Exclusive: Tosin Morohunfola Talks Blumhouse Thriller ‘Black Box’

Now playing on Amazon Prime Video is the thriller Black Box, which is one of first four of eight films in the Welcome to the Blumhouse series.

Welcome to the Blumhouse is a program of eight unsettling, genre movies produced by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Television and Amazon Studios. Sharing the spine-tingling suspense that’s a Blumhouse signature, each film presents a distinctive vision and unique perspective on common themes centered around family and love as redemptive or destructive forces.

Directed by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. (Born With It) and script by Osei-Kuffour Jr. and Stephen Herman, Black Box (October 6 on Amazon Prime) stars Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World 3, The Circle), Phylicia Rashad (Creed), Amanda Christine (Colony), Tosin Morohunfola (The Chi, The 24th), Charmaine Bingwa (Trees of Peace, Little Sista), and Troy James (The Flash, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark).

After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is. 

For Morohunfola, who was recently seen in Oscar winner Kevin Willmott’s The 24th, the Kansas City native has making strides within the TV and film world in the last five years. With appearances on Chicago Med, The Chi, Love Is_ and Black Lightning, as well as films such as Friend Request and this film, Morohunfola continues to impress with each role and gain a bigger visibility.

BlackFilmandTV.com caught up with Morohunfola as he spoke about his role in Black Box, working with the cast and what inspires him to take the roles he’s done.

What attracted you to this project?

Tosin Morohunfola: I think a chance encounter is part of the reason that I started auditioning for it, I met one of the executive producers, Jeremy Gold, on a flight. We started talking and we got to know each other. I had been leaving Black Lightning and the next thing I knew I was getting called in to audition for various Blumhouse projects. This was one of them. When I saw the director’s last name, Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, I immediately was like, “Okay, this guy's an African."  I am very curious as to what he was trying to make. I looked him up and to know that it was going to be an African led psychological piece was very alluring because you don't see too many. At least as far as I can tell. You don't see too many African psychological thrillers, which isn't to say that the story is an African story. But just the fact that it's led by someone like him, means that there's going to be a new perspective on it and a different sensibility. I was drawn to that.

How would you best describe your character?

Tosin Morohunfola: Gary is the best friend of the protagonist Nolan, played by Mamoudou Athie. Gary is just a really tried and true friend. He’s supportive. He’s a doctor. He has a uniquely useful skill set for the fact that no one is going through a loss of memory after after a serious car accident that Nolan had. I'm able to offer him support as well as try to help them troubleshoot his memories back including suggesting that he meet up with our lead research doctor, played by Phylicia Rashad. Then as things start to spiral, I become a fellow detective trying to figure out what secrets are being kept from him. 

You've done a lot of films. Are you a fan of this genre?

Tosin Morohunfola: Actually, yeah, I don't love the horror genre. But I love the psychological thriller genre. I love being in a place where you really question your reality and question your mind and question the assumptions we make about the world around us. And in this particular film, it focuses on your relationship to yourself and your memories, and what is your identity if you don't have those? That's a really compelling question because as we know, things like Alzheimer's are terrifying because people lose their sense of self and what is your main view? What is unique to who you are and your personality if you have no access to your memory? So it's a complicated question, and I think the film explores it pretty well. 

How was working with the cast?

Tosin Morohunfola: It was great. I worked with the most with Mamoudou and he's just such a professional. He asked the right question before we started shooting our scenes and I appreciate that, because we're able to play off each other well, and feel our characters. Phylicia is just a legend. I only had one scene with her and  boy, you better believe I made sure that I was ready, and it was an intense one. I was glad I got to go toe-to-toe with her. But honestly, the real MVP is Amanda Christine, the little girl. From the moment the film starts, I think your eyes will be glued to her because she's such a perceptive and empathetic actor at such a young age. It's crazy.

What did you take away from working with the director that you can bring along to your next project?

Tosin Morohunfola: That's a great question. I definitely will say that this director (Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour), and maybe because it was his first time doing a feature, or maybe it's just because we are fellow Africans, or for whatever reason, we got quite close. He, really fostered an environment for me and the other lead actors to become friends with him. That closeness helped me to really see into his mind in terms of what he wanted, and also be able to double down my choices and my firmness and my vision because I felt comfortable working with him. So I guess if anything, I will just take the fact that it's good to have a director on your side and to find that camaraderie as soon as possible so that you can bring your best self to the work

This year, you have appeared in BET’s Friend Request as well as the The 24th. What makes you say yes to the projects you take?

Tosin Morohunfola: I have a belief in the humanist hero. That's one of my threads. When I'm making my own movies, indie filmmaking, stuff that I've written, that's usually a pretty huge theme. The opportunities to find human as hero and find the empathy where it can be found. So that's definitely one of the first things that draws me anywhere. That's obviously true with The 24th. We have the soldiers who are trying to be heroes themselves, and reconciling what that means, especially in a climate of racial prejudice, and how they fall from grace. That’s also the case with Friend Request. It’s an erotic thriller, but at the same time, it's a man trying to be the best. It requires him looking inside himself where he's failing. I think a lot of humans just want to be heroes. That's something I search for,