Tosin Cole Interview

Fate has been a topic hanging heavy on Tosin Cole’s mind. Not just because of Supacell (the six-part Netflix series created by Rapman in which he plays the superpower-bestowed lead) but because, when he thinks about it, he’s exactly where he was always meant to be. Tossed from NYC to SE London at just eight years old, a young Tosin discovered a skill of his very own: “I do this weird thing where whoever I’m around, I tend to talk like them…I can’t help it.” Imitation, as they say, is the highest form of flattery, but it’s more than that for the rising star—he just can’t resist stepping into a character. 

In the 45 minutes of speaking to the actor – a proud South East Londoner to an even prouder South East Londoner – I learn a thing or two about Tosin. When he tells a story, he immerses himself straight in it (regardless if he was actually there or not), he’s shy (even though everyone thinks he’s the most confident) and he’s relentless (in career and life). His ambitions – like the powers his character, Michael, discovers – appear to be limitless. Yet he maintains a humble quality unlike many actors out there—second-guessing himself to the last minute…even after he books a part. 

But when all is said and done, Tosin loves what he does. He wants to tell stories that have real impact, he wants to break as many glass ceilings as possible and to stay consistent in his (slow, but sure) rise. A plane might have lead him to the South East, some kismet meetings sure introduced him to his friend, Rapman, but you can’t help but thank destiny for bringing him to our screens. This time, it’s a story set in his own stomping ground, where five seemingly normal Black strangers suddenly develop powers and are tasked to save the world, illuminating tropes from race to class, sickle cell disease to domestic and gang violence. Next, who knows? With the full circle moments on a continuous loop, the future – though Tosin can’t see it himself – is blinding. And if his performances so far are anything to go by, it’s impossible to look away. 

ELLA WEST: I just spent my weekend binging the four episodes of Supacell that I got to watch early… 

TOSIN COLE: Oh yeah? 

EW: Yes! I’ve been left on quite the cliffhanger…my heart palpitations will never recover. But before we get into that, how has your year been so far?

TC: It’s been real good, you know. I kicked off the year with a play at the Bush Theatre called Shifters and that had a really good response to it. So I’m really happy about that. And now it’s the second half of the year, I’m just getting ready for the release of Supacell…it’s an exciting time. 

EW: Do you feel like you have to plan your life around the working on and release of your projects? 

TC: I think so. I knew I was starting the year with the release of the play, then Bob Marley: One Love came out in February, so it feels like everything is coming bit by bit—it happens so fast you almost forget about it. So I’ve had the play come out, the film come out, and now TV coming out. I’m just interested to see what the rest of the year looks like, but I’m feeling good. 
EW: Do you get nervous before a project comes out? 

TC: 100%. You always have that fear of, “I hope they like it.” You never wanna think something is trash—but you have that no matter what. With the play I was so nervous for the first week, then you kind of settle into it. You just don’t wanna be shit, do you.

EW: You’ve acted in so many mediums, but as an actor I feel like part and parcel of the job is also doing things like this—do you enjoy interviews and photoshoots?

TC: The photoshoot was great. You know what it is with me? I look at things like, “I wish I could do things like that.” But the only way you can get comfortable with doing those things is actually doing them—then you believe you can do it more and more. I’m complex though, I’ll think, “I wanna do this and that…but I’m not BEGGING anyone for that.” 

EW: I came to you, to be fair. 

TC: [Laughs.] But I also have an obsession with being better at things, so the more I do it the better I will be. I have to put myself out there. Especially with recorded interviews, I always feel a bit nervous—I’m never myself, I’m more tame. You’re scared of saying the wrong thing. But for the most part, I love putting on nice clothes and taking pictures and working with different people. I like fun and smart interviews. 

EW: No pressure, yeah? 

TC: Nah, no pressure. But you’re right that it’s a part of the job, and I want to do it. I like using my creative brain and showing a bit of my personality. I’m warming into everything slowly but surely. 

EW: How do you find confidence? 

TC: You have it, or you can fake it. I think I’m quite shy, but everyone else thinks I’m confident. It takes me a while to warm to people. But I think you can pretend to be confident—it’s part of a persona, you have to fake it to then believe it. I hate public speaking, but I can do a monologue on stage. 

