Thomas Antony Olajide Talks LEARN TO SWIM and 2022 CSA Nomination

Melody McCune

Thomas Antony Olajide of Learn to Swim

Thomas Antony Olajide was unsure about pursuing film and TV after working extensively in theater. However, his acceptance into the Canadian Film Centre changed his career trajectory, introducing him to filmmaker Thyrone Tommy. From there, Thomas starred in Thyrone’s dramatic short, Mariner

Then, what started as a short film for the CFC morphed into Learn to Swim, a feature-length, multigenre movie that made its debut at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. It follows Dezi, a Toronto jazz saxophonist who tries to flee a recent traumatic event. Inevitably, Dezi must confront the truths of his past as the line between reality and memory blurs. Thomas was nominated for a 2022 Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor for his performance. 

I had the privilege of chatting with Thomas about his role in Learn to Swim, his favorite jazz musicians, similarities he shares with Dezi and what’s on the horizon. 

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This interview is condensed for length and clarity. 

Melody McCune: We at GGA love a good origin story. What’s Thomas Antony Olajide’s origin story?

Thomas Antony Olajide: I’m from Vancouver and raised by my grandmother. One of a community of individuals who raised me. In high school, I discovered acting and decided to pursue it. I started auditioning in Vancouver for film and TV productions, then realized I didn’t have enough experience. So, I went to theater school in Montreal and started my career three years later in Toronto.

MM: Let’s talk about Learn to Swim. Can you tell me how you got involved with the project and what it’s about?

TAO: I worked with Thyrone Tommy, the director, Alona Metzer, the producer, and Nick Haight, the cinematographer, before on Thyrone’s short Mariner. I was on the fence about acting; I didn’t know where to go. So, I applied to the Canadian Film Centre as a last attempt to see what was possible. I’d always thought about film and TV as options, but they always made me nervous. The industry made me nervous.

I always thought it was for a specific personality. It was for extroverted people who have that “it” factor. Anyway, I applied to the CFC. Thyrone and Alona were also accepted into their respective programs when I got in.

The directors must direct a short film. For Thyrone’s short film, he did a version of Learn to Swim. I auditioned for that and got cast. Thyrone met Marni Van Dyk, the co-writer of Learn to Swim, at the CFC. They wrote the short film version.

Then, they converted it into a feature, and I was brought along for it. Learn to Swim centers around Dezi, a Toronto-based musician who experiences a tragic moment for which he blames himself. In the present, he attempts to run away from that past. The more he runs, the more the past finds him and forces him to reconcile with it.

Thomas Antony Olajide of Learn to Swim
Pictured: Thomas Antony Olajide. Photo credit: Vita Cooper

MM: Do you share any similarities with Dezi?

TAO: I don’t usually think much about character. Those questions stem from us thinking an actor will view Dezi as a character. Whether those similarities will help the actor portray the role. That’s never been my experience. There have been characters I’ve had biographical similarities with that were challenging to play and vice versa.

I stem more from the scenario, and I look more at what’s happening between the bodies in space. That’s where I connect most to a story. On a topical level, Dezi is pretty introverted. He’s hitting a different extreme than I am, but we both will run away from the crowd if we choose.

MM: Was there a preparation process for you for a high-octane role like this, or was it more about being present and in the moment?

TAO: More the latter. For me, it’s about understanding the scenario, doing the prep I need to do at the beginning — understanding the fundamentals of the saxophone, knowing the lines. Practical things like that. Then, it becomes a question of staying open to whatever arises in the moment.

It’s like standing at a cliff’s edge and letting your body fall. There’s no more preparation to it than that. You can’t do 10 laps around the block and try to meet the high stakes of the moment. Either you make space for the scene to occur, or you don’t.

MM: Describe Learn to Swim using three words.

TAO: Meditation. Poetry. Chess.

MM: What do you hope audiences glean from this film?

TAO: As an actor, I feel it’s not up to me to determine what the audience should take away. The people telling the story are offering it to an audience who can decide for themselves what they glean from it. What you hope for is there’s a connection.

Sometimes, that connection arises from their enjoyment, and they identify with the story, which is great. And sometimes, people walk away from the story completely miffed by what you’ve offered.

