Snowfall’s Michael Hyatt Talks Season 4, Cissy Saint’s Evolution and Being Comfortable In Your Own Skin (Video)

Michael Hyatt has graced our screens since before Snowfall. The Howard University alumn is known for playing recurring roles on several television shows, including The West Wing, The Wire, and True Detective, to name a few. Yet, her character Cissy Saint on FX’s drama Snowfall holds an exceptional place in her craft and her heart.

Currently in season 4, the show continues to follow Frankin Saint (Damson Idris), his friends, and associates as things around their drug dealing enterprise get more intense and a bit out of control.

Cissy’s journey from the series pilot to today has been enjoyable to watch. “Cissy has evolved.”Hyatt tells HM, “Over the last four years [you’ve] had the opportunity to see not just Cissy the mom, but the career woman, and the wife. And I don’t think we have enough opportunities to see us in the multi-dimensional consciousness that we actually live in.”

Cast as a series regular by the show’s creator John Singleton, the actress commends the late director for always bringing the authentic stories and talent of people of the African diaspora to the forefront. “When John was here, his whole thing was – it’s gotta be true. People wanna see themselves.” He carried the same vision for his crew behind the scenes. “Many of the crew members that are still on the show today were brought on by John, and I’m talking about the African faces that I have the pleasure of experiencing,” Hyatt says.

Born in the UK to Jamaican parents Vera and Charles Hyatt, the actress emigrated to the United States with her mother and siblings when she was 10 years old. Hyatt always remembers who she is and where she comes from, “I am African, British, Jamaican, American. I am that.” She tells HM. Embracing her West Indian heritage has been instrumental in her portrayal of Cissy Saint. “John [Singleton] would tell me that he has West Indian family members and when he thought of this story and these people, he was thinking of his aunt, grandmother, who are West Indian.” She shared in our interview, “It gave me permission to allow any aspect of myself to come out because they all represent who Cissy is, who all of us are.”

Make sure to check out our exclusive interview with Michael Hyatt above!