SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for "Spartan," the latest episode of Arrow.


Arrow just offered a glimpse into John Diggle's past. In "Spartan," the latest episode, Dig turned to his stepfather General Stewart for help with a mission. This led Dig to confront some of the ghosts in his past, including his unresolved anger for Stewart's role in his biological father's death. Soon, Dig learned the truth behind his father's death and the extent to which Stewart cared for him, leading him to reconcile with Stewart and heal from the trauma of his childhood.

Speaking to CBR, Dig actor David Ramsey reflected on his character's journey in "Spartan" and why that arc resonated with him personally. He praised Ernie Hudson for his "sincere" performance as General Stewart, addressed that big wink to Green Lantern mythology and teased Stewart's return down the line. He also dropped a big hint about Diggle's status in the 2040 timeline, revealed what he hopes to explore in the show's final season, addressed Emily Bett Rickards' departure and more.

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CBR: What was it like to work with Ernie Hudson?

Ramsey: You've got to be on your A-game! How do you make a four-star general -- how do you play and look at him as official and larger-than-life as he is, and then, in an instant, he's Dad! Right? Now he's just Dad. The ability to kind of instantaneously switch gears that way is, you know, just a testament to how great Ernie is. Everyone knows that! It was just fantastic, you know? Just watching him work and throw me low pitches for me to swing at, in terms of just playing my character and the lines... It was just great.

I can't think of anyone that could have played Diggle's father with the emotional resonance that he had and the command that he had. He's everything you thought that Diggle's father would be, and with so much heart -- with just so much heart. We haven't, hopefully -- well, I know we haven't seen the last of General Stewart. And it was also fun to find out that Diggle's mother is around someplace in this universe! So it was fun.

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At this point, you've been playing Diggle for years now. After all that time, did you build up some kind of long backstory for him in your head?

Yeah, you have to! You have to do that, to kind of make sense of it all and give everything some weight in terms of where it's coming from. So I always knew my father was around. We always knew that, because we always talked about -- since Season 2 or 1 -- of exactly what Diggle's backstory was. You know, we've always talked about his father being some sort of military person or another. So we knew he was alive in this universe, but we kind of wanted to... tease some things as well and we wanted to play with this Green Lantern idea and we don't know what's going to come of that, but to make his last name General Stewart, I think, is the greatest Easter egg. So we just kind of want to wait till the right opportunity. So I think they nailed it. I think they involved all the party. The casting was great and I think him being General Stewart is fantastic.

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Did the writers discuss that at all while they were developing this episode?

I suggested Ernie, when we knew what was happening, in terms of this season being the season we'll see him. At the beginning of this season, me, Marc [Guggenheim] and Beth [Schwartz] talked about it and I suggested Ernie Hudson. I couldn't think of anyone that would be as wonderful as Ernie was. So yeah, we talked about it at some length.

Listen, the writers don't look at me for approval, but we do discuss these things to some degree -- and him being adopted as opposed to it being his blood father. You know, that was an important issue. So there was some discussion about this -- whether or not we would talk about Andy in this episode. I mean, we all talked about this to some degree. I surely put Ernie's name in the hat because I couldn't think of anyone that would be better in this role.

NEXT PAGE: Why Diggle Is So Relatable

Arrow John Diggle
Arrow -- "Brothers in Arms" -- Image Number: AR617a_0566.jpg -- Pictured: David Ramsey as John Diggle/Spartan -- Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW -- © 2018 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

How did the end result compare to what you'd always imagined for Diggle?

I think it was absolutely nailed. The idea that Diggle was dealing with issues that he was dealing with when he was a 12- or 13- or 14-year-old was absolutely the right move. I think it was the right tone. I think him sitting there, this very mature, strong, mid-to-late 30s guy, this deep, resonant voice talking about his stepfather making him and brother run Spartan drills and him coming to the house and his father dying. It was the issues that he was dealing with when he was an adolescent and we see that kind of coming through the voice of this very strong military guy John Diggle and I think that was the right tone.

I think John Diggle has always been that guy who's been the most normal. I mean, how normal can you be in this universe? But, you know, Felicity is [one of the] top three smartest people on the planet. Oliver Queen is maybe [one of] the top two best fighters, next to him and Bruce Wayne maybe. And Diggle is just this guy who joined the military and got swept up right after he started bodyguarding for Oliver Queen, sadly. So he's always been the normal kind of guy.

