Jonathan Daviss Talks Outer Banks Ending, Portraying Snoop Dogg

It’s a bittersweet moment in Jonathan Daviss‘ life as he closes out one career-defining chapter while preparing to embark on his next already iconic journey.

Six years ago, while the world was stuck inside due to a global pandemic, Daviss had just entered adulthood when his life completely changed. When Netflix‘s mystery teen drama Outer Banks dropped in 2020, it became a viral hit as the ultimate escapist distraction for viewers. Subsequently, the show’s stars, such as Daviss, were launched into stardom.

“When we first came on, I didn’t expect it ever to be what it became and what it means to so many people,” Daviss, now 26, tells The Hollywood Reporter when reflecting on season one. Now, six years and five seasons later, he admits, “It’s crazy that we’re even here,” especially because the series survived the pandemic and the 2023 Hollywood strikes.

As the Outer Banks‘ Pogues prepare to take on their final treasure hunt in season five, which releases Aug. 20, Daviss confesses that it’s quite sad, especially because he’s not only grown with his beloved character, Pope Heyward, the brains of the working-class Pogues, but also the friendships he built with the cast and crew.

“It’s like being in college in a lot of ways,” he explains. “You get to go do a show with all your friends and it’s familiar. It feels good to come back. It feels good to have the end jokes.”

However, this graduating OBX class has already crossed the stage, and Daviss is setting out on his next big Hollywood job portraying legendary rapper Snoop Dogg in the upcoming Craig Brewer-directed biopic.

It was a surreal moment when Daviss landed the role, as the actor thought it was a long shot when he sent in his audition tape. But the “Gin and Juice” artist, who let Daviss come hang out with him between auditions, clearly saw himself in the actor.

With filming for Snoop set to get underway soon, Daviss predicts that “there’ll be a lot of unexpected moments from this because I don’t think a lot of people know about Snoop Dogg’s story.”

Below, Daviss opens up about bringing his Outer Banks chapter to an end, his favorite moments from the show’s five seasons and taking on the physically demanding scenes, in addition to his audition process that landed him the starring role in the upcoming Snoop Dogg biopic and more.

Thinking back, what initially made you want to pursue a career in acting?

For me, it just started with the love of movies. My dad was really into movies when I was young, so he would take me out of school some days to go to midnight premieres when the Marvel movies were coming out, Pirates of the Caribbean.

I was always enthralled with film and the filmmaking process to the point where whenever we would go rent DVDs. … I would just watch all the bonus features on all the DVDs, try to figure out everything about the process of making movies. And around 11 or so, I got into modeling just because my mom’s friend was a photographer, and I got into theater from there and it just kind of kept going.

With Outer Banks coming to an end, what are you going to miss most about the show and your character? 

It’s like being in college in a lot of ways. You get to go do a show with all your friends, and it’s familiar. It feels good to come back. It feels good to have the end jokes. It feels good to see those people and to work with those people in that way and to play those characters. So I’m just going to miss everything about it, honestly, being in Charleston, filming the show, all the action, all the jokes, everything. The people the most for sure, though.

The Pogues really find themselves in a lot of chaos every season. When reading the scripts, were you ever like, can’t they just chill?

Every time! The hard part is not even the story sometimes; it’s the like, “So y’all expect me to get in the middle of the ocean and swim for two miles while we film this.” It’s more that the physical asks of the show are sometimes just nuts, but that’s the action-movie thing you want to do. I feel like it’s primed me for that. I already know what it’s like to do an action film. I just did that for seven years straight (Laughs).

What’s it like filming all those very physically demanding scenes for the show? How do you prepare for those?

I think that’s why a lot of us get into acting: to do stuff like that. Especially if you’re doing film and TV, you want to do the stuff that you see. I remember being a kid and watching my favorite action films and hoping one day I could do something even kind of like that. And I do feel like when we do these big stunt sequences, I’m living my dream personally. Those are the films I grew up on. Those are the shows I grew up on. And I think it’s just cool to look at the show and say, Wow, we actually really did something involved. Usually there’s previz; they do a meeting, they tell us what’s happening. We walk through the stunt, we walk through whatever physicality is needed, and then we rehearse and then we do it on the day.

