BEST OF TASTY CLIPS: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje reviews his road to ‘Euphoria’
By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
ADEWALE AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE has built an acting career on creating memorable characters. The latest example is that of the nefarious mobster, arms dealer, human trafficker and strip club owner Alamo Brown, so indelibly played on the just ended third and final season of the HBO hit series “Euphoria.”
Prior to that, he was most recognized for two monumental parts: chilling convict Simon Adebisi on the HBO prison series “Oz” and the mysterious Mr. Eko on the ABC’s “Lost.”
“Adebisi came at a time in my life that I was able to express a lot of my own angst and just immerse myself in it without fear,” he told TASTY CLIPS of his breakout role. “That is one that people always gravitate to, so I’ll be Adebisi until the day I die — which is cool with me.”
“Mr. Eko masqueraded as a holy priest and was a criminal killer but was probably more holy than any prayer man you’ve ever come upon because he was really truly at the core about justice and truth.”
Akinnuoye-Agbaje believes these characters resonated with people because they were not one dimensional.
“They’re not just bad people or good people,” he said. “They’re all of it. I think that’s what life is. Nobody is a hero 24/7. People mess up and people do good, too. Adebisi was a heinous criminal, but he had a sense of humor, so you just had to love the guy. When you can show humanity in people, they’re relatable.”
We spoke several years back when he was starring as Detective John Byrd in the ABC mystery drama “Ten Days in the Valley.”
“I always knew I wanted to go back to TV,” said the British actor who was featured in “Suicide Squad,” “Concussion,” “Annie,” “The Bourne Identity,” “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” and “Thor: The Dark World.” “I was disheartened and disillusioned with a lot of the Black roles that were being presented during the pilot season. Byrd was written as a white character, but I pushed my team to go after it. Eventually, I got a chemistry screen test with the lead actress Kyra Sedgwick and was hired.”
“It’s a great role because he has this cool way of seeking the truth and justice,” he explained. “He’s not a cop that’s about being right. He’s a cop about finding out the truth.”
Researching Philadelphia cops for his lead role as an investigator in the 2017 independent film “Wetlands” prepared him to play Byrd.
“I got to watch busts and see it from the inside out,” Akinnuoye-Agbaje revealed. “I rode with cops that never washed. They constantly drank power drinks to keep them going. I was able to put all these little nuances in the character.”
In its incubation period, he was actually attached to star as “Marvel’s Black Panther.” When asked about the role which went to Chadwick Boseman, he chuckled before saying: “Who knows what’s in people’s mind during casting? All I know is I am never going to allow my destiny to be dictated by an external, which is why I started writing and directing my own films. Panther was something I grew up with and was fond of but there are so many opportunities out there.
“Not all of them can be given to me. Now I’m in the position to create for myself. And that’s where I’m actually more fulfilled than ever. To be honest, I landed on the right side of the track.”
Right indeed! His distinct voice, along with Ben Kingsley, James McAvoy, John Boyega and Daniel Kaluuya is prominent in Netflix’s animated version of the classic book, “Watership Down.”
Akinnuoye-Agbaje also directed his autobiographical screenplay “Farming,” starring Kate Beckinsale, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Damson Idris (“Snowfall”) as a younger version of himself, raised by a white foster family and leading a racist skinhead gang.
He attributes his faith for much of his success: “Before I make any decision I chant. What that does is it aligns you with your innate Buddhist spirit and with that of the universe. What I’m trying to say is I make decisions from my highest wisdom as opposed to my ego, rapture or any other lower life condition. It’s never really about money. It’s about my inner happiness and that’s the bottom line.”
For 12 years, Bill Vaughan has kept Wave readers up to date with the latest news in entertainment. Now, we are collecting some of those past columns into what we call the Best of Tasty Clips. To contact Vaughan, visit his social media pages on Facebook and Instagram or @tasty_clips, on X @tastyclips, and on LinkedIn to William Vaughan.
