Antebellum actor Tongayi Chirisa is a Hollywood star in the making

The Zimbabwean actor opens up about his journey to stardom
Sara Feigin
Sara Feigin13 September 2020

Tongayi Chirisa might not be a household name yet but the actor, who hails from Zimbabwe, is well on his way to becoming one.

The 39-year-old actor has worked on multiple projects, including his long-running role on The Jim Gaffigan Show, playing a love interest on The CW’s cult-favorite iZombie, and recently working with Andy Samberg on the Hulu film Palm Springs.

In March, Chirisa was working on season two of Netflix sci-fi drama Another Life in Canada, before filming was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Tongayi Chirisa in Antebellum
Matt Kennedy

September 18 will see Chirisa star opposite actress and singer Janelle Monae in the much-anticipated horror film Antebellum.

Antebellum, from the producers of Get Out and Us, follows the story of author Veronica Henley, played by Monae, who “finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it's too late.”

Sara Feigin

We spoke with Chirisa on the phone to talk about his journey from Zimbabwe to Hollywood and what working on Antebellum has meant to him.

Antebellum was originally set for an April release date and has been pushed back a few times due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the wake of the recent Black Lives Matter protests, do you think this film will affect audiences differently now?

Absolutely. Of course, the situation with George Floyd sparked what we are seeing today. So for this film to come out now, with everything that's afoot, it's become more than just a film.

With the conversations that have been going on in America asking, 'Well, how do we learn? What do we need to read? What do I need to understand? What is the reason behind this?' now they actually have a visual dictionary. They have a visual bible to look at and to see where the Black Lives movement is coming from. There's no better way to teach somebody than to show them what the protests and the uprising are about.

Courtesy of Lionsgate

What were your initial thoughts when you got the script for Antebellum?

I was just really, really excited. They didn't even give us the full script when I first went in for the audition. But I knew enough about it to think, 'Oh my gosh, this is something that I definitely want to be a part of.

Visually what I loved about the directors’ (Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz) work is that if you do not have music or words with the pictures, with their moving pictures, they still tell a powerful, profound story. They understand the concept of tone, visual, sound. And when they combine that to give you a storyline, it hits you in a very profound way. It's not just visual, it's not just the words, but it's also a spiritual experience.

Based on the trailer alone it looks like this film is going to spark a lot of very important conversations.

Yes, and hopefully not just conversations, but real-life transformations. Not modifications, but hard transformations. Because the conversations have been going on for so many years. And we just can't be like the hamster the wheel.

We need to get off now and say, 'Okay, what new trick are we going to have to learn now as a nation and be better?' The conversations have been had, now let's actually have the structural changes that will better every single person in America.

Sara Feigin

You’re from Zimbabwe and lived through the political turmoil that has gone on there. How, if at all, does that compare to what’s happening in America now?

In Zimbabwe's case, we have a mixture where you have democracy, but it comes from the systems of a monarchy.

In the sense that when it comes to free and fair elections, they're not necessarily as free and fair as they should be. There’s also the incitement of violence and people just being kidnapped during the build-up to political reformation or elections. Most towns in Africa become a violent place at that point, unlike in America, where you can protest the way people are protesting. It's very rare.

In regards to politics worldwide, we definitely see similar characteristics throughout. But hopefully, these things will be weeded out when people can actually come to the table with a true understanding that if you get voted out, that's it, you just leave.

Getty Images for Audible

How did you first get interested in acting?

It was something that people kept telling me since I was a kid. It wasn't until I was 16 that my English teacher demanded that I audition for Pirates of Penzance as the pirate king, that I finally realized that I actually was good at acting.

What really solidified it was there was a local film that was shot in Zimbabwe that did exceptionally well in Africa. This was the first time that I'd seen young Black celebrities being treated like royalty across the African continent. When I saw the movie, there was such jealousy of like, so that fueled me.

But it wasn't until I saw Amistad with Djimon Hounsou and that was a slave movie. When I saw his character and what he did with what he was given, I was sold. I think I was 17 at the time so that completely changed my trajectory after that.

Sara Feigin

You’ve been acting since the early 2000s. Do you have a favorite genre that you've worked in?

When I moved to South Africa, they have I think 13 official languages, and the only one I speak is English. Because of this, any time an English speaking role came up, it didn't matter what genre it was, I would always be put up for it. So going to film school, a lot of the stuff that I did was very dramatic and so I actually learned quickly that I should audition for comedies.

This thought process prepared me really well for when I came to America because now I have experience in comedy from slapstick to dry comedy, all the way through to the dramatic and thrillers. When people see my body of work, I want them to see an artist. I'm still discovering that I love all types of genres, and with Antebellum and Palm Springs, this is going to give people a beautiful dichotomy of the range that I have. And hopefully, that will open doors to a variety of projects.

As a successful actor in Zimbabwe, could you have a vocal political opinion?

Not so much. I was very fortunate to have been afforded a scholarship right after my radio drama Mopani Junction was taken off the air in 2004. The theater was then used as a tool to speak against the ill management of the leadership. These subversive forces will always try to silence the creative side of the country.

Sara Feigin

With all your different experiences in acting, do you have a vision for what your career will look like?

I want to be one of those actors who haven’t been pigeonholed before I blow up and everybody knows my name. It's a beautiful thing when you have people scratch their head and ask, 'Is that him? No, that can't be him. He looks so different.' That for me is the highest compliment that you could ever give an actor, that when you see them in a different genre, you actually have to think twice.

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