Ego Nwodim is a Nigerian American and she has just been selected to join the cast of season 44 of Saturday Night Live (SNL) on NBC.
Ego premiered on the Saturday, September 29 edition of the popular show. She hosted among others, controversial megastar Kanye West and Adam Driver.
Since NBC made this announcement, Ego has been in high demand but she was magnanimous to sit and have an interview with members of the media to answer a few questions about who she is and how she started in the entertainment industry.
She said she is a second generation Nigerian-American who grew up in Baltimore, Maryland.
“I’m a second generation Nigerian-American and I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. Since I was 12, I knew I wanted to be an actor, but didn’t really know how to go about it,” she said
“But what I did know was that I needed to be in LA. So I made a plan to get into college in LA so I could move here with my family’s blessing. I got into USC and got a degree in Biology, following a pre-Med track, to set my mother’s mind at ease.
“But being Biology major didn’t leave much room for acting.”
‘But that still doesn’t explain the one agent who told me to change my name to an American name because my name was too African, but I appeared American…whatever that means.’
Ego began taking improv (comedy) classes after college where her love for comedy grew.
“So after college, I started taking improv classes at the UCB theater and fell in love with improv and the improv community. In 2016, I wrote and performed in the CBS Diversity Showcase and was selected as a JFL New Faces Characters performer.
“Last year, I wrote and began performing my one-woman show, “Great Black Women… and Then There’s Me” at UCB, where I’m also now a house performer on a Harold (improv) and Maude (sketch) teams.”
On how her journey in the industry has progressed, Ego said it has been a bumpy and difficult ride.
“It was most certainly not a smooth road! Is any road worth traveling smooth? Before I got to UCB, I had trouble finding a creative community to which I felt connected…” a team of representatives that understood me and my voice, but to be fair, it took me some time to find my own voice as far as comedy was concerned.”
“Having worked in office settings for most of my college and post-undergrad life, it took me a while to adjust to really just being myself on stage and in auditions
“The minute I felt really comfortable sharing my true self in meetings and in performances and found people being receptive, things really improved and helped me feel so much relaxed in my work.
Despite all odds Ego has notched a few noteworthy achievements in the industry including being selected as the 2016 JFL New Faces Character performer.
“But hey! I also do drama. I started acting in drama classes”
Ego is indeed an exceptional Nigerian-American, who many upcoming female artists should aspire to replicating her zeal and success story.
Gift Joseph Okpakorese
Staff Writer
