British actor Damson Idris brings L.A.'s '80s crack epidemic to life on 'Snowfall'
LOS ANGELES - When British actor Damson Idris auditioned for the role of young street entrepreneur Franklin Saint in FX's "Snowfall," a drama set during the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic in 1980s South-Central Los Angeles, he was given more than lines to read. He was issued a challenge.
John Singleton, the Oscar-nominated director of "Boyz N the Hood" and co-creator-executive producer of "Snowfall," drove Idris to the heart of South Los Angeles and told him to get out.
"He kicked me out of the car and was like, 'Go! Survive!'" Idris recalled recently, laughing at the memory. "'If you can survive, then you got the part.'"
Idris not only pulled through
