1. Treadmill TV
Agyeman watches her favorite TV shows while getting exercise. “Whenever I watch anything, I’m on my treadmill,” she says. “I have my phone in front of my face and walk for an hour and a half. I dance to the beat of my own drum. I don’t tend to watch things when everyone else does. I’ll sit there thinking, ‘Oh yes! That’s exactly why everyone was talking about it. It’s brilliant.’ I did that with Squid Game, and now Black Mirror, which is amazing.”
2. Late Bloomer
Agyeman didn’t want to be an actor until later in life. “Not until really late – [acting] wasn’t on my radar!” she says. “Academia was big in my household and I took school seriously. Opportunities like learning a musical instrument, a foreign language, and studying a wide range of subjects for free that could structure your future weren’t to be sniffed at. It wasn’t till my A-levels when I took all art subjects because something went ‘ping’ in my head.”
3. Bucket List Collaborators
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Agyeman has a bucket list of people she would love to work with. “I love Taika Waititi in terms of his characterisation, and writing, but also humor,” she says. “I love Jordan Peele’s work for that as well. When it comes to his movies, I like the way he really gives space to his actors, I think, to find things – maybe I’m assuming, but it just feels like there’s a real collaboration there with his actors. It just feels like they do have room, for want of a better word. And then in terms of writers, Phoebe Waller-Bridge… If Bruce Robinson was doing anything today, I’d love to work with him. Withnail & I is like my all-time favorite film!”
4. Dreamland Role
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Agyeman loved her role on Dreamland with Lily Allen. “It’s a show about women, and it’s female centric, and about female interactions and relationships,” she says. “But you know, no two women’s experiences on this planet are identical. We have commonalities and threads. So, there is a sisterhood that was very much, I think, felt and created on set, but in that community that we formed, we were all so different. We have different stories and experiences, and so you know, depending on what you needed, from who and at any point, you could find it. There’d be laughter, or you could have deep discussions, creative analysis, or entertaining conversations. So, you know, it was very nourishing, I think on set and off.”
5. Dark Comedy
Agyeman would love to do more dark comedies. “We’re laughing at things that are essentially pretty bloody tragic,” she says. “But that’s life; comedy and tragedy walk hand-in-hand in this life for every single one of us. Because of that, I know I was able to lean into what I can rely on, which is a more dramatic performance. But then I had the opportunity to perform some comedy alongside that. There were enough moments where I felt sweaty palms, which always makes me realise that I’m out of my comfort zone, and that’s what I love. I love diversifying in my career. I love the opportunity to grow and to learn. So yeah, I would, is the long answer to that question. Provided it was in another space like this.”