Lupita’s Oscars Moment that Introduced Junior Nyong’o to the World

The year is 2014, and Lupita Nyong’o, having just won an Oscar for her role in 12 Years a Slave, takes a selfie with other famous Hollywood stars Meryl Streep, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Ellen Degeneres, and others.

It’s a selfie that also introduced her little brother Junior Nyong’o, then a freshman at Stetson University majoring in Theatre Arts, to the whole wide world.

JUNIOR NYONG’O

While that was an iconic moment, Junior, who is also a musician and a DJ and now a graduate of UC San Diego with an MFA in Acting, is crafting his own solid path in the world of acting with roles in major theatre productions such as Hamlet, Taming of the Shrew and King Lear, all by William Shakespeare.

Lupita Nyong’o and Junior Nyong’o attend the premiere of Black Panther in 2022

Fast forward to 2023, and Junior has not only grown but also secured his first animation project with Showmax – “TWENDE.”

This is the first Showmax Original 2D animated series – It follows a boda-boda-riding pangolin of the same name, the slowest moving animal in the savannah.

About Twende

In the animation, Twende, Junior Nyong’o lends his voice to the titular character, a boda-boda-riding pangolin who believes that ‘life is about the journey, not the destination.’

Without any hurry in the world, Twende ferries residents of the bustling, fictional East African city of Milima from one point to the next, working with his best friend and navigator Nuru (voiced by June Gachui).

Catch the debut of the initial 5 episodes of “Twende” today, December 1, exclusively on Showmax.

We had a chat with Junior – he talks about his character, the significance of Twende plus his approach to mastering the role with voiceover guidance from his sister Lupita, and much more.

What was it about Twende that first drew you to this project, and how did that opportunity come about?

During the pandemic in 2020, my cousin Kwame told me that an animation about a pangolin was looking for its lead voice actor.

Without thinking too much about it, I expressed an interest in auditioning for it. I had never even heard of a pangolin before! I started to check out YouTube videos about the animal to get an idea of how it moved about the world, what kinds of sounds it made.

Although that didn’t necessarily inform my performance of the character in a tangible way, it really piqued my interest – this really sweet-looking endangered animal!

I called my sister for some advice and tips on voiceover work.

We geeked out about what a cool opportunity it would be, and so I went into the audition feeling very excited and ready to play and be receptive to all the director’s thoughts.

Twende is your first animation role. How does that feel?

Animation and voice-over work are areas that I’ve always admired and wanted to work in as an actor.

As well as classic morning cartoons on Saturdays, I grew up with many different types of animated content; from video games to Japanese anime like Bleach and Death Note.

I would say that many of the times I have been moved to tears by a film/show, sobbing in the darkness of a movie theatre or on my couch, they have been animated.

He had the opportunity to preview the visual representation of his character, he says.

The team had prepared a very thorough sketchbook of all the various characters in Twende’s town Milima and so I felt a real connection with the style and feel of the environment and animation.

Twende’s pilot screened in competition at Annecy, the world’s premier animation festival, in 2021.

Stream Twende on Showmax.