4 Things We Love About Damson Idris in Snowfall

Reminiscing on the HBO show Snowfall, we declare our love for Damson Idris (or Franklin Saint) by naming our four favorite things about the actor.

Words by Andy Prince Eruba

Photographs by Goldie Willams

With Snowfall (2017-2023), we were introduced to Damson Idris. A then-unknown actor coming out of London who surprisingly has captivated us all by his extraordinary performance in this tale of street life in California during the 1980s.

Here are 4 things we love about Damson Idris in the show:

01. Styling

The show takes place in the 1980s, a time many overlook when seeking style inspiration. It often contrasts the 60s and 70s glamourous, elegant, discotheque approach to style. In Snowfall, however, we see relatively clean and timeless outfits from Franklin Saint. Highly influenced by the LA culture he grew up in, we see explicit references to the culture later known as hip-hop. Baseball tops paired with chinos and chucks were Franklin's go-to silhouette in the first seasons before evolving into a more mature choice of jeans, polos, and Harrington jackets. As a cherry on top, Saint always wears a sharp-cut mini 'fro that accentuates the times of the United States of America in the 80s.

02. The portrayal of Franklin Saint

It is a tiny handful of people who can honestly say they knew about Damson Idris before Snowfall debuted on television in 2017. But after the show ended after 6 intriguing seasons, his strong performance is now embedded in our minds. When Damson first appeared on the show, he and the cast were unknown actors. But this only added to the grittiness of the story as it felt like it took us into the underworld of the crack epidemic of the 80s.

A hunger for more fuels Franklin's character in the beginning stages of the plot. Here Damson perfectly embodies the innocence of youth together with the distant presence of grandiose dreams. The duality between the young hopeful boy and the tyrannous kingpin he would later become is perfectly executed by exemplary acting from the British star.

03. Ambition

In season 1, when Franklin is asked what he wants in life, he simply replies, "freedom." And to get it, he embarks on one hell of a journey. Beginning as a local weed dealer for his Uncle Jerome in South Central Los Angeles, Franklin soon finds himself able to vent into the crack/cocaine business. A business that would later define him. It turns him into a kingpin and a madman in his pursuit of realizing his dream of financial freedom. Franklin stops at nothing and will remove any obstacle on his way to glory by any means necessary. Along the way, we encounter heartbreak, plotting and scheming, family problems, a lot of money, and, sadly, a time where death and murder become trivial. And in the last stages of the series, we vividly experience how ambition can turn to greed and swallow you up.

Ambition is a character trait that Damson Idris and Franklin Saint have in common. Idris left his native London to pursue the Snowfall role, and rightfully, he became a star. And to this day, it's remarkable how artist WC from the hip-hop group West Side Connection successfully hid Idris' British accent by acting as his 'dialect coach.' As Damson wittingly put it in his appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show: "He transitioned me from a British whim to an American gangster."