Smoke star Jurnee Smollett discussed why her character in the new Apple TV+ series is a truly flawed individual, like most featured in the show. Its story follows Taron Egerton's Dave Gudsen, an arson investigator tasked with investigating a new series of destructive fires alongside his new partner, Smollett's Michelle Calderone.
The Direct sat down with some of the cast of Apple TV+'s latest series, Smoke, in a series of interviews, where they broke down the new show's characters.
Jurnee Smollett told The Direct that her character, arson investigator Michelle Calderone, is "drawn to danger" and to "the things that will destroy her," something that traps her in a "pattern of destruction [and] creation."
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, who plays a local outcast named Freddy with a penchant for destruction, describes his character as "the loneliest man on the planet" who has gone through an upbringing that has left him ostracized in ways that we can barely fathom."
Captain Harvey Englehart actor Greg Kinnear noted that he feels "all the characters [in the show] are kind of drawn to things that are bad for them," further pointing out how great "the complexity of the characters" is.
Smoke premieres on Apple TV+ on June 27, 2025.
Jurnee Smollett on Her Flawed Protagonist, Michelle Calderone
"She's Drawn to the Things That Will Destroy Her."
- The Direct: "One of the early things audiences learn about Michelle is that she doesn't ever wear a seat belt. In fact, she has jury-rigged this thing in the car. Why is that? And how does that simple habit represent her as just a character and play into the deeper elements of just what makes her her?"
Jurnee Smollett: Well, it says a lot about her because she's drawn to danger. She's drawn to the things that will destroy her. She's in the pattern of destruction, creation, destruction, creation.
And the trauma that she has from her childhood and her relationship with her mother really informs the way she sees the world. She's constantly playing with fire, you know.
And the metaphor of fire really is just about all of these forces in our life, whether it's a toxic relationship with her boss, who's married, who she breaks up with when he leaves his wife, you know, she's constantly dancing on the edge. Why? You know, and that's part of what Dennis and I wanted to explore with Michelle is, why do we do that as human beings?
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine Breaks Down His Arsonist Outcast, Freddy
"Freddy Is the Loneliest Man on the Planet."
- The Direct: "Can you help paint a picture of why and how he has gotten to the point that the show finds him in at the start?"
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine: As Dennis Lane described, Freddy is the loneliest man on the planet. He's gone through an upbringing that has left him ostracized in ways that we can barely fathom I can imagine. I never thought I could fill this man's shoes because the extremes that which he's gone through. It's hard to conceive, really.
So, I think for me, the challenge was like wondering how to pull this off, and that puzzle was solved for me by Dennis Lehane when he said, use your imagination. You know that is your greatest ally and tool at this point.
- The Direct: "Do you think that Freddie, at this point, has the ability to connect with another person, or is he really just long gone?"
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine: I think he hopes that he can connect with other people. He tries his best with other people. He just doesn't have the skill set, the tools, the experience, the life experience, to know how to do so. His life experience has left him calloused, wounded, numb to other people's pain. He knows his tool of survival is to lash out and destroy in the end, you know, not just destroy others, destroy everything around them.
Smoke Star Greg Kinnear on How Fire Plays Thematically for All Characters
"All the Characters Are Kind of Drawn to Things That Are Bad for Them."
- The Direct: "Fire is obviously the main focus of the story, but it's both on a literal, but also a thematic level, what does that through line mean for your respective characters?"
Greg Kinnear: I think that's true. I think all the characters are kind of drawn to things that are bad for them. And I do think that that they're all struggling with issues that are getting a little bit out of hand as time goes on, and I think that's one of the great things about Dennis [Lehane's] writing, is the complexity of the characters, [which is] certainly the case here.
I play the chief of fire, who I think is actually looking for a simple exit at this point late in his career, and just wants to quietly find that side door. And a series of fires have taken place in this small town of Umberlin, and kind of sets in motion, not only problems involving the issue of fire and arson, but there's a personal issue, also some personal issues that are kind of inflamed, for one of the better words, and that's my character...
I could go through every one of these characters that are kind of internally on fire as well. So it's good writing from that standpoint. You know, at the broad end, yes, it is a story about arson, but the personal journeys are really equally arresting.
- The Direct: Whenever [Captain Harvey Englehart and Detective Rafe Spall's Steven Burk] are in the same room together, they don't really get along too well. So, what do these two people think of each other? What is that dynamic?"
Greg Kinnear: There's a little bit of a turf fight going on here, and I think they both feel slightly threatened by the other's positioning in this, you know, that's a dynamic you've seen in crime drama before.
Of course, I like the way it's handled. I don't think we overpush the issue, but it's there and a spoken thing. And I actually think they'd probably get along pretty well under other circumstances, but we've got a mystery to solve here.
Watch the full, spoiler-free interviews below:
