see how she reacts and how that’s gonna affect our team. Things get complicated but I always have hope, and I believe in the goodness in humanity, and these two people are really kind.”
Dania Ramirez adds that “no matter what has gone on with them before this crumble, they’ve both been, you know, dealing with children that have definitely opened them up in a different way. And if they can get past those differences, they’ll continue — they’ll be an even stronger team. But you have to watch them find out.”
Speaking a little more about their characters, Nonso Anozie, Dania Ramirez, and Adeel Akhtar shared who they are most similar to and most different from their character, as well as who in the cast they think would be better at surviving in the world of Sweet Tooth season. 2.
Dania is the first to share that “Christian [Convery] is most like his character. He’s like just a sweet kid and always optimistic and Naledi [Murray] is like that too. She’s got a mind of her own, and you get to explore that this season with Pigtail. But out of Nonso Anozie and Adeel Akhtar…I would say that Nonso has such a vulnerable side. He’s like a big teddy bear as well. So I would say that he’s kinda like his character in that way. But it takes less to get to really know him than Jepper.”
Nonso points out “when you play any character, as much as we wanna transform into something, I feel like you’re always gonna see the person that’s playing the character. You definitely feel something of yourself, something of your own heart. So there’s definitely some of me in.”
Adeel Akhtar shares that he identifies with his character in that “he gives everything for his family. I love his love for his wife and his children.”
To end the interview on a fun note, Nonso Anozie, Dania Ramirez, and Adeel Akhtar share which hybrid they would be and why. Nonso would be “a lion hybrid. Because they’re the king of the jungle.” Dania would be “a cheetah. I love her stealth, they hunt really well, and they have so much class. I feel like they walk with so much class. I love that. But they’re pretty dangerous if you get them if they need to hunt you down. I think, like, definitely a cheetah.”
Adeel, for his part, has a bit of a hard time choosing because “they’re all my kids. That’s the way I see them now. But I do love the fact that they communicate also through Stein language, and I think that’s a really cool, you know, aspect of this season that we get to tap into. So that’s really cool. I would be an otter because they swim fast. They build dams, and also don’t get on the wrong side of an otter.”
Sweet Tooth season 2 is available to stream on Netflix.
