Interview: Rick Cosnett | The Flash [English]

Rick Cosnett played Eddie Thawne in The Flash Eddie Thawne and though his time on the show was limited his role is unforgotten. From time to time he came back, as he did for the show’s finale.

During Comic Con Prague 2026 I had the opportunity to talk with him about The Flash, conventions, The Vampire Diaries and more.

You can find the German version of this interview HERE.

What is your impression of Comic Con Prague? Do you like it?

Yes, very organized and one of the best convention centers I have ever seen. And one of the best setups I have ever seen. Honestly. The booths, everything [is] very professional. Great actors, but also a really good audience. They just were so attentive. They just were sitting down and ready to love us and watch us and laugh. I was really very impressed. It was a very warm reception.

Your portrayal of Eddie Thawne on The Flash moved a lot of fans and so did the fact that you had to leave the show. Did the fans‘ reaction play into your comebacks to the show or had those been planned before?

That’s a very good question, actually. I’ve never thought about that ever until right this moment. Yeah, maybe it did. Maybe it did. Maybe they did think they were gonna kill me and never see me again. I hope not, but if they did then the fans obviously helped a lot and maybe they didn’t realize how sad everyone would be. But I think they did.

I think they wanted everyone to be really sad, because that’s how they planned it. But it was a very spectacular reaction and it felt really good for me because you don’t want to die and no one to care. Now that I am thinking about it, I am sure it did. I am sure they also do market research and stuff. It is pretty harsh to kill off a main character but I think they were going to do it anyway and my character just happend to be in the wrong place.

What was it like coming back from time to time, especially when you returned in the later seasons?

It was very much that the story mirrored real life. It was really sad when I died for a number of different reasons, but I was also quite confident that I was going to do other things. So it wasn’t completely full on, but it felt like … I felt hurt by it. I felt also disrespected by it as well on some level. Not by the actors obviously, because it wasn’t their decision.

Everytime I came back I was back with these people that I loved, but this terrible thing had happend and no one really wanted to talk about it. Well, of course, we talked about it, but it was this terrible thing and no one knew what to do about it and you don’t want to be „Oh, are you okay?“ too much, because that would be weird as well. So the whole situation was crazy. Going back was like going back in time and to another universe. It was like Eddie … like I had died and they were still going about working and I wasn’t working on the show anymore. It was really strange to be honest, but obviously I loved going back because I always loved working on the show. So I was really happy to be back even though I was never able to go back in a real way.

But, of course, at the very end I did come back for longer than I usually was on there and I was very happy to be there at the very first day and the very last day. That was really important for me and hopefully for other people to be able to close the story and to be able to move on and have it be a happy memory. Which it always was, but this really cemented it for me, the fact that I got to go back at the very end meant a lot to me, more than I thought it meant subconciously because I was completely able to just have it be a completely wonderful happy experience and feeling included at the end.

After being written out of The Flash, did you consider applying at Marvel?

Absolutely. I think I didn’t even get an audition from Marvel and unfortunately it is out of your control as an actor. Your agents are the ones who do everything for you. So you are just as good as your agent is as good at selling you. Do you know what I mean?

Yes. Is there any Marvel project that you would like to be part of or a character that you would like to play?

Absolutely. I mean there are so many different ones. Obviously I would like to do one that hasn’t been done yet. So if you gave me a list to the ones that haven’t been done yet I will tell you which ones. But some of the characters are really, really complex, like Doctor Strange. Is that Marvel?

Yes.

Yes. Good. Just checking! I think there would be a myriad of different options for me. I am really an actor’s actor. I like acting and I like characters. So, trust me, I would have no problem doing a Marvel movie. I feel like I could do it standing on my head.

The Arrow-verse ended quite a few years ago. What is it like looking back at this huge universe and knowing that you were a part of this project that has still this huge fanbase?

