Martins Imhangbe has become well known for his portrayal of the boxer Will Mondrich in the Netflix hit series Bridgerton and was commended in the Ian Charleson Award 2019 for his role in The Tragedy of King Richard II. 

Imhangbe is having a break from film and working on a play 'Othello' where he plays the lead. We chat to Imhange about his role, starring in Bridgerton and dream movies he would love to star in.

When you were growing up, was acting always the dream, or did you have other plans you wanted to pursue?

 Growing up I was always creative and loved making things, drawing, music, sports and acting kind of happened in amongst that and I had a lot of supportive people in my life who encouraged me to pursue acting, I guess they saw the potential in me before I caught on and began believing it for myself.

In the acting world, who was your favourite and did they inspire you to become an actor yourself?

I really admire Denzel Washington and Viola Davis and watching their work over the years continues to inspire me.

The top-rated series ‘Bridgerton’, was your first major role after stage performances in ‘Death of a Salesman and the Tragedy of King Richard’, how did these roles differ, and also what do you prefer stage or screenplay?

 There’s nothing like live theatre, the synergy with the audience, I don’t think you can compare the two, I don’t have a preference, each require a unique devotion and attention to craft and I love the experience of getting to do both. 

You will be playing ‘Othello’ in the new production of Othello, what was the audition like for this?

The project came about by myself, the director Sinead Rushe and Michael C Fox who plays Iago coming together and wanting to connect as artist’s and Othello was on the cards, we all love and have our uniques connections to the play and wanted to explore it further. We were very blessed to have Trish Wadley our producer on board and we began building from there.

What made you go for the role of ‘Othello’, it is about being overlooked for the role of promotion, have you found that in your career, where you have been overlooked, and how have you overcome this?

Othello is not about being overlooked for the role of promotion. 

When you first heard that you were being cast as ‘Othello’, what did you start doing to prepare for this role, and how did you celebrate?

When I knew we were doing the show it was very exciting and I spent time reading the script and reading books on war, watching documentaries and just dreaming into the world of the play and trying to understanding the motivations of the character and really understand what drives these people day to day.

What would be your dream role? 

Would love to lead a franchise action film.

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