Pluribus’s Samba Schutte on Bond, ‘Air Force One’ Connections

Samba Schutte makes quite an impression when he appears in AppleTV’s Pluribus as Koumba Diabaté arriving on Air Force One. In this interview with The Contending, he provides insight into the detail he put into the character. One of Schutte’s  many goals for Diabaté was to make him hedonistic but also adding subtle nuances and shadings in character depth. He also includes a less pleasant backstory that seems likely to be explored later on. Finally, Schutte confirms playing James Bond is as fun as it looked!

The Contending: You and Vince came up with a bit of Mr. Diabaté’s backstory, that he doesn’t come from wealth and that he probably doesn’t have a family. How did that play into how you got into the character and were there any other details you two came up with?

Samba Schutte: It was really interesting, because when I got the audition, it was dummy sides, but the character’s name was Mr. Koumba, which I thought was fascinating, because, in my culture, Koumba is a woman’s name. And the only reason a man has a woman’s name is if his mother has passed away during childbirth. So once I got the part, I brought it up with Vince. I told him it was genius, how he came up with Koumba. And he said, “I didn’t know that’s what it meant. I just googled a Mauritanian name.” So I really appreciated that detail, and I told him what it means, and he loved it.

But getting into the character with the fact that he comes from poverty was not hard for me. I grew up in Mauritania (and Ethiopia). Mauritania is in the Sahara Desert and not one of the richest countries in the world, so I never had much stuff around me. Like him, I always thought America was the land of dreams and opportunity, and dreamed of that. So when he is in this new world where he is accepted, and he basically has a genie at his disposal, suddenly has access. It was very easy to step into a world where you came from nothing, and then have everything. I loved that aspect of his character the most.

The rest of it was just Vince finding out about Mauritanian culture and implementing that in the script, like the dish poulet yassa, costuming, and suggestions and references about the country. I really enjoyed representing someone who’s from a country that’s not really been represented in American media.


The Contending: One of the major scenes you get in this show was reenacting that famous Bond sequence. Are you yourself a Bond fan, and what was it like to be able to do that?

Samba Schutte: I am a Bond fan, so as soon as I read that script I thought, this will be fun but how are they gonna do it? How are we gonna do Casino Royale? Suddenly I show up on set and there are 200 extras, and they’re all dressed up and looking amazing. There’s a villain with an eye patch, I’m wearing an amazing white jacket, and this poker table is set beautifully.

So suddenly I am playing James Bond and it was so fun to step into those shoes and put on my best Bond pout face, channeling Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, and playing with those tropes, and enjoying it to the fullest. The joy in my eyes is real joy, too, because who doesn’t want to roleplay as Bond? But also have 200 people cheering you on and rooting for you, as you win with a ridiculous hand. It was just such a fun, fun, fun thing to do.


The Contending: What was interesting with the Vegas sequence is that Diabaté seems upset when Carol arrives, because it means all the Joined around him are leaving because they want space from Carol. But when Carol leaves he seems sad, and maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I feel like even he’s starting to wonder if things aren’t quite right, and he wants a real person around him. Was that something you were thinking about too?

Samba Schutte: That’s a great observation, because it’s easy to just be focused on his hedonistic lifestyle and him being larger than life. But there are so many nuances to this character, which are so fun to play. Underneath it all, there’s a humanity to him, a vulnerability, which is why he decides to meet with Carol. Yes, he has to sacrifice all these beautiful women leaving the hot tub. But he knows he owes it to Carol, because no one else will talk to her, and that just shows how compassionate he is. He is struggling, because the fact that she’s in Vegas means he can’t have his lavish lifestyle and role-playing games. But he does recognize her loneliness in himself. I think deep down inside he is a lonely person, but he’s dealing with it differently than she is. He’s going about it by surrounding himself with the Others and making them talk with him, which is unnatural for them because they are one person.

I think there’s an emptiness in him, and I don’t know how much this life is gonna continue before he gets bored of it. But he does crave human connection, and you see that in that moment when he’s making the avocado toast and matching how Carol’s eating her toast, and he wants to experience genuine. human ingenuity, creativity, sloppiness, and that just shows that, at the end of the day, he has a lot more in common with Carol than not. So, I think overall, he is an ally to her, and it might play into where we see him go in the future.


The Contending: Another aspect of his character that people have talked about is the harem of women he has. While they do what he wants there’s a level of respect he seems to have for these people. He’s still trying to take what they want into consideration, and they want to please him, so he’s okay with it, but he needs that to be part of it. How is that like to really play?

Samba Schutte: Absolutely, and that’s a great question. When Vince gave me the part we really wanted to stay away from making him creepy in any way. We wanted to keep him likable, fun, childlike, and having an innocence to him. Vince said it beautifully to me. “Before the world changed, not only did he not come from a good life, but he also was not successful with women.” I, myself, was always shy and was never successful with women. So, I recognize the awkwardness of it, but there is a respect to that too, and I think he wants to be taken seriously as a gentleman. And so, not only does he learn the Others’ individual names, he also educates Carol on what her chaperone’s name was. Something Carol didn’t even think of asking.

