The Supacell star on channelling his South London roots into a rising career.
“Wolverine is definitely hard to kill,” says Tosin Cole.
He’s been mulling over this. Cole is speaking to Empire during a morning off from filming mystery comedy thriller Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie (written by The Last Of Us’ Craig Mazin), in which he stars alongside Hugh Jackman. For the past few weeks, alongside shooting that, Cole has been promoting his Netflix super-powered drama Supacell while Jackman has been promoting Deadpool & Wolverine. So: the super-fight is on.
Cole doesn’t fancy his chances. “Michael ain’t got no offensive skills,” he says of Supacell’s time-manipulating lead. “Wolverine’s all offensive. Michael’s a very logical person, he’d be like, ‘He’s got three knives in each hand, he can heal himself, he’s very aggressive.’ So I think I’d just run away. Just teleport and go, ‘You know, this ain’t for me. See ya. Wouldn’t wanna be ya.”
"It’s only right that we get our time to do that. To showcase these stories. Where we’re coming from. To show people how South London looks and feels. It’s nice to put it on the map."
It’s a mature choice, especially from an actor who consumed everything X-Men (“It’s part of my childhood, part of my DNA”) as he grew up in South London. Not that he was thinking about acting back then, he says of a career that began as a weekend hobby when he was 16, at London’s Intermission Youth Theatre. “I didn’t really have aspirations,” he says. “I just used to enjoy getting lost in these worlds.” Things accelerated quickly though: he was cast in Eastenders spin-off E20 when he was 17, then Hollyoaks at 19. “Even then I didn’t really take it too seriously. I was just like, ‘I get to be on TV!” he laughs. Which is just as well, as after a year on Hollyoaks, his character Neil was ceremoniously killed in a quite extraordinary minibus explosion at a wedding. “Tragic death”, deadpans Cole now. He seems okay about it.
As he worked on Hollyoaks, though, he started developing his tastes. He’d been amazed when he saw Idris Elba, who he’d loved in The Wire, starring – with his own Hackney accent – in Luther. “It was, ‘Okay, well he’s British.’ All that time I’d thought he was American. Idris, that was my guy.” And at 21, Cole auditioned to play Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Needless to say he didn’t get it, but JJ Abrams cast him as an X-Wing pilot instead. Everything was huge on that set, he remembers; he was especially impressed with the catering (“I was like, ‘Yeah they’ve got money ‘cause even the snacks taste good’”). And the production inspired him: “Even though it didn’t work out the way I wanted to, it put a fire in me.”
He stepped up: next came a regular stint as companion Ryan in Doctor Who, then parts in films: The Souvenir, Till, Bob Marley: One Love. And now, the South London-set Supacell, in which Cole plays two versions of Michael – the clean-cut courier, and his portentous future self. “It’s yin and yang, almost. Future Michael’s so run-down, he’s raggedy. Present Michael can’t believe this is what he’s turned out to be. It was good to show that much range.”
For a couple of weeks_, Supacell_ was Netflix’s most-watched show in the world, and for Cole, taking South London global has been momentous. “When you’re watching films from any area, you feel like you’re in that area. So it’s only right that we get our time to do that. To showcase these stories. Where we’re coming from. To show people how South London looks and feels. It’s nice to put it on the map.” Let alone the show’s success. “The fact that it's doing well, with no big household names… And to be number one with an original thing, with the resources that we had – it’s great. We were the underdog.”
For Cole, meanwhile, such attention is changing his life. “It’s brewing,” he says. Things are happening. You notice a difference, for sure. Public perception is a bit different. I’m trying to get my head around that.” He’s powering up. Watch your step, Wolverine.
The Show: Demon Slayer
"I really enjoy it. Sometimes when I'm watching a series I can't enjoy it because I'm being critical, because of work. But anime, I can just switch off and watch it."
The Book: Leading From The Heart – Coach K
"I got into it through The Bear. I'm a big basketball fan as well, so I wanted to read it. Coach K was the most successful college basketball coach. He talks about leadership, about managing your life, and it's about his own journey as well. It's pretty cool."
The Podcast: The Joe Budden Podcast
"I was listening to this when the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud was going on, hearing his take on it."
Supacell is streaming on Netflix now.
This article first appeared in the September 2024 issue of Empire. Photography by Domizia Salusest, shot exclusively for Empire in London.