EW: You moved from New York to London at eight years old, right? 

TC: Yeah, I was born in Florida, America, then made the move from New York. 

EW: Do you think your childhood surroundings have informed the person you are now? 

TC: Absolutely. I do this weird thing where whoever I’m around, I tend to talk like them. I start picking up their lingo, if they have an accent I’ll start saying words the same way—I can’t help it. It’s always been in me. I was surrounded by American accents but then my mum is Nigerian, then when I moved to London I heard so many new accents, but then I was growing up with my aunt and uncle who have a Caribbean accent, then went to school and had different friends who sounded different. It’s embedded in my personality, to imitate others. 

EW: And you went to school in Abbey Wood? 

TC: Yeah…you know Abbey Wood? 

EW: I’m a born-and-bred South East Londoner!

TC: Every time I hear someone talk about Abbey Wood I’m like…you know it?! Only South East London people know Abbey Wood. 

EW: We’re neighbours. When did you first realise you wanted to be an actor? 

TC: I did drama at school because it was a fun GCSE and I liked it so did it at A-Level too—but it was bare literature and writing, man. I just fell into it. I was at a youth theatre called Intermission that I’d go to every Saturday. It was just something fun to do, it wasn’t like, “Oh man this is my dream!” Then when I was 17, I got turned down for an agency and I asked for another interview and they gave me a chance—from then I’ve just been up and running. But the moment I decided I really wanted to make it a career was when I was 19. Every job I started to get, I started to want it more and more. It changed the way I watched films and TV shows. I watched The Why when I was 18 and it changed the way I viewed TV forever, the writing on that show was so clever. 

EW: That’s why you had to look at literature for your drama GCSE… 

TC: [Laughs.] Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then La Haine changed the way I watched film, too—especially in terms of the cinematography. So I wanted to emulate the things I grew up watching. 

EW: Going off the themes of Supacell…I wondered if you believe in fate and destiny? Do you think you were born for the journey you are now on? 

TC: You know what? I think so. Now, when I think about it, if I weren’t doing this, I don’t know what I’d be doing. I don’t have regrets about anything, I feel like I am on my right path. I feel like sometimes you might miss your calling, a lot of people wish they did certain things, but right now I have none. Even one of my friends said I was born to do acting, because I’m always telling stories. I would tell stories that I’ve heard and act like I was there. I feel like this was always meant to be. 

EW: If you could go back and meet yourself, is there anything that would have been valuable to know then that you know now? 

TC: Just do it, man. Live, do it. Everything I’ve done has always worked out. I would tell myself to never lose that fearless trait, having fear can chip away at that youthful view of possibility, so I would tell him to never lose that part of himself. 

EW: Is there anything you’re chasing? Fame, success, accolades? 

TC: I feel like you’ll always chase things regardless, they’re the things that motivate you. Realistically, when I first started acting and made the conscious decision to pursue it, I just wanted to work consistently.

EW: And I’m guessing that’s hard for an actor, especially. 

TC: It’s true. And being Black back then, you would see one Black character and wouldn’t see him again for ages. But I’d think, “I don’t want that. If I do this, I wanna be consistent.” And God bless, so far I’ve been able to do that. Right now, I’m just thinking how do I tell good stories about living people that stand the test of time? That’s what I’m trying to chase. How do I make the classics of our generation that in 20 years’ time will be revered as the greatest of television/film/theatre history? How do I use my resources? They’re my dreams and ambitions, I won’t know about that until it’s all said and done. I just want to make sure we are giving audience members good stuff to watch. [Touches a wood table.]

EW: Out of everything you have done so far, is there a performance that you think has been your stand-out? 

TC: That’s a good question. I really liked the character I played in the play I just did, Dre, I think that’s one of my best performances. Even I believed that I was quite good. I felt really proud of what I put out there. But I’ve done so much different stuff it’s kinda difficult to compare it. 

EW: It must be so different being on stage to being on camera, too. 

