Yourcinemafilms.com | Critically-acclaimed actor Josh Tedeku (Supacell, Boarders) shares his struggle with Integrity in certain jobs and why being the 'lead’ isn’t his main focus!
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Are you ready for the truth?
’Welcome to Your Cinema'
Follow us on socials:
Tiktok: @yourcinemafilms
Instagram: @yourcinemafilms
Twitter: @yourcinemafilms
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FunTranscript
00:00Now everyone's making it in film and TV, but we don't really know how.
00:06Here, we uncover the truth.
00:08Welcome to the Your Cinema Podcast.
00:12Welcome to the Your Cinema Podcast.
00:15This is the place where we explore the truth about the industry, film, TV and theatre
00:21and hear it directly from those who are smashing it in their respective fields.
00:25Today, we have got one of the most exciting talents in our industry.
00:30He was in the BAFTA and BIFA nominated festival of slaps.
00:35He's been in a Sky series called A Town Called Malice, Borders for BBC
00:41and was also one of the leads for the groundbreaking global smash hit Supercell for Netflix.
00:50We've got Josh Teduku in the building.
00:54What's going on?
00:55I'm good. How are you, man?
00:57I love it. I love it.
00:58I'm great, man. I'm great.
01:00As you can see, the camera's going all over the place a bit.
01:03I'm excited, man, because we're really blessed and fortunate to have relationships
01:13with great people and get great guests on the pod.
01:17You're no exception.
01:19Genuinely, one of the most exciting talents.
01:24I think you actually gave some insight into it before we started recording
01:31just because you were talking about script selection, right?
01:39You are choosing good projects.
01:44And we are seeing the results of it, which is what is making, I'm sure,
01:51so many people are regarding you in an increasing light because of those projects.
01:57But it's like, actually, you have really thought about it.
02:01It's not just like auditions are landing on you and you're getting roles
02:05and you're like, cool.
02:06It's the early part of my career, so I'm just trying to get in and then we can form it.
02:10It's like, oh, you're crafting it from now and we can see it.
02:16So, yeah, I just want to say kudos to you.
02:21We have slightly altered or changed the format of the podcast, right?
02:28And how we do it now is there's a few set questions that we ask
02:34and we just run through them and go from there.
02:36So it hasn't changed that much, but that's just to let you know.
02:39So my first question, right, is in your own words, what do you do?
02:49In my own words, I create art.
02:53I act.
02:55That's the form of art that I create and how I do it, how I express myself.
03:00And just storyteller, storyteller.
03:05I feel like the love of acting and all of that just came from a love of telling stories
03:10when I was a kid.
03:12And now, you know, just watching people tell stories, you just watch them and go,
03:18I want to be able to tell stories on that level.
03:21I want to be able to be a vessel and a good vessel at that to portray these stories
03:29and then impact the people watching you.
03:33And then they're like, I want to tell stories or I just feel really impacted
03:37and moved by this person.
03:39You know, that's where the love comes from, you know, the fact that you're able
03:43to do that and bring that joy to people's lives is amazing.
03:47You know, I'm a big legacy person and I want my legacy when I leave this earth
03:52to be that I did that.
03:54I made people smile.
03:55I made people cry.
03:57You know, I told those stories that needed to be told.
04:00And it went well.
04:02So that's, in my own words, that's what I do.
04:04I love that.
04:05That's amazing.
04:06Very, very insightful and well thought through.
04:11So, yeah, I love that.
04:13Storyteller.
04:14So this next question is interesting because you're still at such an early point
04:20in your career, right?
04:22But I'll ask it anyway.
04:23What were the first three years of your professional career like?
04:28Yeah, I mean, I think we're just closing the first three years of my career now.
04:34And these first three years have been very insightful.
04:37I've learned a lot in terms of just, like, how to maneuver on set, off set,
04:45everything, just how to carry yourself.
04:49Always be nice to people is the biggest lesson everybody needs to learn.
04:53Be as nice as possible to anybody and everybody.
04:57You know, it's only going to take you further.
05:00And people just need to be, you know, there needs to be more joy in the world.
05:03So the more you can do that, the better.
05:07And, yeah, I'm happy with the projects I've done in the first three years of my career.
05:11You know, I feel like I've set a good foundation.
05:14And I feel like that's what this time was about.
05:17You know, I think it was Denzel that said,
05:21the first four or three projects you do is what they're going to see you as.
05:25So pick wisely.
05:26And I think I've hopefully done that to show myself as what I want to be seen as,
05:31which is a versatile actor.
05:32So I feel like we're heading in that way.
05:38I feel like Supercell was, like, the perfect end point of the first three years.
05:42So, like, it's, you know, it's just a springboard now.
05:46And there's so many possibilities.
05:48And being a part of such a cultural moment, I'm so proud to be a part of it.