The Pogues are obviously going to be mourning JJ (Rudy Pankow) this season. What else can fans expect from your character Pope during this final season?

If you watched the last season, he’s in a bad place. He protected Cleo (Carlacia Grant) and he did what he had to do, took out that Corsair. And he’s just kind of dealing with the mental stress of that on top of losing one of his best friends. So he kind of starts off in a really low place this season, so fans can expect him to be dealing with all the mental toll of what has been really the last couple of years of the show all coming to a head. But I think people will be really excited with how that goes down and how he pulls himself out of that.

Knowing it was your last season, did you steal anything from the set?

Oh, everything. I took the little rubber ducky from season one that I had. I got some shoes and some clothes here and there, some Heyward’s Seafood shirts and stuff like that. And I got one of the original gold brick props that we used from the first season. I have one of those signed by the prop master.

What was that final season of filming like for season five, knowing it was ending? Was it super emotional?

It did not start that way. It was very much just another day. We were all working. We had been filming for eight months. Everybody was tired. When you come down to those last couple of days of filming on a show like this, especially, you’re just exhausted. But as soon as they called “cut” on that last scene, everybody bawled. It was like a switch went off, and then everybody was like, damn, this is really it.

And then I remember, I won’t give it away, but I looked over and saw one of my castmates, who I did not expect to cry, cry. And I was like, “Oh, there I go.” And then I started crying because I just didn’t expect that from them. And then we all kind of embraced and just let it go because it’s more than just sadness. It’s so many things.

Looking ahead, you’re also portraying Snoop Dogg in the upcoming biopic. Talk to me about how you landed that iconic role?

Oh man, that was a tough audition. When I first auditioned, I was doing press for Outer Banks actually. I was in Houston, and I had my hair out in the ‘fro and I was like, Snoop Dogg, I don’t really see it. But I had my mom braid my hair back. I went on and I rapped one of his songs on tape and then I did a scene. I sent it in and I forgot about it. And then I get a call a week later like, “Hey, Snoop Dogg wants to meet you. Snoop Dogg’s going to be there for your callback.” So now I’m freaking out.

Eventually they offered me the part after a lengthy audition process. It took a couple months. But my favorite thing about that process was how hands-on he [Snoop Dogg] was. In between my auditions, he allowed me to come hang out with him. And I just got to sit and talk to him and watch him do shows and events and hang out with his friends and just be in these intimate places. Usually when you’re doing a biopic about somebody else’s life, the subject is not there. You’re usually watching videos or taking firsthand accounts, and some of that’s just imagination. But with this, it’s like he’s there, he’s existing and he’s still moving and shaking. So I have an interesting opportunity to portray somebody who’s still living.

What are you looking forward to most once you step into Snoop’s shoes for the big screen?

It’s two things. The first thing is just getting to recreate some of those iconic visuals, those moments that most people know him for. Doing those iconic videos and performances, getting to portray that is just going to be a dream. But more than that, there’s a really good story here and a really good personal story that I think a lot of people would be surprised by what they’re going to get when they step in to see this film. And there’ll be a lot of unexpected moments from this because I don’t think a lot of people know about Snoop Dogg’s story. And there’s going to be a real opportunity to not only do that, but to bring out a lot of young actors, young Black actors, into a film of this size.

What’s something fans might be shocked or surprised to know about you? 

I always outnerd myself every time I step out of the house and find some new niche that I’m into, like comic books, video games, whatever. But I think everybody already can assume that with Pope. I think people will be surprised when this film comes out to see me play his part. I definitely think a lot of people are going to be surprised. Oh, and I DJ!

Oh! Can fans expect any original music in the future?

You can. You might. Maybe. You’re definitely going to hear some Snoop Dogg music in the future.