Interview: David Ramsey Talks About The Arrow/Flash Crossover, H.I.V.E. & More

We caught up with David Ramsey on the red carpet for the screening of the Arrow/Flash crossover, which begins on TONIGHT’s (December 2) episode of The Flash and has threads that continue into Wednesday’s episode of Arrow.

Ramsey’s character of John Diggle, of course, had already met Barry Allen last year, in the two-part Arrow story that introduced the character. How has Diggle’s impression of Barry changed since they met last year?

“It’s changed in a great, huge way, because he’s a freakin’ metahuman, this Barry Allen,” David says. “Initially, Diggle’s not quite sure how he feels about it. Diggle’s a guy who knows how to fight crime on an equal playing field, and Barry Allen has now flipped the script, totally. He’s a guy who can run at high speeds. How do you protect humanity against that? But, by the time tonight ends, you see that Diggle has to embrace what he’s found in Barry, but his world does change.”

When promoting the crossover, actress Audrey Marie Anderson (Lyla Michaels) recently mentioned that Lyla had known Digger Harkness in the past. Did Diggle know him as well? “No,” he says. “No, he did not,” David confirms, before expanding on the topic. “She knew him through A.R.G.U.S., and Diggle and A.R.G.U.S. – no romance there, which is interesting, because he’s in love with the woman who may eventually even lead A.R.G.U.S., who knows, and so, their philosophical approach in terms of how they fight crime is diametrically opposed. That’s just one more piece of the dramatic puzzle we’ll have to address in later episodes,” he says.

Speaking of puzzle pieces – will the Diggle/H.I.V.E. plotline be picked up on? “Yes. H.I.V.E. will be touched. Suicide Squad will be touched. Diggle is just one many characters in this show that you can do a half season of story on. The writers do not hurt for content. So, yes. We have not forgotten about H.I.V.E., and Andy’s death and how it’s connected to H.I.V.E., and probably even a bigger story is Suicide Squad, and [Diggle’s] somewhat loose alliance with Deadshot and A.R.G.U.S.. All of these stories are in Diggle’s future,” Ramsey says.

David Ramsey is “incredibly excited.” for fans to see the crossover. “As a fan, I want to see this, right? I think every 12th episode should be a crossover episode,” he says. “It was just a lot of fun. The crossover episodes, people were clamoring for it. It’s stuff you want to see, right? Arrow and Flash, crossovers… stuff you want to see. So as a fan, I’m excited about it, and I’m happy to have the privilege of working on it. So I’m very, very happy,” he says.

You can watch video of our interview with David Ramsey below: