Silo Star Common Talks the Deadly Nature of the Series' Truths and Lies

In the new Apple TV+ series Silo, humanity has figured out a way to survive an apocalyptic event, though the way society functions inside a massive, underground facility comes with some complications. Residents of the silo often take what they're being told by bureaucracy as truth, but the seeds of doubt call those truths into question. However, it's also possible that these lies are safer to believe in than reality, with Common playing Sims, a figure tasked with enforcing some of these lies. The actor recently reflected on how he'd personally navigate the inner workings of the society and how those differ from Sims. Silo premieres on Apple TV+ on May 5th.

When asked by ComicBook.com what his personal approach would be to surviving the situation, Common detailed, "I would definitely try to uncover the truth. It would eat me alive if I felt that I was just doing something to keep people blind and keep them unaware, because I do believe in the power of people and I believe that they should have the information and be given information to be able to make certain choices." 

He continued, "Now, mind you, I would believe if I was in a place of power, to make sure people have resources to deal with these choices and information, meaning whether it's mental health support or access to be able to say, 'Okay, well, if this is happening, how do we get to this? If it's a dire situation, how do we get ourselves out of it?' Maybe there's some training there. Anyway, my point is I would definitely be on the side of the down deepest [characters] questioning what's going on and be a part of that."

Silo is the story of the last ten thousand people on Earth, their mile-deep home protecting them from the toxic and deadly world outside. However, no one knows when or why the silo was built and any who try to find out face fatal consequences. Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette, an engineer, who seeks answers about a loved one's murder and tumbles onto a mystery that goes far deeper than she could have ever imagined, leading her to discover that if the lies don't kill you, the truth will.

The ensemble cast starring alongside Ferguson includes Academy Award-winner Tim Robbins (Mystic River), Common (The Chi), Emmy-nominee Harriet Walter (Succession), Chinaza Uche (Dickinson), Avi Nash (The Walking Dead), Critics Choice Award and NAACP winner David Oyelowo (Selma), and Emmy-nominee Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation). 

With many of his tasks requiring him to stay covert, the actor reflected on the process of giving his character a presence, even when he wasn't appearing in scenes.

"I approached this character and said, 'Man, I want to just give my heart and soul and give my all to this.' Really that's been the work that I've been wanting to do for a long time and I've made a conscious choice to do that, do characters and work that I really can give my all to," Common expressed. "Though I knew I was only in one scene in Episode 2 and maybe a couple of scenes in Episode 3, I still felt like once I bring my heart and soul to a character where, if I get two lines, if I don't have any lines, I just want to make sure the character's alive and delivering what I should for that scene. I was just going to make the best of it. Any moment, any scene, I'm just going to give my 110% and that's essentially what I did."

Silo premieres on Apple TV+ on May 5th.

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