But that too is a kind of connection. They might walk away not enjoying the themes and not identifying. That might be for the moment, or it might last forever. They might reflect on the film in two years and go, “Now it’s starting to resonate with me,” but it was a matter of experience. It was a matter of perspective. I’ve had that experience with many films. One hopes that people connect, and one does not wish that someone walks away apathetic.

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MM: Do you enjoy jazz music? If so, do you have any favorite artists?

TAO: I’ve always loved jazz music and the principles of jazz, of being methodical yet improvisational. Especially for Learn to Swim, I had to look at the giants like Charlie Parker or John Coltrane. That was especially from a saxophonist’s perspective. Biographically, I found John Coltrane to be inspiring — the life he lived while he was here.

There’s not a lot of footage of Charlie Parker playing the saxophone, but it’s out there. You would swear he’s not playing. There’s a stillness to him. The fingering of the instrument is so subtle you almost think it’s dubbed.

That took me in because the assumption is that you’re to emote and, as you’re playing, get the audience to believe you’re playing music, but that’s seldom the case for real musicians. Even looking at someone like Miles Davis, who famously turned his back on the audience a lot of the time. He didn’t pay the audience a lot of mind while he played.

It’s very internal — the experience, the performance of music — in many ways. So, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane were significant influences on me.

MM: You’re nominated for a 2022 Canadian Screen Award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.” Firstly, congratulations! That’s incredible. How did you feel when you first got the news?

TAO: Anxious. Totally anxious.

MM: That’s my state of being — anxious.

TAO: You and me both! That introverted part of me was like, “What does this mean?” I’m very analytical, too. I quickly fall into a spiral of overthinking. 

So much of my acting life has been spent in solitude. There’s a lot of silence and waiting. There’s a ton of self-dialoguing, a lot of self-affirming and self-deprivation.

Then, suddenly, someone plucks you out of obscurity for a few months and gives you a job. You’re being recognized, your work is being recognized and you’re on a website with your picture. The extremes in this industry are insane to me but in a good way.

It’s been a journey knowing what that has meant for me. On one level, it’s validating and nice to get that reverberation because it’s rare that what you’ve done connects with people. We did this film in the thick of the pandemic.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that without every single body in the cast and crew, this film would not exist. So, it feels like a recognition of our collective work because I know I would not have been able to do this without their involvement.

There’s an anxiety-inducing aspect to “success” that we don’t talk about, but it’s true.

MM: Do you have advice for aspiring creatives looking to break into the industry?

TAO: I tend to avoid advising because I feel so in the process myself. Even if I look back on my experiences, most didn’t require advice. Most people know what they want to do. What we struggle with is permission.

We struggle with permitting ourselves to follow that initial impulse. You go, “Really? Can I do that? It seems too simple. Too fun. It seems like more is needed.” So, we need to look to our neighbor or a role model to, essentially, go, “Am I allowed to do this? I guess if I say “Yes,” that’s advice!

MM: It is, in a way.

TAO: I guess that would be my advice. What I will say is I have learned that permitting myself to follow my first impulse has produced more moments of true personal success than anything else. 

Thomas Antony Olajide of Learn to Swim
Pictured: Thomas Antony Olajide. Photo credit: Vita Cooper

MM: Is there anything else on the horizon for you, career-wise?

TAO: I just shot a TV series called Interview with the Vampire for AMC. That should be coming out soon. The rest is a mystery at this point. We shall see.

MM: Have you binge-watched anything interesting lately?

TAO: The last thing I binge-watched was Formula 1: Drive to Survive on Netflix. That’s a good watch. I cannot get enough of that show.

MM: Name your top five favorite films.

TAO: Blood and BonesPodium. You can’t not have There Will Be Blood. You have to have Paul Thomas Anderson in there somewhere. Moonlight. The Piano Teacher, or La Pianiste, from Michael Haneke. Anything he does. We could create an entire list of just Michael Haneke. But The Piano Teacher with Isabelle Huppert is incredible.

MM: Thank you so much for chatting with me, Thomas! Congratulations on everything!

TAO: Thank you, Melody!

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Be sure to follow Thomas on Instagram (@olajideta). Learn to Swim is now in theaters in Canada. 

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Melody McCune
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