05:54And to finish off them first three years like that, it's just mind-blowing.
05:59And it's amazing.
06:00And it's heartwarming and all of that.
06:02And, yeah, I'm just ready to go on to the next one.
06:04I'm ready to keep kicking.
06:06And I'm ready to make, hopefully, if Netflix allow us, more Supercell, you know.
06:10And it's important to the people.
06:12And they've made that known.
06:13So that's something that I'm looking forward to doing.
06:16So, yeah.
06:17I love it.
06:18I love it very much.
06:19And, yeah, you're definitely treading well in terms of crafting these early aspects of your career.
06:27What would you say has been difficult about these first three years in particular?
06:35What has been difficult?
06:41I think, well, there's some things, like, personally, that have been difficult.
06:49Like just going through certain jobs and just, you know, integrity.
06:59You know, there's, like, respect and just, like, how things are run on set.
07:07And just how to deal with problems and stuff like that.
07:11Those have been hard but necessary so I can learn them now.
07:15So the career flow is easy if we run into any problems.
07:19Yeah.
07:22When you say integrity, right, without, you know, shedding light, obviously, on the specifics of whatever show or whatever,
07:32what was that type of integrity conflict or issue?
07:36It's integrity in terms of just, you know, I'm a very confident person.
07:41I'm very confident in, you know, not my takes but I'm confident that I have something to give.
07:48And then when somebody's shutting you down, maybe not respecting you or, you know, collaboration isn't, you know, there and stuff like that.
08:00And then also people are telling you to do things that you don't really necessarily believe to be true or you don't want to do them or stuff like that.
08:09I feel like your integrity is put to the test.
08:13And it's like, am I just going to fold and be grateful that I'm here?
08:18Or am I going to know my worth and I'm going to, you know, say what I have to say respectfully?
08:24Like, yo, like, I'm a human being just like you.
08:28We're here to make art. I want to lay my cards on the table.
08:31After that, if you want to reject my da-da-da-da, it's fine.
08:34You know, it's not my, I'm just here to act.
08:37But I'm going to, like, some people are silenced by themselves when they believe that they should just be grateful for the art.
08:46I'm not, I don't like being on that side of the fence.
08:49I like believing that we have free will to say whatever we want and keep it stepping because we're growing in professional, you know.
08:57And I feel like in those younger years, I was a teenager and growing up and people just see you as that.
09:05They don't see that you can be professional or grow maybe.
09:09So it's like they treat you a certain type of way and no fault to them.
09:13That's just, you know, they're working with hella older actors.
09:16And then you've got this kid. So it's like, who's this kid?
09:20Like, who does he think he is? Da-da-da-da.
09:23But I'm somebody where I just want to start and finish my career being the exact same guy.
09:27Nobody can say anything different about me.
09:29I'm this person, you know.
09:31So that's just, that was put to the test for me.
09:35Also, integrity in terms of, again, like I said before, like, you know what you want to do.
09:42You know who you want to be in life.
09:44You know what you want to craft.
09:46It may change up and down the line, da-da-da-da.
09:48No. So it's like there was auditions that as an 18, 19-year-old, I was saying to my agent, I want to do that.
09:57Like, no. Which is crazy for an 18, 19-year-old because I just got into the industry as a professional.
10:03So it was hard, like, having opportunities and they were good opportunities.
10:08I was like, oh, if this was different about it, I would have loved to do it.
10:12Or if this wasn't the route they were going, I would have loved to do it.
10:15My integrity is telling me what to do.
10:18And my just, like, instinct is telling me not to do it.
10:21And sometimes it's hard to go with your instinct because an opportunity is there to grab, but you have to.
10:25And it's just like, I'm going to sleep better in the future knowing I made this decision early.
10:30Yeah.
10:32So, yeah.
10:34Wow.
10:36You know, so you touched on something, right?
10:40Like, I'm just wondering, like, how do you navigate that?
10:51Like, let's say someone's on set and it's a big production and still even just finding their feet around.
11:01Like, let's say they're a good actor, but then it's a whole new environment.
11:05It's like you're banging it out at goals on the weekend with your mates and then next week you're in Wembley.
11:14You don't know that, all right, cool, we've got to go and sing the national anthem.
11:19We're in the tunnel for this long.
11:21This is how we warm up.
11:23Like, all of those logistical things.
11:27And then the manager's saying, all right, cool, you know what?
11:31I know you usually play here, yeah, but I'm playing you here.
11:35I remember there's something I saw about Ronaldo.
11:38I can't remember who the Real Madrid coach was, but they said, all right, cool, I'm going to play you here.
11:45And respectfully, Ronaldo went to him and said, you know what?
11:48I think, like, I play better here.
11:51Like, and this is where I'm more comfortable with.
