The youngest actor ever to play Othello: Zackary Momoh. Photo credit: Johan Persson
Appearances at the National Theatre, including Sir Nicholas Hytner’s critically acclaimed Othello, a handful of stage credits, and a guest lead in BBC1’s Holby City, suggests that Zackary Momoh has enjoyed a great start to his acting career.
He describes his current role as Tom Robinson in a touring production of To Kill a Mockingbird as his greatest acting achievement so far. Momoh, a graduate of the London-based Identity Drama School, tells Carl Palmer why after seeing fellow Identity Drama School graduate John Boyega go from Hackney to Hollywood, he has a reason to be cheerful.
Who or what inspired you to become an actor?
I’m not sure what it was exactly, but I remember doing drama at school and absolutely falling in love with it. Later, I started out on the route of dance as a potential profession, but in the end that didn’t really sit well with me in terms of satisfaction. So I left dance and went into acting, even though it meant starting over again – at the very bottom of the ladder. But there was so much satisfaction to be had, whether it was a short film I got involved with, or doing fringe theatre, my passion for it was constantly being fulfilled.
If things hadn’t worked out with the acting, what would you have done instead?
I would have been a project manager or working in the City. I have a degree in business marketing, and project managing was the avenue I might have pursued. Instead I became the first in my family to take up acting, and slowly but surely, they came around to the idea that acting was what I really wanted to do. After I finished university, they saw I was working hard at the acting, and I’m glad to say they could see the passion, and have been very supportive.
What do you remember of the first time you went on stage?
The first time was in a fringe production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome, playing the part of Jokanaan at the Roundhouse in Camden. I was very raw. If I think about it now it was the beginning of a massive learning curve. Looking back you can’t help but realise how much you actually learn about yourself, which leaves you in good stead for the next job, and with each job you need to be better than your last.
You are officially the youngest actor to play the iconic role of Othello in West End history. Do you consider that your greatest achievement to date?
My biggest achievement, I feel, is doing To Kill a Mockingbird because this is more of a personal achievement. Othello was an achievement in itself when I was the youngest Othello ever to go on the national stage. But in terms of personal growth and learning my craft, I would say the role of Tom Robinson was something special. The achievement is being able to throw yourself into it every single night, and make sure you deliver every time. Being a black man who plays something with such gravity, such weight, and to do so in front of 1,200 or 2,000 people is what I consider a real achievement.
What is it about playing Tom Robinson, a man whose unjust victimisation based on the colour of his skin cost him dear, which made it so professionally and personally rewarding?
When I look out into the audience and I see tears, it’s not a case of saying, “Yes, I’ve succeeded in making people cry”. The truth is their tears are feeding me. The audience become a tool for me to utilise when I see them crying. It helps me to delve more [deeply] into my character. People are genuinely shocked, and even those who have read the book don’t want to believe that an innocent man is going to be killed. Seeing the audience reaction, I just think wow.
I’m detecting you’re probably not impressed by the type of roles you as a black actor might normally be presented with or, more pressing, the lack of black leading roles?
Yeah, I’m not impressed at all with the idea of a career where you get stuck only doing supporting roles. But, I’ve got to a place in life where I feel like, you know, it’s what it is. You can either be part of the problem or the solution. I’m the latter. There’s lots of stuff that people like Lenny Henry and Adrian Lester are pushing for and, as a result, I feel there are more of us going in the right direction. As an actor I can only support that with a can do attitude which drives you on.
You mentioned Adrian Lester. What was it like to understudy one of the country’s most popular actors in the National Theatre’s production of Othello – an extraordinary opportunity when you were just 24?
That man has a beautiful soul. Understudying him was a massive learning curve for me. I had already played a young Othello in a production in Peckham, but watching Adrian Lester at The National every day, I was able to pull from some of the strongest resources available as an actor and just learn. Adrian is one of those guys who is extremely technical and multi-faceted. The most important thing I learnt from him was not to settle into one skill you have. It doesn’t get better than working with him and Rory Kinnear, who was playing Iago. It was a fantastic experience, and when I eventually did get to go on stage as Othello, I felt they had left me in really good stead. I was ready to take on the role.
Looking ahead, where would you like things to from here? I’m thinking films and Hollywood, like your fellow Identity Drama School colleague John Boyega who has a lead role in the upcoming film Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.
I’m interested in stepping into films now, but that would be as a part of my overall journey rather than an ultimate goal. I’m a man who doesn’t like settling for what’s comfortable. Right now, at this stage, things are comfortable for me. I know that I have certain resources to call on to get me through what I’m doing, but with film I’m not there yet. I’ve been working hard on stage, treading the boards, and would love to put that into film and see where that goes. I’d say that’s probably the next step for me.
Read Carl Palmer’s review of To Kill a Mockingbird here.