So, not only does he address them as their individual names, like Zozia. John Cena, even though Carol’s, like, he’s not John anymore! To him, he’s John Cena, so he’s being respectful that way. And also, I think, you know, there’s respect because he loves this world, and he does not want creepiness in it. He loves that there’s peace, that there’s equality, that there’s no discrimination. And so it was really fun to play the gentleman, but also find the moments when he’s just with Carol, where he doesn’t have to put on the gentleman act, where he can just be himself. We learn that there’s a sweetness underneath it all. There’s a humanness, a willingness to connect, which is why he meets Carol, which is why he has the Zoom calls with the other survivors, which is why he’s kind of taken on the role of staying in touch in a nice, respectful way. So yeah, I like that dynamic, that sometimes the gentleman-ness is an act, but other times it’s just his humanity, which is a vulnerable, awkward nerd who was never really popular with women.


The Contending: I’ve heard you describe him as a diplomatic person. Where do you think he got that from?

Samba Schutte: So I grew up in Mauritania, and there are a lot of diplomats, embassies, and hotels where a lot of tourists come to. Mauritania was a French colony, and the French are very known for their diplomacy and how you address people. There’s a lot of protocol with how you address someone respectfully, and so he was clearly surrounded by that. And I think that once he saw that there are only 12 survivors, he stepped into the role of the ambassador of humanity. He was the one who took Air Force One for all the survivors to meet to discuss what was happening. And to detail that the survivors are now the kings and queens and the presidents of this planet. I love that he has this diplomatic side to him because he’s observed it and he comes from a country where that plays such a part in the politics of it all. But he doesn’t want to be a corrupt diplomat.

I think he genuinely wants to find out how we can move forward. He’s concerned about the Others starving to death. He wants to find a solution, but also wants to keep his autonomy. So how does he balance being and staying unturned, but also making sure 8 billion people don’t starve to death, which shows how huge his heart is. Whereas Carol is just focused on reversing the change. He’s like, we have bigger problems, and so I love that he’s the ultimate diplomat, who’s also not afraid to tell Carol things as they are. He holds a mirror to her and says you can complain all you want, but this is the world we all wanted. I’m happy I’m not being called racist names anymore, that there’s no criminality or judgment or discrimination. This is actually a nice thing, or it can be. So yeah, that was fun to play.


The Contending: This is a more silly question, but what was it like seeing all the paintings of yourself in the Vegas room?

Samba Schutte: Horrifying! It was so weird, because I’ve never been painted and now I have seen these life-size images of myself. It was ridiculous, because people would ask me if I wanted to take it home. I’m like, no! Where am I, and what am I gonna do with it? Have people walk in and see a giant painting of me, like, posing with grapes? What? But I will say, the one that was in the bathroom, with me looking with my glasses down, my Miami Vice look, that is hanging in a few bathrooms in the production offices, so I love that. So people can’t go number two there because they feel like they’re being watched by me. So that’s the ultimate compliment, I believe.


The Contending: Diabaté mentions Harrison Ford in reference to Air Force One and, as we mentioned, performs the Bond sequences. He seems to be quite the movie fan. Is that another aspect you think we’re going to see more of about him?

Samba Schutte: I hope we get a flashback episode because I want to see who he was before that. Clearly, he’s up to date with some old American classics: Air Force One, Harrison Ford, James Bond, Elvis Presley. There’s something about America and American culture and media that he’s fascinated by, maybe because growing up in Africa America seemed like the land of gold where it’s all opportunity, it’s all dreams come true, it’s shiny and it’s bright. I love that childlike wonder of his to be like, finally I have the opportunity to be here. So why not experience this now that I can and not just be here as a tourist taking photos, but actually fly Air Force One, actually be James Bond, and actually sleep in the same suite as where Elvis Presley performed, and where his ghost is probably roaming around, you know? I love that he’s got all these cultural references. I grew up watching bootleg movies, you know, like the ones that were filmed in the movie theater, with people sitting up and walking halfway through, or laughing, and he probably had the same thing. So yeah, I’m curious who he was.


The Contending: Are there any other parts about him that you’re anxious to learn or play with in the coming seasons?

Samba Schutte: Absolutely. I think it’s going to be a really interesting dynamic to see how he reacts to finding out that they have Carol’s eggs and that they can turn her. What happens when he meets Manousos, who I think is his absolute polar opposite. He wants to kill all the Others whereas Diabaté wants to protect them because they are humans at the end of the day, underneath all that. So it’ll be interesting to see how he changes his point of view if he himself is under threat, right? If the Others somehow have his stem cells that they can then use to turn him without his knowledge. What will he do? Will he become as extreme as Carol and join the fight, like Manousos? Or will he stay the diplomat and the ultimate gentleman? Because I definitely know he does not want to be turned. He loves his life and autonomy way too much. But he’s definitely very street smart, and he knows the rules of the game, and has been ahead of Carol. He already knew that they were eating people, and how to deal with them, knowing they can’t lie, that they can’t turn you without the stem cells, so he’s definitely learning the rules of the game. Now I think he’s just kind of biding his time to see when is the right time to take action, or how. Maybe he knows a way to turn them, but is saving it for when he thinks it is the time.


The Contending: Final thoughts?

Samba Schutte: I just want to say it’s such a blessing to be a part of this project that’s globally spoken about, and I love people’s reaction to it. I’m so honored to be even in the awards buzz conversations. It’s ridiculous the amount of beautiful performances we’ve seen from many, many people this year, so to even be in the conversation is an honor. And the privilege, like I said before about this, is the first Mauritanian character on American TV. And, not only that, but to be in contention for possible Emmy nominations as the first Mauritanian is ridiculous. So, I owe it to Vince, and Rhea, and the whole Pluribus team, and of course the fans, so thank you.