11:53And the manager was like, cool, and then played him here.
11:55And then, you know, the rest is history.
11:57But having the confidence, by then he's Ronaldo.
12:01He's played at Man U, like, do you know what I mean?
12:03But in the early aspect, it's like, how do you do that?
12:10This is not arrogance when I say this, but it is confidence.
12:16And I'm a firm believer in a lot of people that succeed in this business are very overconfident, you know, in themselves.
12:24They don't have to show it.
12:25They don't have to tell everybody they're overconfident.
12:27But overconfidence is key in a way of you have to know who you are.
12:31You have to know your ting.
12:33I've known about myself since I was 12 years old.
12:38I remember telling my brothers, I'm going to make it.
12:42It's a matter of time.
12:43Whether I'm now, whether it's now, whether I'm 30, whether I'm 50, I'm going to be there.
12:48And I know when I'm going to be there, I know how I know what I want to do.
12:53You know what I mean?
12:54I attribute that to them, because if I didn't have older brothers and I was the first oldest, I don't know how I'd have been.
13:00I would have no role models.
13:02But those guys and the way they are just leaked down to me.
13:06And I'm very lucky to be number four.
13:08So I was just ready.
13:13I got there ready.
13:14I fully understand the actors that do go and they have to take a bit more time to navigate it, because, again, they might not have had the same luck that I had with my life.
13:23They might take a bit more time to warm up to it and find themselves, but they'll find themselves.
13:29Yeah.
13:30You know, but I was just very lucky to be a confident person from a young age and know what I want to do in this industry.
13:38So, you know, you can't.
13:41They couldn't.
13:42They couldn't.
13:43They couldn't do that to me because I was always going to ask.
13:45You don't ask, you don't get.
13:46Sometimes I get, you know, sometimes they don't want to go that direction.
13:51And you also have to have the maturity at whatever age you are to understand that if they don't want to do that.
13:58They're the bosses.
14:00You're going to have difficult times where some people you sign a contract and you thought something was going to be a certain way.
14:05And it's not that way.
14:06But you signed a contract.
14:07So you have to do the job.
14:08Yeah.
14:09Just do your job well.
14:10Just do it well.
14:11Yeah.
14:12But in the real world, you can speak your truth and hopefully hurt.
14:18But if you don't speak your truth, it's not going to be hurt.
14:21Yeah.
14:22Yeah.
14:23I just I just feel like.
14:24Yeah.
14:25But it's also that mindset of, yeah, like man's just gone from the park to playing at Wembley.
14:29I have to do everything that's that's needed of me to keep playing at Wembley.
14:34Take the risk.
14:36Like what's the worst that can happen?
14:39You signed the contract.
14:40Like speak, speak, speak your mind.
14:44You know, don't be a prisoner in your own mind.
14:46Speak your mind.
14:47And if they say no, that's the worst that can happen.
14:49They'll say no.
14:50And you have to do something that you might not enjoy.
14:52But you never asked.
14:54If you never asked, you never asked.
14:55And you have to go to sleep that night knowing you never asked.
14:59And knowing you might not get to create the art that you chose, that you want to make.
15:04That's the most hurtful thing as a storyteller and artist is doing something you don't want to do.
15:11And not even try to see if the other person can understand where you're coming from in the way you want it to go.
15:19You've been given a character.
15:20You've been given a character because they liked your take on the character in the audition.
15:25Yeah.
15:26You can't lie down after that.
15:28Like there's still work to be done.
15:29So.
15:34I love that.
15:35I love that.
15:36Yeah.
15:37So it's not about.
15:39It's interesting.
15:40So what's coming to mind is that integrity is not about getting what you want every single time.
15:47It's about being you.
15:49Yeah.
15:50Staying you.
15:51Being you and staying you.
15:52Being you and staying you.
15:53It's like there's, you know, the whole world of the word thrown around like sellout.
15:57But it is kind of like that.
15:59But obviously there's a situation where I don't want to call anybody a sellout just because da da da.
16:04But like in my heart, I know in my head the way I've trained myself to think and feel is if I don't do that, I've sold myself short and I've sold myself out.
16:14Yeah.
16:15And I'm just like, they're pimping me out.
16:17They're using me as a puppet.
16:18Yeah.
16:19Throwing me there.
16:20And I haven't even said anything.
16:21I've just gone and done it.
16:22Yeah.
16:23That's whack.
16:29I don't think it makes anybody difficult to work with that they have their opinion.
16:33They just have their opinion.
16:34And this is what makes you difficult and not difficult.
16:38The difficult people will say what they want and the person like they'll have the conversation and there'll be an end point where the boss decides what they want to do with your opinion or not.
16:47The difficult people will, I don't want to swear, they'll be word of mouth.
16:52They'll do that.
16:54They'll do all of that.
