Arts & Entertainment
Toks Olagundoye on ‘The Neighbors’
B
orn in Lagos, Toks Olagun-
doye was raised not only in
Nigeria but also in Switzer-
land and England. The exotic
Nigerian-Norwegian
beauty
moved to the United States to
attend Smith College where she
received a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
After jumpstarting her career in
New York, the stunningly-attrac-
tive actress relocated to Los
Angeles where within a short time
she landed roles on such TV series
as “NCIS,” “Prime Suspect,”
“Switched at Birth,” “CSI: NY,”
“Law & Order” and “Ugly Betty,”
to name a few. She currently stars
in ABC’s new hit comedy “The
Neighbors” (which airs on
Wednesdays at 8:30pm ET/PT),
playing “Jackie Joyner-Kersee,”
an alien from the planet Zabvron
who has taken on human form to
live in a gated community
in New Jersey.
Toks’ character is mar-
ried to the community’s
Supreme Leader and
serves as the Zabvronian
equivalent of the First
Lady. “Jackie” is baffled
by Earth’s strange customs
but is more open than her
stubborn husband who
refuses to adapt.
In addition to acting, Toks
enjoys writing and producing
films for the web and is the
founder of Unlimited Ceiling
(http://www.youtube.com/user/Un
limitedCeiling) for which she’s
created web series like “Call-
backs” and “AlphaSeries.” In her
spare time, she enjoys cooking,
horseback riding, Pilates, archery
C ELEBRITY
I NTERVIEW
by Kam
Williams
and going to the gun range. Toks’
secret talent is doing all sorts of
accents from around the world.
Here, she talks about her life,
career and work on The Neigh-
bors.
Kam Williams: Hi, Toks,
thanks for the interview.
Toks Olagundoye: Absolutely
my pleasure! Thank YOU for the
interview!
and I really went for it!
KW: Tell me a little about the
show’s wacky premise?
TO: Sure, a community of
aliens set up a colony of sorts on
Earth in a New Jersey golfing
community, taking on the guise of
human form, and they do their best
to fit in and not attract attention.
Of course, they fail spectacularly.
One of the alien couples in the
community gets tired of waiting
around to hear from their home
planet and they vacate their house
leaving it open for a nice, human
Jersey family of five to purchase
and move into. Let the hysterical
comedy of errors ensues!
KW: How would you describe
your character, Jackie?
TO: Quirky, cute, loving, kind,
curious, proper, diligent, patient,
inquisitive, genuine, lovely, tall,
green blooded… Okay, now
I’m just throwing words at
you. I shall cease and desist.
KW: So, you play an
alien queen who’s imper-
sonating U.S. Olympian
Jackie
Joyner-Kersee.
Which is more challenging,
playing an alien or imper-
sonating Jackie?
TO:
Well,
neither,
because neither is the case. Jackie
is the wife of the Zabvrobian
supreme commander, so she is
more of a matriarch than a queen.
And the aliens are not impersonat-
ing the athletes they have named
themselves after. They have taken
on these names in the hope of
becoming a part of the elite. In
their minds, choosing the names
of accomplished sports figures
... above all, tolerance
and understanding are
essential for growth and
happiness.
Page 6 The Portland Skanner
KW: What interested you in The
Neighbors?
TO: Well, honestly, I love being
an actor and a job is a job, and I’m
always happy to have a job. So,
initially, I would say: employ-
ment. But I am also a sci-fi lover
and have been itching to be on a
sitcom forever. So, I was thrilled
to have the opportunity to audition
November 28, 2012
Toks Olagundoye
will help them fit in and
excel. They don’t realize it actual-
ly makes them all stick out like a
box of sore thumbs. Yes, I realize
that is not an official adage. Hey, it
is now!
KW: Does the show have a mes-
sage?
TO: In my humble opinion, as a
foreigner, it does. And the mes-
sage is this: the only way to come
to a full acceptance and under-
standing of yourself is to embrace
your own culture, quirks and dif-
ferences while learning about
those around you and exploring,
incorporating and embracing their
cultures, differences, quirks,
etcetera. Okay, that’s a lot of
words. Basically, we are all differ-
ent and we all have something to
learn and it doesn’t mean people
need to change who you are but
one should be open to new things
and, above all, tolerance and
understanding are essential for
See TOKS on page 12