Tell us about Gus?
Gus is a young and ambitious man. A man who feels like he really wants to live up to that name. The name that his Dad has built for himself. He is also a little bit of a mummy’s boy. He loves his parents and he always feels like he has to try and live up to something, to an image he’s built. He’s a very caring man too.
How much of yourself can you see in Gus?
I see a lot of myself in Gus which makes it easier to play this role. Of course we have had different upbringings but the values and the family values and being close to his mum and trying to live up to the family name.
So tell us about the themes of the show?
The themes of the show are family, greed of course, wealth. Politics, a little bit of family politics in there as well. I don’t even know how to explain it but having two sides of the family come together. So I guess building a bigger family and making the best out of a situation that you have.
Tell us about the Flair & Glory empire and Gus’s role within that?
It is really a good story of a man who had a vision and spent as long as it required to bring that vision to life. Gus’ role in that empire is he feels like he is the heir. He feels like this is the way in which he really formed that relationship with dad and he feels like this is what I have been groomed to do all my life so I better be ready.
Do you feel that Gus has a sense of entitlement that it should be him?
Maybe not entitlement but kind of like there’s no other answer and it is me, you know. It can’t be anybody else. I’ve been here, I’ve been working here out of the siblings. I’m the only one that’s been working here for years. Dad’s been training me up for this so it is me. It can’t be anyone else.
Talk a little bit about the family dynamics at play and the politics of it all?
Interesting and complicated, it’s always complicated having two sides of the same family. The first marriage and the second marriage coming together and fighting for their rights. I guess in that case no one is really wrong because we all feel like this is our dad and we have a part of him and we deserve a part of him. But the way we are all going about it is what makes this very interesting. Because we all have a part to play in dad’s empire. So everybody wants to be at the top and nobody wants to share the top spot and that’s the family dynamic here. You know a lot of things are going to happen because of that.
Can you relate in any way?
The sort of disagreements and arguments that we may have in the Riches family it’s just like arguing with your sister or your brother at home. The Riches family don’t really understand to its depth, how much blood, sweat and tears their dad put into this. To some extent, it’s a little bit like this is our toy.
Flair & Glory is our toy and I don’t want to share my toy with anybody else, you can find that in any family. It’s just taking that understanding and putting it on a bigger scale with a multi-million-pound company. It’s very relatable. That’s one of the reasons why it’s also easier to play this role because it’s just normal. We just happen to be in a bigger house or a bigger car, or in a bigger company. It’s all the same.
Have you formed great relationships with your on-screen family?
Yes actually. We have really definitely formed some good relationships with each other on and off set. Sometimes it’s kind of strange to think that we have only known each other for a short amount of time. Some people that you are supposed to not be friends with on screen, you are already friends with them off screen. So it’s like okay we have to switch off our friendliness for the next five minutes and shoot. But yeah we have formed some pretty good relationships. It’s great.
Are there any funny or amusing on screen moments that you would like to share?
Two weeks ago I was just really tired on set and I feel like being one of the people that’s quite energetic on set. It was noticeable when I was tired. So my cast mates, my sisters actually made up a rap on the spot and you know just started singing and we do that a lot. You always find that funny, we play music, we dance. I was born in Nigeria and we speak Yoruba so sometimes I speak a lot of Yoruba with Emmanuel and sometimes the rest of the people on the set don’t really fully understand it and we make fun of that and we teach each other different languages and stuff. It’s all a joy.
What do you hope viewers will take away from the show?
Entertainment of course. Be entertained. Have fun. We are having fun so hopefully that shows through the screen. But also being raised in Nigeria and South London and always wanting to become an actor and seeing some of the limitations that I had as an actor and as a Black actor, I would love some viewers to watch this and feel like I can actually play a role like this too. I could dress like that too. Just like I watch Black Panther, I watch Spider Man Into The Spider-Verse and be like I want to play that role. I want someone to watch this and be like I want to play that role. It’s pretty cool, I really hope that happens.
Tell us why it’s important to be on the show with a Black showrunner and creatives. What difference do you feel that makes to the show?
Being on the show with a Black showrunner and creatives, I feel like it’s probably less about Abby being Black and more about the culture. This is a Nigerian family. A British Nigerian family.
So having someone that understands the culture and was raised in that culture and has such an understanding of that culture makes a whole world of difference. It’s really great that Abby has written this. It’s really great that we can really fit into this and into these roles. I am so excited for people to see this. Really excited.
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