16:56And like I feel like in these first three years I learned this lesson.
17:04When I was a kid, I was frustrated.
17:07I was angry.
17:08I was like, but growing and doing certain jobs that I've done, I've now learned that the best thing to do in that situation is just be like, okay, at least I know I'm comfortable with the fact that I've got my point across.
17:22I've been me, unadulterated.
17:26If you call me difficult after that, that's a you problem.
17:28I've just said my opinion.
17:30If you don't like it, you said you don't like it.
17:32And now we can sit down and do our jobs as professionals.
17:34I can do what you put down in the script for me.
17:37I can do it because I know I'm a decent enough actor to do that.
17:40May I like it or not?
17:42I might not like it or not.
17:44And I'll tell you that because I'm an honest person and I feel like that's what great relationships, that's how great relationships are.
17:50I should be able to tell you the whole truth about what I think.
17:52I'm still going to do it the way you want to do because you're my boss.
17:56You know, so I feel like that's all important.
18:01Oh man, I, yeah, I love that.
18:05I think, yeah, it's really, it's really important because what we're not actually talking about is someone,
18:17you being on set and being asked to do something that is totally out the box because there's a script there that you know,
18:27like, look, I'm not, it's not, all right, cool.
18:31There's a, we're doing the shop scene.
18:33And then all of a sudden I've, the script has changed and I've got to run naked across a field.
18:39And it's like, no, no, no, it's not that.
18:41It's artistic.
18:43It's how I viewed this.
18:45There's always going to be a first draft.
18:48Yeah.
18:49You read the first draft while you're auditioning, not thinking this is the end product.
18:53You read it thinking, cool, they're giving me this character.
18:55If I get the character, I can also maybe implement some of my ideas to make this character real.
19:01Yeah.
19:02I live that type of life.
19:05Yeah.
19:06Jodie lived that type of life.
19:07Miles lived that type of life.
19:09We all went to white, predominantly white schools.
19:11I know how a teenage boy, black boy who was from London, who moved to the sticks, I know how they feel and act in that situation.
19:19Yeah.
19:21So that's why I saw it in the script and that's why I wanted to do the job.
19:25And I knew I could tell that story the most authentic way possible.
19:29And then you go on to this step and you give those ideas.
19:33Some are taken, some are not.
19:34Tough.
19:35Yeah.
19:36Your job at the end of the day, you know, just say what you need to say.
19:41The writers want to take that.
19:43They can if they don't.
19:44They don't.
19:45It's a bit sad if they don't show.
19:47But like, they also have their thing in mind.
19:49They also have their artistic choices in mind.
19:51They were in the process before you were even there.
19:54They were writing before you were even there.
19:56You know, so they have in their mind what they want to do.
19:59You can't come on to the job and fully take over and start writing your own scripts.
20:07I learned and I was like, you know, when I learned that, you know, it was like it was a corner turn.
20:12It was like everything just became so much easier.
20:15And on my mental, because I just knew, like, some things are just out of your control.
20:19But at least I've spoke, you know.
20:21But some things, let it be where it's going to be, you know.
20:24And let's just make, let me make the art good.
20:26You know, whatever's on the page, let me make it good.
20:28So, yeah.
20:29Amazing.
20:30Amazing.
20:31Amazing.
20:32Next question.
20:33What have you enjoyed the most?
20:36Specifically, what has been the most enjoyable thing about these first three years for you?
20:43Just getting to live this life, man.
20:45Just getting to live the life where I get to do what I want, what I love, get paid for it.
20:51And, you know, just, yeah.
20:54You know, as a kid, you dreamed about it.
20:56You dreamed about it.
20:58And then as a young adult, as a young, as a teenager, getting on to being an adult, I was dreaming about a different thing.
21:07I wasn't dreaming about being an actor.
21:09I was dreaming about being an actor and having a sustainable life.
21:15The fact that I'm getting to do that now is beautiful.
21:19And, you know, I realize I am so lucky.
21:23I always tell my friends that I may have gone a different route to me and that kind of look at my things sometimes and I'm like, ah, ah.
21:31I'm like, stop.
21:32Stop, stop, stop, stop.
21:34Because I got so, the way things went, only God knows.
21:38God, this is why I have such faith in God as well, but I had faith in God before this.
21:43But, you know, this, the way things panned out and happened and timelines and stuff and all that, like, you can't control that.
21:51Things just fall into place.
21:53You know, the fact that I'm here now is just, yeah, it's not like, yeah, you can't, you can't look at that as somebody in a completely different position.
22:03And be like, but Josh did that.
22:05Like, I want to do that.
22:06And then get angry about it.
22:07No, no, no, no, no.
22:08Like, I got lucky.
22:11And by the grace of God, I'm here.
22:13You know what I mean?
