Snowpiercer's Alison Wright is binging the 26 Zatoichi films

On CNET's I'm So Obsessed podcast, Wright discusses season 2 of Snowpiercer on TNT and the burden of starring in The Americans, one of the best TV shows of all time.

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Patrick Holland has been a phone reviewer for CNET since 2016. He is a former theater director who occasionally makes short films. Patrick has an eye for photography and a passion for everything mobile. He is a colorful raconteur who will guide you through the ever-changing, fast-paced world of phones, especially the iPhone and iOS. He used to co-host CNET's I'm So Obsessed podcast and interviewed guests like Jeff Goldblum, Alfre Woodard, Stephen Merchant, Sam Jay, Edgar Wright and Roy Wood Jr.

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Patrick's play The Cowboy is included in the Best American Short Plays 2011-12 anthology. He co-wrote and starred in the short film Baden Krunk that won the Best Wisconsin Short Film award at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival.

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Patrick Holland

March 24, 2021 8:15 p.m. PT

2 min read

snowpiercer-alison-wright — Alison Wright plays Ruth Wardell on the TNT series Snowpiercer.
David Bukach/TNT

The Americans, which starred Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, is widely considered one of the best TV series of all time. On the show, Alison Wright played Martha Hanson and had one of the most unpredictable character arcs in the series. In 2017, she earned an Emmy nomination for her performance. Currently, you can see Wright as Ruth Wardell on the dystopian, postapocalyptic TNT series Snowpiercer. The finale of the show's second season airs Monday.

This story is part of I'm So Obsessed (subscribe here), our podcast featuring interviews with actors, artists, celebrities and creative types about their work, career and current obsessions.

Snowpiercer follows the world's last humans, who shelter in a perpetually running train that circles the frozen-wasteland remains of Earth. Wardell works for the company that owns and operates the train. On CNET's I'm So Obsessed podcast, Wright explains how Wardell went from toeing the company line to questioning the reality she devoted her heart and soul to.

"Throughout the first season, Ruth was a real believer. You might say, she'd gone a little bit too far in believing in the system and enforcing the rules that the party laid down," Wright says. "She finds out that she has been very much misled. When we start the second season, she has all this brand-new information about her leader that is different than she thought."

Snowpiercer is based on the 2013 film of the same name by Bong Joon-Ho and the 1982 graphic novel Le Transperceneige. In addition to Wright, Snowpiercer stars Jennifer Connelly, Daveed Diggs, Lena Hall and Sean Bean.

During our conversation, Wright explains the complex appeal of Snowpiercer, the burden of starring in the "greatest TV show ever" and her obsession with Shintaro Katsu's Zatoichi films from the '50s and '60s.

You can listen to my entire conversation with Wright on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. You can watch season 2 of Snowpiercer Monday nights on TNT. Also, you can subscribe to I'm So Obsessed on your favorite podcast app. In each episode, Connie Guglielmo or I catch up with an artist, actor or creator to learn about work, career and current obsessions.