TC: Yeah, because being on stage you get a lot of time to explore and find your character. But with TV and film you have to make magic happen on the day—you try to be as prepared as you can, but you don’t have the rehearsal time that you do in theatre. I’ve done so much different stuff, I’ve done comedies, I’ve done sci-fi, so I think I’m gonna try and have a “best” list in each genre. So maybe in the next five years we can hopefully do this again and I can give you my best performance in each genre. 

EW: You’re gonna be like, “Let me get out this scroll of projects I’ve done”… 

TC: Yeah, like, “Well, in 2018…” That’s the plan. 

EW: I do want to circle back and say congratulations on Supacell…

TC: Thank you, I really do appreciate that. 

EW: You’re the lead, you’re the central character who pulls everyone together. But how did you first hear about the project? Were you first to be cast? 

TC: Do you know what’s so funny? So you know Rodney [his Supacell co-star, Calvin Demba], that’s one of my best friends. We used to live together. We met at an audition and he was being super cocky, he was like, “Ah, this part is mine.” 

EW: So he hasn’t changed… 

TC: Nah, not at all. But we were going for the same job and I just had a good feeling about him. I was like, “Bro, I feel like we’re gonna work together. So if we’re gonna do that, let’s live together.” So we were in Liverpool with a couple of other lads and just became bredrin. Long story short, Rapman wrote Rodney’s part for Calvin, he’d seen Calvin’s work and thought, “I’ve got a character in mind for him”, but Rapman knew that we were tight—Calvin’s kind of mysterious, he’s very off the grid. So I connected Rapman and Calvin together and was like, “Rapman has this part for you, what do you think?” He ended up getting the part and called me and said, “There’s a role for you! This guy called Michael!” I was just like, “Is it? How can that be when he called ME about YOU but didn’t mention a part for ME?” 

EW: This is mad, so you were friends with Rapman before the project? 

TC: It’s interesting, me and Calvin are proper tight, but me and Raps used to bump into each other all the time because we’re both from South London—I’d bump into him at a Caribbean shop and he’d be like, “I’m doing this, I’m doing that.” I met him during the time when Shiro’s Story was out, so I’d see him at all the industry parties. I then bumped into him again at Mo Gilligan’s O2 show after party and he was like, “We’re casting for Michael for Supacell. I think you should come in.” And I was just like…“AUDITION?!” 

EW: [Laughs.] Like, “Are you not just going to give me the part?!” 

TC: For real…AUDITION?! [Laughs.] He was like, “I’m sorry, we have to!” So I auditioned but was umm-ing and arr-ing because I’ll get excited about opportunities but then I’ll get the part and be like, [puts hands to his head and whispers] “Is this the right thing to do? Am I making the right choice?” I’m a wreck. My thought process for getting a job is it’s either yes – which is rare – and spending 95% of the time spiralling about whether my career is going in the right direction. 

EW: Success anxiety, we get it. 

TC: Exactly. It’s just weird how Supacell was so interconnected. It felt like destiny, in a way. 

EW: What was it like working with them once you did audition, was cast, and you decided it WAS a good career move? 

TC: It was actually fun, filming in your hometown where you grew up. We were filming in Thamesmead, Deptford, Peckham, all the places I actively grew up. I’d be in front of the camera and see a friend I’ve known for years just driving down the street. You know the block where the Tower Boys chill? I actively hung around there. 

EW: It feels like the setting of the series was an actual character in the show. What was the significance for you? 

TC: It felt so surreal. I have good and bad memories in those areas, so it felt nice. It shows how far you have come. Every area I filmed in I remembered certain parts of my life. 

EW: Do you think that helped you relate to the story more? Was it weird having such a strong personal connection to the setting when you were playing someone else? 

TC: I think it gave it more truth. The five characters that are in it, I KNOW those five characters—I’ve grown up with those character types…bar the superpowers. I’ve got friends like Michael, I don’t have friends like Tazer—but I KNOW people like Tazer. It’s so relatable in terms of the characters that are in it, being in South London makes it all the more special. I’m a proud South Londoner, so it’s a great feeling to put it on the map. 

EW: How much of the story did you know before you signed onto it?

