Moni Ogunsuyi felt modeling and pageantry were her path until a fellow beauty pageant contestant suggested she try background acting. Now, years later, she's gone from the background of some of our favorite shows to learning what it takes to be number one on the call sheet.
In the currently streaming Lifetime movie special, “Taken at a Basketball Game”, Ogunsuyi stars as Splendid, a determined sex worker who plays a vital role in helping a father find his daughter who has gone missing. For Ogunsuyi, the connection to the script and her character Splendid allowed her to pull from emotions and stories reflected in aspects of her real life, which made this a role in which she was able to stretch her storytelling skills as an actor.
The father in this film is played by D.B. Woodside, who is striving to bond with his estranged 18-year-old daughter, played by Claire Qute, at a basketball game. Inspired by real events, this film wonderfully illustrates the pervasive issue of missing Black girls across America and how amplification, community, and awareness all play major roles in bringing them home.
Though Ogunsuyi is doing incredible work in telling vital stories, her journey did not begin with Lifetime. One day, while strolling down Clark Boulevard in Brampton–a city right outside of Toronto, Canada– the Nigerian-Canadian actress realized she wanted to share the story of overcoming her rough upbringing. She began to go through a mental list of creative endeavors when she landed on modeling and pageantry. Upon returning home, she immediately looked up opportunities online and came across Miss AfriCanada.
“I had already gone through a lot at that moment, and I wanted to tell my story,” said Ogunsuyi. “And I was like, 'How am I going to do this? Nobody’s going to care. I’m just some random person talking about what I’ve gone through.’ I was going down the list [in my head], and then I thought of modeling and pageants. So, I started looking up pageants online, and then I saw Miss AfriCanada.”
While immersed in the world of pageantry, Ogunsuyi met another Nigerian candidate who did background acting. When acting was suggested to Ogunsuyi, she initially talked herself out of it. Ogunsuyi had never considered acting, because she “didn’t think she was good enough.”
When her career in pageantry and modelling did not progress in the way she hoped, she figured she would give acting a try.
“A year later, I was like ‘I’m going to take her up on that and try background acting,’ said Ogunsuyi. “I worked a lot, and within two and a half months, I was upgraded on set. And it was actually Effie T. Brown, she was an executive producer on Disney’s “Zombies”, she gave me my first line,” said Ogunsuyi. “She was going through the crowd, and she lands on me and says, What’s your name again?” And I said, ‘Moni.’ She was like, ‘Good, I’m upgrading you. Don’t eff this up.’ And she walks away.”
The progress came as Ogunsuyi reflected on her childhood and the messages she’d internalized about herself. From a young age, she had been fed hurtful narratives about herself, including things like; “You’re not good enough” and “You’re going to fail.” For Ogunsuyi, therapy and reminding herself of the progress she’s made have been key in her healing. She often reminds herself, “Look at your surroundings…Relax. It’s okay.”
“I never thought I was good enough to be an actor,” says Ogunsuyi. “I always second-guessed myself. I’ve always been hard on myself. But because of that, I wanted to see how far things would go… Through that, I signed with my agent. From there, I started taking acting classes. Slowly, but surely, acting grew on me, and it became my passion. I’m gonna pursue it. I’m gonna go head-on. I’m gonna see what happens.”
Beyond attending trauma-informed therapy, she takes the time to go on walks, does pole dancing, breathing exercises, and baking– several things to calm her nervous system.
“It was because of what I was told constantly, every day as a child,” said Ogunsuyi, “I grew up with that mindset. It’s changing, though,”.
Her career in acting proves that healing is a process and not a singular destination. Ogunsuyi has taken on numerous roles that have grown and stretched her, including parts in critically acclaimed series such as “The Umbrella Academy” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” She is learning to embrace being first on the call sheet through her role in the Tubi Original film, “My Husband’s Baby,” and pushing the envelope with her role in the Canadian drama anthology series, “For The Record”.
Playing Splendid on screen for Lifetime’s “Taken at a Basketball Game” was a truly personal experience for Ogunsuyi. Having endured sexual violence as a child–an injurious reality for 40-60 percent of Black girls ages 0-18–and having a friend she tried to help out of the sex trafficking world, Ogunsuyi experienced firsthand the reality of these harms.
“I pulled a lot and put it into Splendid. I wanted to try to be as respectful as possible in playing this role, but I also wanted to try and tell a story,” Ogunsuyi says of her upbringing and having a friend deeply affected by the sex trafficking world.
“She is a girl who had a rough past. You hear her talk about how her mom left, how her dad was abusive, and I just wanted to try to emphasize that she’s a human being. She has likes. She’s interested in plants. She’s very soft. That’s who she is, [and] that’s who we should get to know. We should get to know who Faith (Splendid) is. I wanted to portray that.”
With Splendid, Ogunsuyi graces the screen as someone who is a fighter. On-screen representation of someone who knows that things can become ugly and messy can work to prevent things like trafficking from happening to someone else.
Ogunsuyi, continues to grow in her storytelling with performances in the world of dramas, thrillers, and suspense. Later this year, she will be featured in Stephen King’s “IT: Welcome to Derry”.
She credits God for getting her to where she is today, and shares she “wouldn’t be here without Him.”
“I know religion is something that not a lot of people like to talk about, and I’m going to try and be as respectful as possible, but it plays a huge part [in my life.] I’ve had it really rough,” Ogunsuyi shared with tears in her eyes. “I wouldn’t be here without Him. It was really hard. It was really hard being a teenager on my own. It was really hard doing life by myself, because I had no one. But He was always there. I was always able to lean on my faith…”
“Even when I didn’t believe things were going to change. Even when I didn’t believe things were going to happen, that small little bit of hope was all [I] needed to make things happen. Even though I don’t have this huge, amazing career that a lot of people dream of, I’m still so thankful.”
You can catch Moni Ogunsuyi in “Taken at a Basketball Game” streaming and on Lifetime now.
Writer Bio:
Shonette Reed is the editor of Resolute Magazine.
Photo taken by Calyssa Lorraine.