I think I was very lucky because I could have gotten so many other jobs that I didn’t get. But the first job I got was The Vampire Diaries, which is now bigger than any other show that I have ever been on. I did like nine Vampire Diaries conventions last year.

And The Flash as well. It’s amazing that people can watch it over and over again and they watch it more and more. I get recognized so much almost more now for Eddie than I used to. It’s such a blessing. And it is such a blessing to be a part of that and not to be tainted – it was only that your questions brought up a lot of emotions. Usually I am just very happy to be part of the story and very grateful that it happend.

While the Arrow-verse did well it is – as mentioned – also a thing of the past, especially with all the shake-ups that happend with DC movies and TV shows. Do you think that current projects could learn from The Flash, Arrow and all the other shows? Which lessons should they learn in your opinion?

I can see where they are going with it. I think they are going in a good direction from what I heard. I never saw it. But I heard and saw maybe one tiny clip of Superman and he seemed to be quite quirky, quite funny, which is a good direction to go in. The actor that you choose is going to be everything and maybe they need to learn from the fact that … Grant Gustin was so perfect and charismatic and different and was doing his own thing and is such a good actor. I think that was one of the reasons why The Flash took off.

So I think the lead actor who plays the title role is super important. And you cast from there and you cast in a similar way. I feel like Grant and the rest of us, the six of us who were there in the beginning. I really feel like we were such a great ensemble and all complemented Grant in a way. And also The Flash in the production design as well was all light and it was funny and it was entertaining in that way as well.

So that is a good question and I would say: Focus on getting the actors right and then create the world. The world was so believeable in The Flash because we created that thing that felt real. Mostly because we we were all so in love with the story and the characters. That’s from an actor’s perspective. I don’t know what the producers should do.

You already mentioned The Vampires Diaries which also has this huge fanbase. What are the differences between these two big fandoms and if there are any, what is it like going to a Vampire Diaries convention or to a Flash convention?

That’s a very good question. We actually don’t really do Flash conventions which is unfortunate. We used to do City of Heroes, with Arrow and stuff, very early on. Ever since then unfortunately … There have been some, but I think, only five of them go to those. They do cons together. I would love to have a Flash convention. I think it would be so fun to be there with fans who specifically love The Flash. And that hasn’t happend since about 2015 for me.

But Vampire Diaries is amazing. They love the show, they cry when they see me. They know all the lines. I was just in Paris, doing one, and they made a doll of Dr. Wes Maxfield. They named a star after me. They are crazy and amazing and very passionate I find. Where it has been hard doing The Flash, because I have been on my own at a con and I would love to be with the maincast, especially Jesse, – I just saw Jesse the other day – who played Detective West. Jesse, Candice and I maybe could do some, because I think it is like Grant, Danielle, Candice and maybe Carlos. I don’t know if Candice is there and Tom and then John Wesley. They just kind of stick together and do cons together and I am trying to get on with them, but I don’t know maybe my agent can’t get me in.

Are there any current TV or streaming shows that you would like to have a role in – in any capacity – which one(s) and why?

I would love to do The White Lotus. That is one of my favorites. I think it is really well written and very well acted. There’s so many different roles I could play in that. It is mostly about rich people and probably I would be one of the rich people because let’s face it, it is sort of about deconstructing white supremacy in a lot of ways and the messages in it are really, really clear and very good. And something like Succession would also be something I would die to do. Anything HBO, where they develop things for so long and scripts … that’s one of my dreams.

I want to be in an English period drama as well before I die. I would love to play Richard I. of England, Richard, the Lionheart, or I would like to play Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Yeah, those would be my picks.

What upcoming projects should fans look out for? Please tell us a bit more about these.

I have recently been on Doctor Odyssey, which is on ABC in the States, with Joshua Jackson. It is about a team of doctors on a cruise ship. And then I am also in Palm Royale which is on Apple TV, with Kristin Wiig and Ricky Martin. That’s a fun watch, really, really fun watch. So I would say those two for right now.