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INTERVIEW
WE MET SUPACELL'S JOSH TEDEKU, NADINE MILLS AND CALVIN DEMBA
June 27, 2024
Looking for a new Netflix series to become your entire personality? Well, let us introduce you to Supacell. This new Jay Z-endorsed (!!!) superhero series is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Written and directed by Rapman, the show follows a group of ordinary South Londoners who unexpectedly gain superhuman abilities overnight. Of course, chaos ensues and their worlds quickly begin to intertwine. We just know Supacell’s gonna be a hit AND lucky for us, we got the chance to meet Josh Tedeku (Tazer), Nadine Mills (Sabrina) and Calvin Demba (Rodney), to have a chat about the series, superpowers and so much more. Scroll for the scoop.
Calvin (center) was already best friends with Tosin (left) before filming began.
Hey Josh, Nadine and Calvin! What each drew you to your character?
Josh: I went for mine because it's different from a character you'd see in the sci-fi genre. There’s lots of nuances in there and it’s nothing like what we’ve seen before. It’s really shifting the boundaries and I jumped at the chance to do that.
Nadine: The sci-fi/superhero element drew me to it. Female roles can be quite one-dimensional: you play the girlfriend or the love interest, but Sabrina’s very multifaceted. She’s a strong, determined character.
Calvin: There’s a few reasons why I wanted to do it. One, to work with Rapman was a huge draw for me – I’m a big fan of his work. I also knew people like Rodney, I thought he was a funny character and I knew I would really relish in bringing him to life. Also, the cast as well, Tosin Cole (who plays Michael) is one of my best mates – it's always a bonus to work with your friends. We’ve got great up-and-coming talent in Josh and Nadine. We all just gelled so quickly.
What did you all do to prepare for your roles?
N: I had a little stunt training. There’s scenes where I’m levitating and I’m being flown across the room, so I had to do a lot of wirework, which required a lot of stamina. But you know I’m in the gym a lot so that’s light work for me [laughs]. Then because my character is a nurse, I also had the opportunity to have a conversation with a Black nurse so I had an understanding of her experience in the NHS.
J: I was the opposite. I had hella training. I had fight training and I had bike training. We had to do a course with the bikes and… I can barely ride a bike. So that was a struggle, all the mandem were zooming past me. But we got there in the end!
Hey Josh, Nadine and Calvin! What each drew you to your character?
Josh: I went for mine because it's different from a character you'd see in the sci-fi genre. There’s lots of nuances in there and it’s nothing like what we’ve seen before. It’s really shifting the boundaries and I jumped at the chance to do that.
Nadine: The sci-fi/superhero element drew me to it. Female roles can be quite one-dimensional: you play the girlfriend or the love interest, but Sabrina’s very multifaceted. She’s a strong, determined character.
Calvin: There’s a few reasons why I wanted to do it. One, to work with Rapman was a huge draw for me – I’m a big fan of his work. I also knew people like Rodney, I thought he was a funny character and I knew I would really relish in bringing him to life. Also, the cast as well, Tosin Cole (who plays Michael) is one of my best mates – it's always a bonus to work with your friends. We’ve got great up-and-coming talent in Josh and Nadine. We all just gelled so quickly.
What did you all do to prepare for your roles?
N: I had a little stunt training. There’s scenes where I’m levitating and I’m being flown across the room, so I had to do a lot of wirework, which required a lot of stamina. But you know I’m in the gym a lot so that’s light work for me [laughs]. Then because my character is a nurse, I also had the opportunity to have a conversation with a Black nurse so I had an understanding of her experience in the NHS.
J: I was the opposite. I had hella training. I had fight training and I had bike training. We had to do a course with the bikes and… I can barely ride a bike. So that was a struggle, all the mandem were zooming past me. But we got there in the end!
Tazer (played by Josh) has superhuman abilities that makes him invisible.
What would you say was the most-challenging scene to film?
J: The last scene, episode six, we were doing night shoots for two weeks straight in Hounslow and it was the coldest time of the year. We were suffering out there. There were little fires in skips in the background and every time we cut, we hovered over it. It was tough but it was worth it.
What do you think makes Supacell different to other superhero series?
J: It’s more normal life than any other superhero show.
N: Yes, we’re normal everyday people – and we don’t have costumes. We’re not trying to save the world.
J: It’s the opposite… everyone’s very self-indulgent. When Micheal brings us together we have to work as a team, but at the start when we get our powers, you [Sabrina] don’t even want your powers. I’m using them for very bad reasons, you’re [Rodney] using them just to get by and then Micheal and Andre are using them for the same reasons. It all comes together at the end.
C: We’re all of Black descent as well.
Pictures: Netflix
Nadine spoke with a Black NHS nurse to gain perspective on her character Sabrina.
If you could have a superpower in real life, what would it be?
N: Invisibility. I’d be able to cause havoc and be a bit of a prankster. I find that entertaining and fun, and also I can just jump on a plane and travel to wherever I want to go to and not be seen.
J: I’m a teleportation guy or – to switch it up – time manipulation. I wanna stop time and I wanna fast forward through things.
C: Why though?
J: Let’s say I'm going through tough things, I could just make time go faster.
C: I wish I had the power of foresight. Not necessarily being able to predict the future or anything like that because I don’t feel like that belongs to me necessarily because I’ve not lived it yet. To predict if something was a wrong thing or good thing to do without having to know all the details, that could be useful. The amount of times I thought ‘if only knew’.
Supacell lands on Netflix today.
If you could have a superpower in real life, what would it be?
N: Invisibility. I’d be able to cause havoc and be a bit of a prankster. I find that entertaining and fun, and also I can just jump on a plane and travel to wherever I want to go to and not be seen.
J: I’m a teleportation guy or – to switch it up – time manipulation. I wanna stop time and I wanna fast forward through things.
C: Why though?
J: Let’s say I'm going through tough things, I could just make time go faster.
C: I wish I had the power of foresight. Not necessarily being able to predict the future or anything like that because I don’t feel like that belongs to me necessarily because I’ve not lived it yet. To predict if something was a wrong thing or good thing to do without having to know all the details, that could be useful. The amount of times I thought ‘if only knew’.
Supacell lands on Netflix today.
