Versatile Shakespearean thespian and television comedy sensation Nyambi Nyambi stars on the television sitcom “Mike & Molly” airing Mondays at 9:30pm (8:30 Central) on CBS. The show’s title characters are played by Billy Gardell and Emmy Award-winner Melissa McCarthy as a working class couple from Chicago who met at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.
As a member of both the LAByrinth Theater Company and the Classical Theater of Harlem, Nyambi’s other theater credits include the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” “The Tempest” opposite Mandy Patinkin for the Classic Stage Company, and “Coming Home.”
The Oklahoma native was born on April 26, 1979 to Nigerian parents but was raised in Houston and Dallas, Texas as well as in Fairfax, Virginia. He attended Bucknell University on a basketball scholarship, and subsequently earned his MFA from the Graduate Acting Program at NYU.
A self-proclaimed basketball junky, Nyambi collects vintage basketball jerseys and plays for charity alongside stars like Jamie Foxx, Dean Cain, Joel McHale, Adam Sandler and Zac Efron in Hollywood’s Entertainment League Productions. In addition, he enjoys donating his free time to coaching at teen camps.
A true film buff, Nyambi watched 365 movies in 365 days last year. Here, he talks about life and about what it’s like to be on “Mike & Molly.”
To see Nyambi being interviewed at the Emmys
Kam Williams: Hi, Nyambi, thanks for the interview.
Nyambi Nyambi: No doubt. Let’s have fun.
KW: What interested you in Mike & Molly?
NN: What interested me in Mike & Molly was the hilarious script and the idea
of playing a West African character that was the smartest guy in the
room…and I was broke.
KW: Tell me a little about the show?
NN: Mike & Molly is a show about two people in love and the work it takes to
keep it that way.
KW: What would you say is the show’s message?
NN: The message of the show is that love is out there and, if you want the
baggage it comes with, it’s yours.
KW: How would you describe your character, Samuel?
NN: Samuel is a dry-humored, highly-educated immigrant from Senegal, who
speaks five languages, studies English Literature at The University of
Illinois and is a waiter at Abe’s Hot Beef. Nothing gets past him. He's
family.
KW: How did you prepare to play a Senegalese waiter?
NN: I ate in a lot of diners and spent some time in Senegal.
KW: Marilyn Marshall, who’s a fan of the show notes that Mike & Molly has
one of the most racially-diverse casts on prime-time network TV. She asks:
Who is responsible for that diversity?
NN: Hello, Marilyn. Mark Roberts, the creator of our show, and the writers
have done an incredible job of creating and writing for these amazing
actors.
KW: Marilyn is also wondering how has a series about two overweight people
managed to become a hit in our weight-conscious society where most TV and
movie stars are thin?
NN: The truth reigns supreme and the love that all of these characters share
is what people ultimately connect to. They see themselves in these
characters or in their dilemmas. Plus, the hearts of Billy Gardell and
Melissa McCarthy are deeply genuine and infectious. It begins with their
genius together.
KW: Lastly, Marilyn asks: What are the similarities and differences between
you and your character, Samuel?
NN: We both have a dry sense of humor and an appreciation for classic
literature. Samuel is Senegalese and my family is Nigerian. I hope to one
day speak five languages like Samuel. Right now, I know English, a lot of
French, a little bit of Efik and a few words in Wolof.
KW: Were you surprised when Melissa McCarthy was nominated for an Oscar for
Bridesmaids?
NN: [Cast member] Reno Wilson called it immediately after we saw the
premiere of Bridesmaids and [cast member] Katy Mixon had a dream about it
not too long after that. So, when it came time for the nominations, I wasn’t
surprised. She was that good! Melissa McCarthy is a character acting genius.
KW: How did you develop an interest in acting while playing Division I
basketball in college?
NN: I have always had an interest in acting for as long as I can remember. I
just never called it acting. It was celebrating the nuance of the people I
met. So I constantly was entertaining my family and friends with some
character they knew – an uncle, an aunt, a cousin, a family friend or a
character from a television show or film. When I was a college senior, I was
a Business major and uncertain about my future. The dream was always
professional basketball, which was fading with each dribble, and I just did
not feel Wall Street or any other desk job was in the cards for me.