22:14So, it's, yeah, yeah.
22:17I love that.
22:18I love that.
22:19I love that.
22:20I love that.
22:21So, what would you say has been, what's been your biggest industry upset so far?
22:32Biggest industry upset.
22:38I'd say seeing the amount of, like, things in our community specifically that just, you know, I just want to see more of a push.
22:54But you can't ask too much of that because our situation was starting from four pegs down to the other races.
22:59So, you can't really, you know, you have to put that into play.
23:02But, like, sometimes it's just sad, man.
23:05Sometimes it's like, why can't we just, let's just, let's break out.
23:08Let's do it, man.
23:09Let's just go.
23:10And I always say this.
23:12People that know me are probably tired of me referencing this.
23:15But, like, Cord Jefferson's Oscar speech is the best Oscar speech of all time.
23:19Because he stood up there.
23:21And, like, when I talk about this and people say, but we're starting from here, like, you've got to understand, people aren't letting us in the doors.
23:27He stood on the stage with that award in his hand and said, you, you, you, you, you, you, you all said no.
23:32You all said no and I still got here.
23:36You know, even if you say no, I'm still going to get here.
23:39And that's the mentality that I come from.
23:41So, it's like, no matter what, I'm going to make, like, I'm going to make what I want to make.
23:47You cannot pigeonhole me into some of the stuff that people get pigeonholed into and be like, stay there.
23:54That's the black side of the industry.
23:56Stay there.
23:57That's the story you tell.
23:58No, no, no, no, no, no.
23:59You're not going to do that to me.
24:00I can't.
24:01I can't do it.
24:02And that's what Cord did.
24:03And he won his Oscar and stood up there and said, all this award that you lot wanted, I've got it now.
24:07Because that's what I wanted to make.
24:09And, like, you have to believe that your art is beautiful.
24:12You have to.
24:13And it's upsetting when, you know, some people you talk to them and, you know, they have beautiful ideas and stuff like that.
24:19But then they just do other things, you know, and it's like, or they just, they have to do other things.
24:24And it's a thing of, again, sustainability.
24:27I'm lucky to say all of this because I'm in an all-right position.
24:30But some people have to make their bread.
24:32So, you know, they have to do those things.
24:35And it's just, that's what's sad.
24:37It's like, even the things that people that have to make their bread, like, they can't do what they want because they have to make their bread.
24:45That's a shame.
24:47Like, it's so sad that we haven't moved forward any further.
24:51But I feel like it's coming.
24:52I feel like doors are being broken down.
24:54You know, American fiction was one door broken down.
24:56Supercells are broken down.
24:58But we're getting there.
25:00So it's getting better.
25:01But it's sad at the same time, you know.
25:04And, yeah, man, I have many friends that, you know, create their own things.
25:09And it just makes me happy.
25:10Like, they put on plays that they do themselves and stuff like that.
25:14They just do it.
25:15Yeah.
25:16I'm so happy.
25:18Like, I'm not even a part of it, but I'm just sitting there smiling.
25:20Like, that's how it should be, man.
25:22We should just be able to tell what everyone wants.
25:24You know what I mean?
25:25So, yeah.
25:26I love that.
25:27I love that.
25:28I love that.
25:29Great thinking.
25:30Great thinking.
25:31What's been your biggest win so far for you?
25:37Biggest win?
25:39Oh.
25:41And it can be anything.
25:43It can be anything.
25:44Yeah, yeah.
25:45Biggest win.
25:46I think biggest win is just being somehow favored by God in a way where all the things have just fallen into place.
25:57I've been blessed to work with some amazing people.
26:00Like, I don't think I'm – I've only just started to bump into a few.
26:05Like, you know, people are always like, there's dickheads in the industry.
26:09You'll meet them.
26:10You'll work with them.
26:11My first three years, I barely worked with them.
26:13And everybody I worked with was blessed and wonderful and amazing.
26:18Like, 99% of people have just been beautiful to work with, beautiful people.
26:24And just, like, that's a part of the job that will never, never, like, not make me happy, the fact that you can go on set and there's just beautiful people.
26:32And you can just interact with beautiful people.
26:34You know, like, a day on the set for me is going in, obviously doing my job.
26:38But it's also just, you know, just connecting with people, whether that's costume, hair and makeup, like, crew.
26:44Just, like, just beautiful people all around you.
26:46You know, just interact.
26:47Say hi.
26:48Have a little conversation and go about your day.
26:50And it just puts a smile on my face every time, you know.
26:52And there's amazing people that I've met in this life.
26:55And I love all of them.
26:56And I hope they're doing amazing in their lives.
26:59And, yeah, man, that makes me happy because I just – I feel like I'm leaning towards now.
27:05I'm at a point where I'm leaning towards just the positive vibes thing, man, you know.
