After studying at the U.K.’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Wunmi Mosaku dove into a London stage career before making the transition to the screen on BBC Two’s “Moses Jones” in 2009. “I Am Slave” marked her feature film debut a year later, “Damilola, Our Loved Boy” earned her a BAFTA in 2017, and Netflix scooped up her Sundance indie “His House” earlier this year. Now, she’s stealing scenes on HBO’s genre-bending hit “Lovecraft Country.”
‘Lovecraft Country’ Is HBO’s Latest Must-Watch Series Thanks to Creator Misha Green When was the moment you decided you wanted to be an actor?
When I was in college—which is high school for you—I was doing maths, economics, and chemistry. I dropped chemistry because there was a cute boy, and I figured out if I dropped chemistry, I would be in his drama class. But I was still applying to economics and maths in university. I got huge anxiety and insomnia, and I was just like, “Ah, this doesn’t feel right, Mom. I want to change course.” And she said, “To what?” and I said, “I think I want to act. That’s the only place I feel comfortable; it’s the only place I feel inspired. The only place I feel happy is in the drama department.” And she said, “I don’t know how you can act,” and I said, “I don’t know either.” My favorite film growing up was “Annie,” and me and my sister went through all the actors in “Annie” and googled them all. We saw that Albert Finney was from Salford, which is just outside of Manchester, and that he went to RADA. I applied. We could only afford to apply for one drama school, so I applied for RADA, where Albert Finney went, and I thankfully got in. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I didn’t. I would’ve gone to university and I probably would’ve been happy, too, but I wasn’t brilliant in maths and economics. I feel inspired by acting and the drama department and stories and the comradery.
READ: What Is RADA and Why Is It so Famous?
How did you get your first big break? Who was the casting director who cast you?
I would say my first big break would’ve been “Moses Jones.” That was the first time I had a lead. Andy Pryor cast me in “Moses Jones.” I think we shot in 2008. That was a huge moment for me: a female lead on the BBC, opposite Shaun Parkes and Matt Smith. And Michael Offer was directing and Joe Penhall was the writer. It was so much fun. I was like a puppy on set! I would come in on my days off, and I would be an AD—you guys call them PAs on set here. I would come in and look after the extras and watch the set and how it works. I loved that job.
“Nothing is truly mine unless it’s mine—and even when you think it’s yours, it really might be destined for someone else. So let it go.”
What advice would you give your younger self?
Embrace the journey. Embrace all your mistakes and falls. I’ve realized I have not been completely honest with what I need and what I want and how I’ve been treated, and I haven’t necessarily stood up for myself. I’ve not always stood completely in my power and spoken the truth. I needed the journey to get to that realization.
What is your worst audition horror story?
I did a musical audition for a job I really, really wanted, and I forgot my sheet music for my contribution. Then they started playing their song, and I had practiced it really, really slowly. I had never heard the original, and that was a mistake. It was so fast, I literally broke out into a sweat. I couldn’t get the words out. They said to me, “That was so brave of you to come in. It’s not easy for a TV actor to come in for a musical audition.” I got on my bike to cycle home. Usually you don’t hear about an audition for two weeks. I had barely crossed Waterloo Bridge in London, and I got a call from my agent, like, “You didn’t get this.” [Laughs] I watch that musical now, and it’s amazing. I did not do it justice.
What musical was it?
“Hamilton.” [Laughs] I went to see it in London and it was amazing, and I was like, “Wow, I really messed it up.” I didn’t even know there was a soundtrack to get!
What’s your go-to audition song?
Funnily enough, it’s Erykah Badu, “Next Lifetime.” I love that song. I feel confident singing it, and I just love that song. I do that one, and then I’ll do “Stormy Weather.” [For] my audition for drama school, I did, from “Les Mis,” “I Dreamed a Dream.”
“You can’t take all that emotion with you. I go into every audition and I come out and I say, ‘I did my best.’”
What performance should every actor see and why?
First, I would say anything with Aunjanue Ellis. I don’t feel like she’s acting; I feel like she’s really truly there and feels it. I [also] remember a piece of theater, “Dying City” with Andrew Scott and Sian Brooke. I was at the Royal Court Theatre next to a stranger, and I was so inconsolable that [the] stranger put their arm around me and was like, “You’re alright. You’re OK.” That was just a magical experience in the theater.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done to get a role?
I’m a firm believer that what’s mine won’t pass me by. When I was younger, I would do everything I possibly could for an audition, and I would find it difficult to let go of the audition. You can’t take all that emotion with you. I go into every audition and I come out and I say, “I did my best.” Even in that audition where I really messed it up, I still did my best. My “Hamilton” audition truly was my best that day. If I had an audition for “Hamilton” today, I would prepare completely differently and still do my best.
I had a moment in 2010—I had an accident on set, and I lost feeling in my hand. I was already on my next job doing a play, and I had to have surgery and I was recast. I was heartbroken. That was a turning moment. I’d had this job for months, and I had done so much work and research for it. I missed birthdays and weddings just to do my homework. I really put work above everything. And then I got recast. I really wanted to put my health and what was best for my health below doing this job. I’m glad that wasn’t the case. I’m glad they didn’t listen to a 22-year-old who didn’t know any better. I watched the play [“Ruined”], and I was just blown away by Pippa Bennett-Warner’s performance. I realized in that moment, that role, as much as I thought it was mine, it was never mine; it was always Pippa’s. It was obvious to me that nothing is truly mine unless it’s mine—and even when you think it’s yours, it really might be destined for someone else. So let it go.
How did you first get your Equity and SAG-AFTRA cards?
I have Equity in the U.K. I joined that before I got my first job because in the U.K., you need Equity to copyright your name. SAG, I joined with “Lovecraft Country.”
This story originally appeared in the Sept. 10 issue of Backstage Magazine. Subscribe here.
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