TC: I knew that Rapman was making this series about people with powers, and I knew Calvin got a role in it first—so I had an inside scoop. I got the first two or three episodes and was reading the script and was laughing so much, the Tower Boys really crack me up, they’re on their own journey. I could instantly visualise what I was reading, it felt easy, it felt like something I would watch. So I thought, “Do you know what? This might be the move for me.” 

EW: Another thing I loved was how many topics are covered. I didn’t know a lot about sickle cell disease then it goes into race, class, domestic violence, gang violence, it covers so much but in a way that doesn’t feel—

TC: —It’s not TOO heavy, right? What Raps does is tell stories about real life people. You’ve got a girl going through relationship issues, a father trying to keep his son off the streets, someone trying to build something out of nothing, a guy that just wants to get married to his girlfriend. They all have their own problems, but this one thing they have in common – that they all have powers – brings them all into one story of togetherness. Everyone’s trying to solve each other’s problems—it’s so grounded. We can say the series is about powers and saving the world but they’ve got real life issues. It makes it so much more relatable. 

EW: How did you connect to Michael? 

TC: It was all about stripping it back. For Michael, his relationship was the most important thing to him. He loves his fiancé, he’s trying to save her life, and using everything in his knowledge and power to make that happen. Because he’s not connected to all these other worlds – he doesn’t take interest in drugs or gang violence – he’s having to step into them and getting a proper sense of the world. He’s quite naive and can be desperate, but as he goes through these worlds he’s wising up. He gets taken advantage of, but learns from it. He’s on a journey of trial and error. The more experiences he has, and I don’t know if I can say this but when he goes [mimics fingers pointing forward and whispers “into the future”], he sees the man he will become from it. 

EW: Do you think you’d react the same as him getting superpowers randomly? 

TC: I think I’d be gassed, you know. I’d be freaked out at first, if I randomly went to the future I’d be like, “What the fuck is going on”. But I’d eventually be gassed, like, I can stop time?!

EW: Would you want to look into the future if you could? 

TC: I think it would give me anxiety, man. Knowing somethings gonna happen will just make you wait for it to happen. Imagine something is gonna happen that you don’t like, so you do everything to stop it then it happens anyway—because it’s destined. If I could teleport, I ain’t gonna lie, I’d be a happy man. 

EW: Imagine how much money you’d save from the South Eastern line… 

TC: It’s true, innit. I’d be like “zoop”, Jamaica. “Zoop”, Prague. 

EW: What do you hope viewers take from the story? 

TC: I hope you can relate to at least one of the five people’s struggles that the characters are going through. I want to raise awareness for sickle cell disease, and people that have it can see it as a superpower instead of their downfall. Most importantly, I hope people feel entertained and see the characters for the humans that they are and the walks of life they’ve come from. Everyone’s trying to make a life for themselves. I’m hoping for a season two so we can make it bigger and better each time. I’m really excited but trying to be zen about it.

EW: What’s your biggest lesson learnt and biggest takeaway? 

TC: It’s more work-related than anything, I’ve realised I love what I do. I’d love to learn more about how this world operates. I’m so interested in how to make everything better and more efficient. I want to create and tell stories. 

EW: Do you think you’d want to dabble in other areas of the industry other than acting? 

TC: For sure. Seeing Raps’ passion for telling his own story he’s created and seeing it coming to life and the excitement it brought him is so inspiring. I was like, “Man, I want some of that.” It’s inspiring to see a fellow South Londoner like me with no formal training getting up and saying, “Fuck it. Let’s do it.” His journey is very admirable, I’m trying my best to take a leaf out of his book. 

EW: When do you think you’ll “make it” yourself? Do you feel like you have already? 

TC: It’s relative, it’s what you make it. In terms of what I started out doing, when I was 17 compared to now, in my eyes, I’ve already made it. I set out to work consistently and make acting an affordable career, even certain targets I set myself like working in America, meeting my idols—I’ve had great opportunities and I’ve done that. I’ve never thought, “If only I had that opportunity” because I’ve always had them, even if I don’t book the part. So in that respect, I’ve made it. But in the next five years, I’m setting new goals. I want to do everything I have on a bigger and better level. But I’m doing what I was destined to do, and I’m quite chuffed about that.