27:08Spread love, not hate, all that.
27:10I know it's all brother, but, like, it puts you in a better mental position and just makes you happier when you focus on the good stuff.
27:17Yeah.
27:19Wow.
27:20You know, as you were speaking, right, I realized that you are in – you are living in the position that so many people have been fighting for over the years.
27:43And it's so – what you just said crystallized that for me.
27:49When you go back and think about Desmonds and Rudolph Walker and, you know, shows like Rising Damp, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
28:00Like, what you just said is – I'm so happy that I can wake up, go to my job, interact with people and come back home.
28:13That's it. That's it, bro. That's it.
28:17And I'm so blessed and highly favored to do that.
28:19Yeah.
28:21Like, yeah, like, I know actors that have been acting for 10, 20 years and all that and unfortunately haven't got to do that comfortably.
28:31Yeah.
28:32And it just makes me feel even more blessed because it's like, yo, the fact that I'm here now is like, the percentage must be like 0.01, you know.
28:44And, like, the fact that it's happening to me now, I just – you know, bro, I'm getting a bit – you know what I mean?
28:50Just thinking about that.
28:52I rarely cry, but, like, when I think about stuff like that, it's just like, wow, man, like, there's so many people that don't – you know, there's so many people that never – so many people that never – so, like, you just have to be grateful for it.
29:08And, like, obviously still remain you, but you just can never not be grateful for the life I'm living.
29:14Yeah.
29:15And, yeah, even just outside of that, like, just life in general, I've still got my parents in my life.
29:23Yeah, yeah, yeah.
29:24Five boys in this yard and we're all still close and we all love each other.
29:28Yeah.
29:29And, like, just life is beautiful. Look at the beautiful. Yeah, there's problems in my life.
29:34Yeah, yeah, yeah.
29:35Like, just look at the beautiful and it will make you cry, you know?
29:38Yeah.
29:39When you're longing, flipping out, like, it's emotional. So, yeah.
29:44Wow.
29:45Nah, this is amazing because, you know what, right?
29:48When we're, you know, campaigning for diversity, when we're doing initiatives, when people have been banging down doors for years and all of this stuff, the reason why is to come to points like this.
30:02Yeah, I was literally – they did that for me.
30:04Yeah.
30:05Forever grateful to those people.
30:07Forever in debt.
30:09Forever in debt.
30:10Like, there was a – I met – at the Supercell premiere, Idris Elba came up to me and, you know, gave me my props, gave me my flowers, dapped me up, said, you're amazing, da-da-da-da.
30:20And I was like, thank you.
30:22You know, like, we had a chat about just, like, industry, just how it is and stuff like that.
30:26And I walked away and then, like, when I just – when I got home and, like, sat down and dwelt on it, like, I was like, yeah, man, like, no matter what I think about him, like, even – he's a great actor and all that, da-da-da-da.
30:39But, like, let's say even if I – even if I thought – let's just say I just thought he weren't great, right?
30:44Da-da-da-da.
30:46Forget that. He broke down doors for me to be where I am.
30:50Yeah.
30:51I have to be grateful to that man, no matter what.
30:54Yeah.
30:55You know?
30:56That will never change.
30:58And there's certain people who have laid down for us to walk over.
31:02Yep.
31:03Who they are, no matter how they are as a person, no matter how they – how good they are as an actor, da-da-da-da.
31:08They have laid down and picked up being grateful for life.
31:12You have to be grateful for them because I wouldn't be here without them.
31:15So, that's another beautiful thing to think about there.
31:18Like, it's, you know, cement.
31:21That's amazing.
31:23And I believe you're a forerunner or the forerunner or one of the forerunners for so many others who are about to do the same.
31:34It's becoming – from an audience perspective, it's becoming more normal.
31:42But then there's the behind the scenes that also needs to, you know, increase for that flood to happen.
31:51But, yeah, it's really nice to even just highlight that moment.
31:56Like, the space you're in because it's like, yeah, you shouldn't have more issues than an actor that isn't Black.
32:07Yeah.
32:08Like you said, like, whatever normal issues there are.
32:13Without Super Soul, that job was like – like, rap man will always take care of his people and all that.
32:22And that job was like a big step behind the scenes.
32:27And some people don't even know it.
32:29They've watched the show and they're like, oh, it's such a great step for diversity in front of the camera and stuff.
32:36Behind the camera, bro, we were just able to be ourselves on that set.
32:40We were able to feel at home on that set because of him, because of the team he hired, because of, like, just everybody around the show.
32:49Like, we were able to feel normal and present on that set.
32:54No issues regarding, you know, race and none of that.
32:59We were just there to make art.
33:01That is something I'm very lucky for.
33:03That's a win.
33:05If we want to go back to biggest win, that's a win.
