Sometimes, there’s this idea you need to know who the character is inside and out when you go in to audition for them. But there’s something to be said for not knowing quite what you’re doing and figuring it out as you go.
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine currently plays Ronnie on Showtime’s “The Chi,” an intimate look at life on the South Side of Chicago following the intertwining lives of its residents. Mwine’s portrayal of Ronnie, a military veteran on a path for revenge and redemption following the murder of his adopted son, comes from a place of uncertainty. Even a full season in, he still isn’t sure if he’s playing him the right way, and yet, he’s quickly become one of the show’s breakthrough stars. A couple weeks before the second season is ready to start production, Mwine talks to Backstage about letting go of uncertainty and playing characters in unfamiliar territory.
This character seems very different from your own life and your own experience. How did you adapt to that and what kind of research was involved?
Yeah, that was the biggest challenge for me because I had never done a role like Ronnie before and I wasn’t sure that I could do it during the audition process. I didn’t think I had a shot at it, and that might’ve been part of what helped me get it because I had zero expectations. [Laughs] Sometimes, you work too hard or [want] it so badly that it shows or it affects your work somehow because you’re so hungry for it. But this one, I just thought, “I have zero expectations that I’ll get the role.” And there were people who were auditioning whose whole reel was Ronnie and there’s nothing on mine that shows I could do this character. So I went in with no pressure and I think that was part of what enabled me to get as far as I did.
Ronnie is based on a relative of “The Chi” creator Lena Waithe, but she encouraged you to make him your own character. How did she describe him to you and what did you see in him?
She just said he was loosely inspired by an uncle of hers, I think, who had served in the military. And that was about it. When I got to meet her, she was like, “No, we like what you’re doing and want you to do what you’re doing and not be imitating him.”
You know, he’s still a mystery to me. There’s a lot of his backstory we just don’t know about. I feel like he’s someone who’s thrust into this circumstance and is just reacting to that, but I just didn’t know who he was before, how he ended up on the corner hanging out with his friends, what happened to him after the military. There was a lot of stuff that was up in the air that was a challenge. So I created a backstory and just had to sort of do what was on the page. That was a new experience for me, in that sense.
Was that more of a challenge or was it more freeing to be uncertain in the character you’re playing?
[Playing] other roles, I felt like I could walk into a room with the character and have a conversation as the character and improvise. I could never do that with Ronnie. I knew how to say the lines, but in terms of improvising as him, I didn’t know what he would think, how he would react in other situations. So it was really scary just having to do the lines because I was like, “Am I even doing that right?” It was so foreign to me. It felt like a very British way of doing a role, from the outside in. There’s that famous story of Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman with Hoffman staying up or whatever over a weekend to look exhausted for a scene and Laurence Olivier walked in and saw him looking a mess and said, “My dear boy, why don’t you just try acting?” [Laughs] It felt like my first time, like, trying acting. I didn’t have a handle on it otherwise. And that was freeing, too, at the same time because I didn’t come in knowing how I was going play him.
How has playing Ronnie added to your acting skills?
Being able to freefall. It felt like a freefall for me. And letting go. Sometimes when you have a role that’s familiar, you have muscle memory that you can rely on [that] kicks into gear. There was no muscle memory for me with Ronnie. It was about really letting go and just seeing what would come and breathe.
This was my first series regular role, so that was a big thing. They’ve now got more shows than ever with all-black casts. It’s a really exciting period of time in terms of, “Atlanta” or “Queen Sugar” or “Black-ish.” There are almost a dozen shows out there that are all-black casts, so it’s really an exciting time and it was really exciting to be a part of that. And especially coming from Lena and Common, two of the most celebrated artists coming out of Chicago. To have them on this was thrilling for me. Ultimately, for me, the most important thing coming out of this was folks from Chicago to be behind the show, to like it and to feel represented in their city. The fact that we have Lena, first, as the creator of the show and for me to get to play opposite Common in the show was the kind of thing that, coming from where I was in terms of how I felt about the role, feeling not connected, having them as a sounding board saying, “You’re on the right path”...really anchored me in a way that I couldn’t have done on my own.
What characters would you like to see more of?
They say that the greatest shifts, politically speaking, in the arts, those start from the mainstream, really. They start in the margins. I think if you were to ask me what type of stories or characters I’d like to see, it’s those stories of people in the margins, who have been marginalized.
What excites you as an actor?
Being challenged is the most exciting thing. And I guess you could say, “Be careful with what you wish for,” because sometimes you can say you want to be challenged and that might mean having to do a freefall like I just did. [Laughs] This was a challenge that took me completely out of my comfort zone. It wasn’t until later in the season that I started to feel a little safer. I was never sure if that was my last day on set until, halfway through the season, I was like, “They can’t afford to reshoot everything so I guess I’m safe.”
What made you want to become an actor?
It was like a magnet. I remember in third grade, my school was doing a production of “Peter Pan” and they were doing auditions. We had a music class and they said, “Who wants to audition for Peter?” and before I knew it, I was on my feet saying “I do!” And I didn’t know how or why. I didn’t get the role of Peter. [Laughs] I played a pirate. And I didn’t do anything else until I was in college because I went to a high school where I was the only black kid and they did plays like “The Diary of Anne Frank” or “The Crucible.” I asked if I could play and they were like, “You could do lights.” So there was never an option for me to do that when I was in high school. It wasn’t until college when I majored in theatre and political science and then went to grad school for acting as well.
READ: What You Need to Realize About Being an Actor
How did you get your Equity card?
My first job out of grad school was doing the national tour of “Six Degrees of Separation.” I was spoiled right off the bat, to have a lead role doing a Broadway show, a national tour. It was hard after that job because there’s few and far between roles like that.... It was really an incredible opportunity, not just as a role but also being able to see and perform in some of the great theaters across the States.
What is your best piece of audition advice?
Since a lot of stuff is on camera, the thing that got me for the longest time, since I was a photographer, I was always aware of the camera. Depending on what lens it is, what the lighting is, it changes the performance. You’re in a close-up or you’re in a wide, you get a whole different feel of the character, and that always messed me up in auditions because I was always wondering where it is. So I wouldn’t be able to do my best work because I knew how much that made a difference. Again, it’s about letting go of that.
Sometimes you go in for auditions and you want the role so badly that you shoot yourself in the foot and sometimes your nerves will take over. [Bryan Cranston] had this great advice, which I’ve taken to heart, too, which is, this audition is your only opportunity to play the role. Just enjoy that. And once you walk out, just let it go. For me, it was about letting go of the camera angles and lighting and all that, and just have those two minutes or three minutes in the audition to be my chance to be able to play this role.
Looking to go to more auditions? Check out Backstage’s TV audition listings!