Lana and Lilly Wachowski are known as ambitious storytellers, yet their Netflix series Sense8 remains perhaps their most demanding project to date. The sci-fi show, which The Matrix directors created with J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5), was shot in 20 cities around the world, and featured an equally international cast. Further complicating matters, the series had to recast one of its leads when actor Aml Ameen left after Season 1.
Ameen starred in Sense8 Season 1 as Capheus Onyango, a Kenyan man who's working as a matatu driver in Nairobi to earn money to pay for his mother's HIV/AIDS medication when he discovers he's one of eight members of a group or "cluster" of sensates -- people who are linked emotionally and mentally. The actor initially returned to reprise his role for Season 2, only to leave a couple of episodes into filming. He was replaced by Toby Onwumere in April 2016.
When Aml Ameen Abruptly Left Sense8
Reporting on Ameen's departure, Deadline's sources claimed Ameen had clashed with Lana Wachowski during one of the table reads for Sense8 Season 2. Their working relationship allegedly only got worse from there, resulting in Ameen's exit after production of Season 2 moved to India. Shortly after Deadline broke the news, Sense8 co-star Jamie Clayton, who played San Francisco blogger and hacktivist Nomi Marks, described the change as "exciting." She also assured her Twitter followers it would be a good thing for the series from an artistic perspective.
Seeing as Clayton and the Wachowskis are all transgender women, Sense8 fans were quick to speculate Ameen had been replaced after displaying transphobic behavior on the show's set. However, Clayton shot down the idea when a fan asked on Twitter, replying, "No. That is an Internet rumor." Sense8 actors Tuppence Middleton and Brian J. Smith also tweeted their support for Onwumere joining the series while avoiding details about the nature of Ameen and Lana Wachowski's creative differences.
What Aml Ameen & Successor Toby Onwumere Have Done Since Sense8
During an interview with IndieWire in December 2016, Onwumere spoke highly of his experience boarding Sense8 and meeting the main cast, saying Lana Wachowski "made it seem more like a very intimate, almost tribalistic union" and was very particular about creating a "communal energy" that felt true to the show's themes of inclusiveness and empathy.
Onwumere has since reunited with her on The Matrix Resurrections, so clearly, the pair had a good experience working together before. He also appeared on the Fox musical drama Empire as Kai Eugene Evans, love interest of Jussie Smollett's Jamal Lyon.
Meanwhile, Ameen has remained busy since stepping away from Sense8, having headlined Idris Elba's feature directorial debut Yardie and co-starred on Michaela Coel's acclaimed HBO series I May Destroy You.
In the end, Sense8 was not only a difficult and expensive show to make from a technical perspective, but it also challenged its actors to tackle everything from intense action to emotionally intimate drama and, most famously, very raw sex scenes. That being the case, it's difficult to speculate with any certainty about Ameen and Lana Wachowski's disagreements regarding Capheus and their respective visions for the character in Season 2.