33:07The fact that I've got this mad artist mindset, like, I just want to come and do my job and act and, like, not have anything.
33:13I've only just – this is a eureka moment.
33:16Like, I got to do that on one of my first jobs in the industry.
33:20That's insane.
33:22As a 19-year-old.
33:23I was 19 on the set of Super Soul.
33:25That's insane.
33:26Like, you know, like, you know, yeah, you just have to give it to God, man.
33:30You have to give God all glory.
33:32Wow.
33:33I love it.
33:34I love it.
33:35Cool.
33:36So, that's been, you know, your biggest win or, you know, some of your wins, to be fair.
33:42What would you say – next question is, what do you love about this industry?
33:48Oof.
33:49What do I love about this industry?
33:51Yeah, people, man.
33:52The people.
33:53The people.
33:54That's it, man.
33:55Just the people.
33:56Like, the industry, it can be a very cruel industry.
34:00And, you know, it's just how you want to take that and deal with that is different from person to person.
34:08The way I deal with it is that I just, yeah, I just tell myself, like, hey, I'm here.
34:12You know?
34:13Yeah.
34:14And let's focus on the positives, which is a lot of the people in the industry.
34:20Because, like, we all are going through the same thing most of the time.
34:24And, like, connect with people and just have that bond and just be happy together through tough times.
34:34I think that's the best thing for me.
34:36Like, I can't sit here and say, like, the money is the best part of the industry or the jobs or da-da-da-da-da.
34:42Like, all of them come with problems.
34:45The more of them you get, the more problems you get.
34:47You know?
34:48It's obstacle after obstacle after obstacle.
34:51You get through that by, A, making sure you are happy within yourself.
34:55Yeah.
34:56Enough anyway, because we can't all be 100% happy.
34:58Like, you're happy enough within yourself.
35:00Yeah.
35:01And you have people around you that you bond with and you're happy with.
35:05And, you know, you can go on this journey together.
35:07Like, that's a beautiful thing.
35:10So, yeah, I'd say that.
35:12I love it.
35:13Thank you.
35:14Thank you.
35:15What would you say you need to do your best work?
35:22Um, just, just, just, just, I need people that just are ready to serve the work.
35:35That's all there to do, serve the work.
35:38Number one, number 10, number 100, serve the work.
35:42You know, there's a big thing about, you know, of course, we all want to be leading men and women.
35:50And I'm glad that I landed myself in a position where I was that in Borders and a lead in Supercell.
35:56But, like, Borders was my first number one job.
36:00But, like, that didn't mean anything to me.
36:04Like, apart from the fact that I was showing myself as a leading man to the industry.
36:08Yeah.
36:09After that, didn't mean anything.
36:11I got on that set and I said to the five and I said to everybody, this is an ensemble piece.
36:15We do this together.
36:17We do this together or it fails.
36:19You know, and, like, there's obviously hierarchies on sets and stuff like that.
36:25People, like, joke and jab like, oh, yeah, you're number one.
36:28Just a number one.
36:29I hate it.
36:30I hate that.
36:32It's like, oh, brother, come on.
36:34Can we just work?
36:36Serve the piece.
36:37Can we work together?
36:38Your character.
36:39In Borders, there's a character, Zhang, who plays my roommate, right?
36:45Yeah.
36:47And we were texting him and I had to say to him, I was like, brother, without your performance, without you, my team don't work.
36:58I wouldn't have been able to do what I did without you.
37:01So you're just as important as anybody else on the set.
37:05You know what I mean?
37:06He knows that.
37:07But, like, just in this example, like, everybody, even if you walk past screen and have one line, you are just as important as me.
37:15You might be at number one or two or three or four or five.
37:17Yep.
37:18And, yeah, just serving the piece.
37:22That's what I need from everybody.
37:25That's to work.
37:27Like, if you ask me, like, obviously, sometimes it doesn't happen.
37:31I still can work because you just have to be professional.
37:34But, like, some people might be going through something.
37:37Some people can't necessarily be in that mind space.
37:39You have to be considerable about the situation.
37:42But in an ideal world, which is what you're asking me, that's what I would want.
37:46Yeah.
37:47Yeah, man.
37:48Everybody being on board.
37:49Everybody ready to go, lock in, create a beautiful piece of art.
37:52That's what I need to work.
37:53I love it.
37:54Thank you.
37:55Thank you.
37:56Thank you.
37:57And my last question, Matt, how did you, because obviously, you know, you and your brothers, the videos on TikTok, like, just online, legendary.
38:10You know, El Clasicos again and again.
38:14How did you transition from being, you know, making those independent videos online to actually becoming, like, a working actor?
38:27Because I was already a working actor before that.
38:32Talk to me.
38:33Oh!
38:35And they knew that.
38:37They damn well knew that.