You know, Felicity's father was the smartest guy in the world and Oliver's father is a billionaire. His father is a military guy that's an army general and he's dealing with issues of his [step]father coming in after his father died and now he's in the house. He's been adopted by this new guy. He's in the house, and he doesn't like him! I think that's an accessibility that Diggle has that the other characters don't really have. He's dealing with the issues of a 13-year-old. So I think it's just one more thing that makes John Diggle somewhat accessible.

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How might John's reconciliation with General Stewart impact him moving forward?

Well, it was important to me, because my father passed away in 2014. So when there's a beautiful line, beautifully delivered, by the way, by Ernie, who says, "If your father could see you now, he'd be very proud of you." So that meant something to me personally as an actor, as the person portraying John Diggle.

But I think also it meant something to John, because of how he has felt about his own father and the fact that his adopted father was really protecting him the whole time. He really has, now, two fathers that really loved him, that protected him, and I think all that hits him in that moment. It hit me in that moment, but I think it hits John Diggle as well.

It was a beautiful moment, and... when an actor is giving you what I think -- what I felt --  like Ernie was giving you in that moment -- it was easy to reach that emotional height for me. You know, Ernie was really sincere and really listening to the words. So, you know, we can get all actor-y about it, but I think -- when you're working with a very good actor -- it makes your job, of how to reach these emotional plateaus, really much easier, because they understand the emotional weight behind the lines. Ernie certainly did. So I have to as much as admit to me it was easy to emote that, really, because it meant so much to Ernie. And that's the great thing about working with great actors, right? And that's why casting is so important! Because good actors and actresses know this.

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Though tonight's episode was very Diggle-focused, he's still missing from the flash-forwards. What can you tease about his role in the future timeline?

Oh, you've asked the right question! [laughs] Well, we see now he has an adopted son and a wayward John Jr., his biological son. And where in the world has Diggle been this whole time? Well, we're doing a lot of teasing with that. There will be more teasing. We're going to find that out soon. I cannot tell you. I know where he is... I can tell you he's alive and he's well, but I can't exactly reveal that yet. I'm going to leave that in the hands of the executives and the writers -- both above my head.

NEXT PAGE: Saying Goodbye to Felicity & More

With Arrow ending next season, what is one bucket list item you hope to check off before the series finale?

There are a few things, but one of the most important things is, I think, the relationship between Oliver and Diggle. There was a time back in the past when you saw these guys eating and drinking and talking, and we haven't had that. I think you had major injuries that these two have caused to each other emotionally. I think that air needs to be cleared in a way that's beyond just a handshake. I think it needs to be said, laid to rest and these guys move on.

I think there's room for that, particularly now that the T in OTA [Original Team Arrow] is gone. Felicity is gone! So what do these guys do now? What happens? So I think there's room there for there to be a real, emotional move between these guys where they put this stuff aside. We've had that to some degree. They've shook hands. They said they needed each other after the big huge fight of last season. But I think there's room for more.

Particularly now that we live in a world without Overwatch, I think these guys need each other more than they ever have, so I think I would like to see that next season and see them have each other's backs in ways we haven't seen. I think that comes with a real, genuine "I'm sorry. Let's move forward." I think there's some room for that.

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You wrapped Season 7 earlier this month, so I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about filming Emily Bett Rickards' final episode.

Well, it was sad, right? It was tough. I mean, there was a great moment that I had with her at PaleyFest, I think in the first season or second season, about how Oliver and I were broody around the foundry before Felicity showed up. So, you know, it's tough to say goodbye to such a formidable force on our show, but I think also it opens up an opportunity to tell some storytelling that we really haven't told before.

So as much as she will be missed, I'm looking forward to the final 10 episodes, of just what that story is. And again, this isn't a big season! Every episode is going to have to knock it out the park, right? Every episode has to be incredible. So I'm looking forward to how that story happens now without Felicity Smoak, but it was tough! It was tough saying goodbye. It was tough, her character not being there anymore, and we're all going to miss Emily. We all are.

But again, we have to say goodbye and we have to now look forward to what happens next. And since we only have 10 episodes, I think the storytelling is going to be dynamic in a way we haven't seen before.


Airing Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, Arrow stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak, Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog, Juliana Harkavy as Black Canary, Colton Haynes as Arsenal, Kirk Acevedo as Diaz and Katie Cassidy as Black Siren.