In Rapman’s superheroes-in-south London Netflix show Supacell, Tosin Cole plays Michael, who, on the night of his engagement, discovers he has superpowers and can time travel.

Cole says Supacell was special for many reasons, not least because it filmed in some of the places he grew up. “It’s very south London, very true, very authentic, very grounded.”

Born in New York but raised in London, Cole was bitten by the acting bug aged 16 when a girl he had a crush on asked him to join a workshop for Intermission Youth Theatre. “I felt I’d been tricked,” he laughs, “because they studied Shakespeare and stuff.”

But the experience proved life-changing and Cole was hooked. “I fell in love with acting on a Saturday, going to Knightsbridge, seeing luxury cars, escaping my little bit of south London.” He also got the girl.

Cole featured in Intermission’s contemporary production of Julius Caesar, securing himself an agent and roles in soap spinoff EastEnders: E20, BBC teen drama The Cut and a regular spot on Hollyoaks. He made it to the final few for the role of Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, losing out to John Boyega.

“They liked me enough to give me [another] role,” says Cole, who remains sanguine about what might have been. “My journey is my journey.” 

Next came a “stint in America”, including a role in Netflix movie Burning Sands, before he returned to the UK and spent two years as Jodie Whittaker’s companion in Doctor Who. More recently, he played Medgar Evers in Till, was one of Bob Marley’s Wailers in One Love and starred in New Line’s House Party reboot and a sold-out run of Shifters at London’s Bush Theatre.

In June, he was announced to star alongside Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson and Nicholas Galitzine in Amazon MGM Studios comedy Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie, adapted from Leonie Swann’s bestseller and directed by Kyle Balda. 

“I don’t want to be limited to anything — that was a big deal for me early on, trying to show versatility,” Cole says. “I’d love to do Broadway. I’d love to work at the National [Theatre]. I’d like to do a West End play. I want to do Hollywood films. I want to do everything I can.”

Contact: Kate Staddon, Abigail Millar, Isabelle Sweetland, Curtis Brown 

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