38:39The Tedeku Hub thing, it blew up out of nowhere.
38:42It blew up in lockdown when the trampoline broke and E-Man kicked the ball at Gabriel and then it just went crazy.
38:48But before that, Ben, my oldest brother, was a director and he showed me all the films that I needed to see to become an actor.
38:56And I was, one thing about them is I love them for that as well.
38:59They always were like, we might be doing Tedeku Hub, but we ain't no influencers.
39:03We're not, we are filmmakers.
39:05Josh has been an actor before any of this happened.
39:08And that's what I believed in my mind when I was a kid.
39:11As I said, I knew I would make it here no matter what the time frame.
39:16I believed that I was going to do this.
39:18And that was the most important thing to me.
39:21It still is the most important thing to me because that's what gets me through.
39:23You know, it's what makes me, keeps me going and knowing that I might be in that Denzel Anthony Hopkins stage of my life.
39:31You know, I believe I'm going to make it there.
39:34And I believed that before Tedeku Hub even started.
39:37It started, just gave me and my brothers a platform to break into whatever as, you know,
39:43Tedeku Hub did not even help me as a working actor.
39:47Like it didn't help me at all.
39:50Like nobody looked at my CV and said, oh, you're Tedeku Hub.
39:54If that had happened, I would have been pissed off.
39:58Now, I'm an actor.
40:00Cast me on my merit.
40:01You cast me on my talent.
40:03You cast me on my work.
40:04You know, cast me on the fact that I did a couple of football videos in lockdown.
40:07You know what I mean?
40:09And for Ben and E-Man and the whole family, like, as I said, Ben was a director and E-Man was like still like figuring out where I'm going.
40:17But then he found a love for creating art and all that stuff.
40:20And them lot are spearheading their thing.
40:23They, like, they pick me up on it.
40:25Sometimes I let my tongue slip and I'm like, oh, yeah, what skit are you doing next?
40:29They're like, whoa, we don't do skits.
40:32We do short films.
40:33We don't do skits.
40:34We do sketches, if you want to call it that.
40:37We're a film company.
40:38We're a production company.
40:39We do that.
40:40We don't do none of these.
40:41We're not influencers.
40:43And, like, that in our family has been a big thing for years.
40:46We believe what we are and we know our worth.
40:49And nobody's going to take that away from us, no matter what we do, no matter how we put it out.
40:53Nobody's going to take it away from us.
40:55So before the Hub was even a thing, we were thinking this far.
41:00And, yeah, obviously the shout-out says Tedeku Dreamin.
41:03I didn't even mean to add this.
41:05E-Man loves saying that phrase, Tedeku Dreamin, because it's a certain mind frame.
41:09Like, we all think the same, you know.
41:11We've been thinking this since we were young.
41:13Like, yeah, man, as I said before, I'm glad to have been bestowed those brothers in my life.
41:22And I'm honored to be their brother.
41:25And I'm honored to come from the family I come from.
41:28And I'm honored that we were and blessed that we all were given this certain mind frame.
41:32That could take us so far.
41:34So the future is bright.
41:36And I just smile thinking about it and thinking about what they're going to do.
41:40Because what they're going to do is really and truly going to tie into what I want to do in the future in terms of making the things I want to make.
41:47Because that's their M.O. right now.
41:50I remember I watched one of their short films for the recent box set that they just dropped.
41:57Yeah.
41:58And there was something.
41:59It was the wing in it sketch where like they on the tail of like the myth that, you know, pigeons are the chicken wings that are made in the da-da-da-da.
42:07And then they actually just released a BTS about this.
42:10They use like dead birds.
42:11They bought dead birds and used them on the thing.
42:13And then there was like actual blood and like their necks all twist up and all that.
42:16And I was like, bro, that's crazy.
42:18That might get you cancelled.
42:20It said good because this is how we fought as kids.
42:24This is the stories we want to tell.
42:26Nobody's going to tell us different.
42:28Like we don't want to have to go and get commission and then they flip it da-da-da-da.
42:32This is our thing.
42:33And I love that because I'm on the same wave, even though the industry may have diluted my mind in a bit where I'm thinking cancel, not cancel, da-da-da-da.
42:43Stories that I want to tell unadulterated that I won't let anybody change.
42:46And I think it's so important.
42:48So, yeah, man.
42:49Yeah, that's all that.
42:51I love that.
42:53I love that.
42:54Very inspired and very inspiring, man, bro.
42:58I, yeah, I commend you.
43:00I think what you're doing is great and it all makes sense.
43:05In speaking with you today, it makes sense now.
43:08It's like it's not a fluke.
43:09It's very considered.
43:11It's definitely God's grace, but you are applying a craftsman mindset to each of your moves and you're unwavering.
43:25So, yeah, it's really good.
43:27It's really good.
43:28Amazing.