Our Flag Means Death's Rhys Darby on whether fandom insight sways him
"The only fans that sway me are David Jenkins and the writers"
The Our Flag Means Death fandom is both passionate and immense. While many creators enjoy getting idea sparked by fan response, others can find it less productive. In an interview with /Film's Valerie Ettenhofer (written up by Sandy Schaefer), Our Flag Means Death's Rhys Darby shared that he finds it on the less productive side.
"I simply don't really refer to any fans' insights of the character because there's so many of them," Darby told Ettenhofer. "They can think what they want and they can make their own narratives, but really it's up to the writers. So yeah, I don't get swayed by any interpretations from any fans. The only fans that sway me are David Jenkins and the writers."
It can certainly be a lot to draw creative inspiration from fans, who (as we all do) have opinions on everything from character development to haircuts. We all love a headcanon and our own readings, but that doesn't necessarily mean that actors should draw from them - not to mention that there are always plans that the creators of the show have in their back pocket that fans simply don't know about (yet), and those actors may not want to contradict those carefully thought out plans. As Darby points out, at the end of the day, it's up to the writers to chart out the world they've created.
