Ah, bookstores. The perfect place you want to go to buy books because the library can only let you borrow stuff for free for only 3 weeks or so. I don’t see too many people read books these days. Okay, maybe I’ve seen my brother reading The Caine Mutiny for the past week, but I don’t see much of anyone else reading. But doesn’t anyone remember the days when you could walk into a bookstore, buy a book, and keep it for the rest of your life? Or at least until that one friend borrows it, drops it in the bathtub, then does some other things to it, and give it back in shreds? Well, let’s not worry about that just yet. Instead let’s look into the fine days of bookstores with the series Ghostwriter, a series about a bookstore that is possessed by a ghost. Season 3 has made its way out and I got a special opportunity to talk to Tony Ofori, who plays a barista named Macolm, intent on changing the world and operating the Black Student Association that’s organized at the university he’s attending. Sounds pretty interesting so far, and this is just one character. What’s going to happen in Season 3? All kinds of things. Tony told a tale of his experience, and I’m willing to share his story, so read on. No trees were harmed in the making of this interview. Really. This IS an online publication.
HNMAG: You play the role of Malcolm in Ghostwriter. How does it feel to be on the show?
Tony Ofori: I’m excited to be a part of it. (laughs)
HNMAG: With the pandemic slowly becoming fading, does the set have less restrictions or are they still in place even to this day?
Tony Ofori: Yeah, because we’re one of the very few industries where we have to be in very close contact with strangers, ACTRA has these mandates where we do have to test about twice a week, depending on how much we’re on set. We do have to wear our masks between takes, and of course once we get to camera, we take the masks off. ACTRA does a very good job at making sure we all feel safe and we’re not getting each other sick depending on where we’ve been.
HNMAG: And how has the on-set experience been?
Tony Ofori: It’s been great. For many of us, it’s our first time. A lot of the cast is brand new, a new set of kids. Also I’m joining the leading cast, so all of us have been experiencing this for the first time altogether. Needless to say, we’re all fans of the show. But we’ve all been on this journey together and experiencing the magic. Luke Matheny was ushering us through it and introducing us to the magic of the show. It’s very exciting and I’m so excited to finally see it.
HNMAG: Was there anything on set that was particularly fun?
Tony Ofori: The simple fact that a lot of it is visual effects, so some of the work is us acting into empty spaces or acting at a tennis ball. We have to do our best to be as authentic and tell the story as best as we can. Even though some of these images or characters are not right in front of us as we’re doing the scene. A lot of the magic will happen in post-production and we’re so excited to see how that comes out.
HNMAG: What about problems? Were there any big ones or did things go smoothly?
Tony Ofori: Everything went smoothly, the only problem for me was I was hungry all the time, but that’s a me problem. As a team, as a family, we all gelled really nicely. And the food was delicious. I couldn’t get enough, really. It’s not my fault…
HNMAG: So you all must’ve formed a bond right away. It didn’t take much time to do so?
Tony Ofori: Yeah, we all came from different walks of life, and we’re all from different areas. Some of the kids are from Texas, some from L.A., so the fact that we all come from all around, and all these people are in my city Toronto, I was just so excited to see what all these kids thought about Toronto and experiencing it for the first time. We had so many things to bond over, and we’re experiencing the show together.
HNMAG: What’s your favourite part about acting on Ghostwriter?
Tony Ofori: Again, I would have to say the MAGIC. All of us have a role to play in this, and we play it well. We’re excited to see it all come together and the magic of our chemistry and post-production. All these elements come together because we do our best as individuals. We make our offers, and we do our best to give the director what he’s looking for.
HNMAG: What can fans expect in the new upcoming season?
Tony Ofori: Fans can expect to see some of their favourite characters, some of their favourite stories that they’ve grown up reading. Adults can expect the same thing, you can expect magic to happen right in front of your eyes. Plus some real life issues that we typically don’t see in daytime drama. You can see people attempting to help the community and addressing some of the issues happening in society. This time around we really tried to tell the public about a message and give them a bit of a takeaway.
HNMAG: How does Ghostwriter differ from other productions you’ve acted in?
Tony Ofori: It tethers the line of Fantastical. Most of the projects I’ve done are based in real life and are more drama-driven. Whereas this is based on the fantastical and deals with real-life issues but in a fantastical manner which allows us to dream and see the possibilities of life in a magical perspective.
HNMAG: Do you hope this goes for even more seasons?
Tony Ofori: I hope it goes on FOREVER. The team was phenomenal, the actors, Luke Mathney, everybody was so happy to be there, so willing to explore and try things. That’s the cast I want to be a part of forever, this is why I like acting. To be in a place that welcomes you to take risks and throw things at the wall and see if it sticks. It’s so magical.
HNMAG: So we’ll be sure to see you in more episodes, I’m sure.
Tony Ofori: Yeah, but kids get older and sometimes that doesn’t work with the direction of which the show would like to go. Even if that is it for [the cast] this season, I really hope the show continues because it really is fantastical. I really love what Luke is doing with this project and the message it portrays. I really hope it continues to go down this route.
HNMAG: Do you ever hope to help create a few episodes or even make your own productions?
Tony Ofori: Whew! That’s a loaded question. I still have yet to see how it all comes together, I know the technical issues behind the scenes, but the finished project, I don’t know what that looks like. Once I do I might get a better gauge of what it requires and then Yeah, maybe I think I might be able to pull it off. Right now, kudos to the team that’s able to do it. It’s not an easy feat. Right now it’s kind of out of my wheel house, but with the right guidance it’s something I might pursue.
HNMAG: What else do you do besides act?
Tony Ofori: I write music, I used to be a performer, but now I just write music for myself. I enjoy working out, that’s one of the things I do everyday because one of my dream roles would be to play Blade. I’m just building up that endurance so when I’m older, I will have a shot at playing this role. I like to train in combat, hang out with my partner and watch movies, things of that sort.
HNMAG: You also mentioned that you write music, will you be releasing an album of your work in the future?
Tony Ofori: I was in a hip-hop group called Iambic, about 5 years back and we opened for musicians like Massari, ASAP Rocky, and the Brutes. We were very successful as we did it, but the hours just became too long and the commitment became too much for me as I tried to balance acting. Theatre and film has always had my heart so that kind of swayed my decision in that way, but I think in the future I might come back to music. Again I do a lot of writing and record some of my stuff, but I don’t perform or record for public currently. It is something I’d be excited to do a little bit later in the future.
Now that the story is done and you’re through reading, take some time off to check the screen on Apple TV and watch Season 3 of Ghostwriter today. Learn some more about what’s in store, the bookstore that is. The season has to be pretty thrilling.