I grew up in NC where I played a lot of sports and began as a child as a Visual Artist. I loved to draw. I still enjoy Art til this day. The first time I acted was in an Acting For Non Majors class in undergrad at North Carolina A&T State University. That was me dipping my toe in as a young adult, still figuring out what I really wanted to do with my life.
Did you study acting
The moment I decided to be an Actor was in a Speech Class, which was loaded with Theatre Majors while I was in undergrad. I was a Communications Major at the time. I rap, so during class presentations I’d spit my flows, and watch the Theatre Majors do their work, and I was amazed at the magic they’d create. I kept getting suggestions from some Staff that I should try because I’d act silly sometimes and make them laugh. So I took the Acting For Non Majors class the next semester; the semester after that, I changed my Major to Theatre with a Concentration in Acting/Directing at NC A&T State University (which pushed my graduation back a full year, but I didn’t care). The first technique I was introduced to was Stanislavski, then Uta Hagen. I had the least experience in the Craft in my graduating class, so I had to work very hard to prove that I was committed and serious about the work. I went on to further my training eventually winding up in Chicago where I did a bunch of Theatre for several years, even taking a couple of Master Classes at The Second City.
Pictured with Omari Hardwick, Ty Jones, and Lela Loren in #PowerTV #Season4. Thanks @EW for the love. pic.twitter.com/U0nh3fLdzI
— Tomike Ogugua (@TomikeLee) October 13, 2016
What acting technique do you use
I use the technique I was taught, the ABC’s of Acting by Stanislavski. The series (‘An Actor Prepares’, ‘Building a Character’, and ‘Creating A Role’) would serve me when I was introduced to the little Meisner Training I received later in my career. I believe in being as internal as possible, however external factors can influence a performance.
How do you keep fit as an actor
I keep physically fit by working out with weights in the gym four to five times per week (when I am not super busy), and incorporate a little Yoga. Mentally, I hang out with my daughter. And I also, leave town once in a while just to regroup (living in NYC it’s a necessity).
The Haunting of Louis Gossett Jr.
How do you prepare for a role
The first question I ask myself is, “What is this character fighting for?” I read the scene or script, and tailor it to who I am. To memorize lines, I record my voice and listen to the lines like I would music, coupled with writing the lines out by hand, and running the lines with a friend or fellow actor. it is important to hear the words out loud.
How do you stay fresh on a production set
I stay in character by just being keen on what the character wants. As long as I stay focused on what the character’s goal is I’m good. I also remember to have fun, which can be difficult in a really heavy scene. But it’s part of the work.
2015 Innovative Theatre Awards
Describe a memorable character you played
Most memorable? That’s a hard one…I am the wrong one to ask this one. There have been so many…more than likely when I played Reggie Weekes on ID Channel’s “Redrum”. I played a real person who did some horrible things. Or in Season 2 of Starz’s “Power”, my character talks to fan favorite, ‘Tommy’ in a way that the fans aren’t used to. My personal memorable roles would on stage would be Hedley in August Wilson’s “Seven Guitars” as an undergrad, and Brutus in Rome Neal’s adaptation of “Julius Caesar Set In Africa”. For completely opposite reasons.
Explain one creative choice you took on set
Ahhh…here’s a funny one — I shot a Geico commercial once a few years ago, the Director instructs me to chase the other actors past a couch, after one of them throws a tray of veggies at me. Instead of just running past the couch, I leaped over it…the Director liked it, kept it and it aired.
Broken City
What do you want most from a director
What I want from a Director (and Producers and Actors for that matter) is to trust me to do my job. And let’s all have fun and make this magic happen.
What actors do you long to work with
Delroy Lindo. I think we should do a film or a series where I play is son or nephew. Something really well written.
Why
I have been told throughout my career that I look like him, and in this case, I agree. But, I love his work. It would be the chance to work with and learn from a great. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with many others I look up to and respect. Lindo would be icing on the cake for me.
Hadley Players-The Devil and Elijah Muhammad
What advice would you give to actors
Be yourself. Work diligently. Be kind. Know the business (because more than likely you won’t get it in Drama School). Know who the Gatekeepers are BY NAME and OFFICE, and you must NETWORK. You must be driven, talent only is a small percentage to being a working actor.
Briefly write about your career
There have been many milestones, along with the disappointments. Different kinds of characters, many different productions across different genres and mediums.
I think Season 2 of Starz’s “Power” was the most exposure I’ve received. The Sean Bell episode of ID Channel’s “Fatal Encounters” still sits with me, because that was such a major event in NYC, in particular to my community. I got the chance to play a Prison Guard in the Donmar’s “HENRY IV” at St Ann’s Warehouse 8 times a week in Brooklyn. It’s special because it was historic; similar to my experience with Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Julius Caesar” at Brooklyn Academy of Music. I also appear in this year’s Urbanworld Film Festival Audience Award winner “Samaria” alongside Tatyana Ali, which addresses social ills.
Recent work includes an appearance in Lifetime Movie Network’s “I Love You, But I Lied” in January of this year, the return of my Marshal Macedon character to Season Four of “Power” (2017) along with wrapping work on short film “Driving Force” (2017), ending the runs of plays “To Damascus 2”, “Off Track”, Walter’s Dead” and “L’Image”, and doing a Staged Reading of a powerful new play, “Bongani”, about a young black man coming of age in Post Apartheid South Africa. I also was blessed to spend some time in Bulgaria shooting a commercial earlier this Summer. This year has been especially fruitful. Currently you can catch me teaching a Youth Acting Class at Youth Arts Academy at Restoration Plaza in Brooklyn.
