Nathan Mitchell has been hiding in plain sight all along.
Although some may recognize it byGinny and GeorgiaMitchell has been behind a mask this whole time. Boys as Black Noir, a deadly, mute superhero who is rarely seen without his mask. The veteran actor signed on with the Main video series in Season 1 knowing his role would be a purely physical performance, but Mitchell tells DECIDER over Zoom that he was “excited” to learn Season 4 would be a very different experience.
“What if an ordinary person was thrown into the world of The Seven and forced to have corrupt morals and go on a crazy rampage where we kill people out of nowhere?” Mitchell told us. “I think it’s fun to approach it from an ordinary person’s perspective.”
The Black Noir we meet in Season 4 isn’t the same mysterious figure who practically tormented Vought in previous seasons. Homelander (Antony Starr) killed Black Noir in Season 3 after learning that Noir secretly knew Soldier Boy was his father all along. Rather than properly mourn the superhero’s death, Vought and The Seven surreptitiously cast an actor to fill the role of Black Noir, coldly assuming the superhero could easily be replaced. But the new guy is in deep trouble.
The result is a hilarious and delightfully surprising performance from Mitchell, who takes a new approach this season. Finally, with some creative direction and a much-needed pep talk from The Deep (Chace Crawford), Noir finally comes into his own with the morally corrupt character The Seven demands he play.
We caught up with the actor to talk about what’s driving the “new Noir,” his character’s new bromance with The Deep, and whether or not the rumors about him falling asleep during takes are true.
DECIDER: What was your understanding of Black Noir before this season and what are you trying to convey with your performance?
NATHAN MITCHELL: He’s an actor who had the opportunity to be on The Seven. He’s been trying to advance his career and he wasn’t at the top of his game that he wanted to be at this point in his life, but he’s where he is and all of a sudden he gets an opportunity that’s like a dream opportunity, but not what he expected.
But when we’re talking about film noir, a new film noir replacing the old, there are a couple of ways I was thinking of approaching it. I could be a method actor, but if I was a method actor, it would be exactly the same, right? And there’s a fun way to do it, too. But one thing that appealed to me just from reading the script was treating it like a regular guy. What if an ordinary person was thrown into the world of The Seven and forced to have corrupt morals and go on this insane journey where we kill people out of nowhere? I think it’s fun to approach it from the perspective of an ordinary man. He’s an actor, he’s also a guy and a colleague who’s making some friends along the way and trying to come to terms with this reality.
What was your reaction to receiving dialogue this season? Did you know this was coming later?
When I got the part, I was told that Noir wouldn’t speak and we’d never see his face. So I agreed and committed to the character with that in mind. Then I found out that Noir was going to die and I was being brought back in a fun new way. But even then, I didn’t ask for details… I don’t remember knowing much about what was going to happen until we got to Season 4 and I started reading the scripts. I was really excited.
One thing that’s been really fun to watch this season is the strange romance between Black Noir and The Deep. Can you tell me what you think about that?
I love it. It wasn’t something I initially expected because he approached me. [Vought CEO] Ashley [Barrett] to ask for advice. And then I was shocked to find out that it was Deep who was going to give him the honest information and what he needed. And I personally love working with Chace, I love watching his work as The Deep and I think all of his decisions are so fun and specific and cool. I was so excited when I found out that I would be having these scenes with him. Our friendship outside of the show, there’s a lot of camaraderie there, and I think you can see that in the characters, our friendship and our connection, like it seeps into the roles as two friends who are just hanging out, but also trying to figure out this world that they’re in.
I know your character is a narcoleptic, but Chace Crawford recently mentioned that… Do you really fall asleep while filming scenes? Is that true?
What I will say is that it’s like when you’re wearing a big suit like that, and you’ve got a sort of balaclava over your face, and you’ve got a huge helmet on, where sometimes you can’t see everyone 100%, you feel like you’re in your own world… So you feel so separate, but also with this big, comfortable suit, with my willingness to take naps anyway, which has happened to me sometimes. But the thing about my naps is that as easy as it is to fall into them, I can also recover from them very quickly.
What was your experience like on set before, even when you were fully committed to playing this silent, almost faceless character?
It’s been great. I love it. We’re a family. We have a great time. We’ve spent four seasons together, but we’ve also spent years in between. When I’m with them, it’s like hanging out with my family.
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Is there anything you can share about season 5?
I mean, I can’t say anything about season five, but in season four we go to a place we’ve never been. By the end of the season, it’s pretty heartbreaking. We get to a heartbreaking place where the stakes are so high and we really wonder how they’re going to pull it off, which makes the wait between season four and season five exciting to see how it all ends.
Is there any chance we might ever see film noir? Generation V?
I would love to. I haven’t heard about it yet, but I think it’s a great idea. So if it were to happen, I would be very open to it.
I saw on your Instagram that you are a Sagittarius and that you described yourself as an “astrological sage.” Could you give us a zodiac sign for each of the Seven?
I think we did it in season three as a BTS clip. I think I did it, like the sun and moon signs, like Homelander has some Scorpio in them, definitely. I think The Deep has some Leo in him.
A train, Sagittarius, just because [he’s] covering the distances, like its vibe. Sage [is an] Aquarius, yes, Aquarius. What I like to say about Aquarius is that… [they] Do you love humanity, people? Not so much. And [they’re] Very clever. Let me give Gemini to Firecracker.
New Noir, I guess you would have to go obviously to Leo, you know, the desire to act.
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