I was at
a loss. So I decided to do what I do when I want to be happy and that is
play a character. There was a Martin Luther King gala at Bucknell
University, so I offered to recite a speech I used to compete with in high
school for the forensics club, the art of speechmaking forensics not CSI
forensics. I sensed doubt in the coordinator of the event about my skills,
because those who knew me from afar knew me as a quiet shy type. To have fun
and prove the coordinator wrong, I decided to memorize the speech, study his
cadence, his suits, his walk, the speeches behind the speech, his
inspirations and never once did I call any of that acting or what an actor
does. So, the night I performed the speech, something new was happening
within me that was electrifying. For ten minutes I actually thought I was
Martin Luther King and afterwards, Professor Glyne Griffiths who, along with
me, I’m sure, wondered what I was going to do with my life, with joy, put a
name to the very thing I loved to do, “Nyambi, you’re an actor.” And I
haven’t looked back since.
KW: Why did you decide to get a Master’s in theater, and how did you come to
pick NYU over the Yale Drama School?
NN: I got my Master’s in Acting from NYU because I wanted to explore the
great roles in the great plays and be given the arena to fail triumphantly.
My father so eloquently stated, “Well, in Nigeria we know Yale.” Choosing
NYU was a heart decision. I wanted that playground of New York to draw
characters from.
KW: I see that you’re a junior. Is Nyambi Nyambi both you and your dad’s
real name? Did you ever wish you had two names?
NN: Yes, my father and I share the same name. Our names mean a lot in my
family. I love my name because of the level of confusion it brings to
people’s faces. I wonder sometimes what life would be like if my name were
Clint or Wally.
KW: You watched a movie a day last year. What were a few of your favorites?
What was the worst one you saw?
NN: A few of my favorites were Diner, Midnight in Paris, Citizen Kane,
Unforgiven and Sounder. The worst, but still entertaining, was The Terror of
Tiny Town.
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?
NN: I am always afraid, which I have decided to be a good thing, because I’m
in the face of the very thing I need to conquer. And when I conquer that
fear, it is the most awesome feeling.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
NN: Yes.
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?
NN: Today. Something gets me everyday.
KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure?
NN: Australian licorice.
KW: The bookworm
Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
NN: Richard Pryor’s autobiography, “Pryor Convictions.”
KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What was the last song you
listened to?
NN: Isaac Hayes’ “Walk On By” from the Hot Buttered Soul album.
KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?
NN: Rice with stew.
KW: The Sanaa Lathan question: What excites you?
NN: Any art form from the soul excites me.
KW: The Uduak Oduok question: Who is your favorite clothes designer?
NN: Right now, John Varvatos.
KW: Dante Lee, author of "Black Business Secrets,” asks: What was the best
business decision you ever made, and what was the worst?
NN: Best business decision I ever made was becoming an actor. Worst business
decision I ever made was the belief that ignorance was bliss.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
NN: Joy and promise…and a stain on the right corner of the glass.
KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?
NN: For more wishes.
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?
NN: Running through a courtyard in Oklahoma being chased by a dog that
eventually bites the back of my right leg.
KW: The Kerry Washington question: If you were an animal, what animal would
you be?
NN: I would be a hyena disguised as a lion.
KW: The Pastor Alex Kendrick question: When do you feel the most content?
NN: When I am travelling.
KW: The Toure question: Who is the person who led you to become the person
you are today?
NN: My parents and sisters as a unit led me to become the person I am today.
All love.
KW: The Judyth Piazza question: What key quality do you believe all
successful people share?
NN: The audacity to fail gloriously again and again.
KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your
footsteps?
NN: Joy. Find it. Seek it, and hold on to it. It will get you through the
pain.
KW: The Tavis Smiley question: How do you want to be remembered?
NN: He celebrated life and all of its flaws.
KW: Thanks again for the time, Nyambi, best of luck with the show.
NN: Thank you for having me, Kam.
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