As we look towards the next wave of exciting actors to keep our eyes on for the coming years, one name that has been on the radar for some time now is that of Chioma Umeala. The Nigerian-South African actress has truly glittered her CV with some mouthwatering roles and established herself as one of our continent’s most exciting on-screen stars with roles in blockbusters like 2022’s The Woman King.
2023 proved to be a nervy, but ultimately triumphant year for the thespian.
In our first-ever interview with the 27-year-old, she opens upabout the uncertainty of her Netflix project, One Piece due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes, Covid-19 and so much more. She also explains why she is such a fervent supporter of the SAG-AFTRA movement and what it could mean for African industries.
Throughout our conversation, Chioma is relaxed and determined to educate Africans on just how we can tap into our talents and compete on the global stage.
I always like to start every interview with the same question and I start by asking her, “how does it feel to be Chioma Umealatoday?”
“That’s very specific because at the moment I am in the heart of Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) and let me just tell you it’s very hot (KZN will KZN.) All that aside I feel good, I feel ready and energised to do more and that’s good a feeling,” she replies.
While The Woman King and One Piece are obvious highlights, I remind Chioma that our first glimpse of her talent when she appeared in BET Africa’s telenovela, Isono. I ask if it’s fair to say the last four years have been career defining.
She pauses before agreeing and admitting, “It was a bit blindsiding because I never expected everything to happen so soon one after the other. It was a really big learning curve, I’ll say that. Going from local TV, to acting in two massive global productions and the biggest gigs of my life is a big job. It took a lot of adapting.”
“I guess defining is a good word because I had to find myself again. When you’re working on projects of this scale and getting launched into a world this big it’s easy to get lost. Working with some of the best actors in the world on The Woman King and then on One Piece, the enormity can feel overwhelming. For me it served as an opportunity to find out who I really am, and I guess remind myself, in the grander scheme of things.”
It’s easy to imagine that things are done differently overseas – I ask her to take us through the audition process for these kinds of projects and if there are any major differences between auditioning or submitting a tape for local production houses versus international ones.
“For the most part, I’d say no. Although with The Woman King, it was a stunt-heavy role so perhaps that audition process was a little more intensive than the usual audition. For example, we part of the audition required us to undergo one full day of stunt training to see how we move and if we can handle the physical work.”
However, beyond that the process has generally been the same whether it’s for Isono or for One Piece. You audition, if you’re in the running you get a call back, once that’s done you meet with the directors and producers and then you take it from there.
The Covid-19 pandemic severely restricted movements and in-person interactions, which had an impact on productions across the world. Although the Netflix series eventually released in 2023, Chioma explained that she had to audition for One Piece over Zoom due to lockdown restrictions.
“I’m actually happy that One Piece got to see the light of day. It experienced so many delays and hurdles!”
“Yes we auditioned over Zoom and at the time I think we were all prepared to make it work. Obviously we know that a Zoom call isn’t the same as being in person with someone, but it’s in real time and you can still give a great impression of yourself. Once I received the call back it was just about waiting to find out when we’d get to shoot. We eventually did, but then after some time the release was delayed again due to the SAG-Aftrastrike (a movement I am fully in support of).”
Which suggests that at some point she was resigned to it never releasing. She explains:
“I was hopeful it still would, but at one point I was unsure. I had also shot another project at the begininng of 2023. Then Showtime was bought out by Paramount and two weeks before we were supposed to finish filming, the entire project shut down! So 2023 was quite unsettling and you just couldn’t be too sure how each project would turn out.”
“However, One Piece did eventually release to great reception and I’m really happy it did. “
Which leads us to the SAG-AFTRA strikes which defined our industry for most of 2023. Chioma explains why they were necessary in her opinion, saying, “I really support the SAG-Aftra strikes, I’m a big supporter of what they did and continue to do for our industry.”
“It’s a really unprecedented time right now. We have huge looming threat in the form of AI. The fair wage discussion, the conversation around residuals. I was fully behind last year’s strikes, but it’s a different ball game in South Africa.”
“How so?” I ask.
“South Africa’s industry is union-free. We don’t have unions for our actors, our professionals, our crew members, our freelancers – and while I’m proud that abroad, they are fighting for their rights, here at home I would love to be able to use my voice to address some of these issues in the local industry. There are people who are fighting for the same cause but we have some way to go.”
The insight is fascinating, to say the least, but it’s a reminder of how far we have still to go. The conversation shifted back to One Piece, a production that required Chioma to act as her authentic self.
She explained, “The One Piece experience was just incredible, the cast and the set were from all over the world and I think we all brought something unique from where we’re from to the energy of the production. It was something that the production team encouraged us to bring to our performance too.”
“For example, when I auditioned I was using a British accent because I thought it would come across as neutral to a global audience. When it came time to shoot, though, the team asked us all to speak in our natural accents so that we could be as authentic as possible.”
With such acclaimed productions already on her IMDB page, I end off by asking Chioma if there’s any other big productions or big names she’s looking to work on.
“Going forward I’m looking forward to manifesting and landing character-centric roles. I think that is what I have been gearing myself for and would love to execute. I’d also like to work with directors who will take the time to let me put the character into the story! I’d love to work with the likes of Greta Gerwig, Jordan Peele and the Duffer Brothers!