What happens when a ghost haunts a neighborhood bookstore? Madness ensues, mayhem prevails and popular literary characters come to life. Apple TV Plus’s Ghostwriter just debuted its third season on the streamer for more ghostly shenanigans, and with it came the introduction of Malcolm Turner, played by Tony Ofori, the Village Books barista who assists the leading players with solving more mysteries.
Recently, I had the privilege of chatting with Tony about his role in Season 3 of Ghostwriter, what audiences can expect, whether he believes in ghosts and more.
This interview is condensed for length and clarity.
Melody McCune: We at GGA love a good origin story. What’s Tony Ofori’s origin story?
Tony Ofori: I started falling in love with the acting craft when my grandfather took me to see Aladdin on Ice. We had a good time. My grandfather saw that I liked it and decided to put me into an acting camp. I was in acting camp every year from when I was 11 till about 16.
In high school, I got into other things like soccer, dance and rap. It wasn’t until my graduating year that my drama teacher sat me down and asked me what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I didn’t know, but I told him I wanted to be a teacher because it’s an honorable profession.
He urged me to take acting seriously because I was good at it, and there wasn’t a lot of representation for young Black males in the acting industry, let alone from Canada. So, I took that into consideration. I went to Humber College and did my three-year conservatory training. The rest is history.
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MM: Let’s talk about Ghostwriter. Can you tell me what it’s about and how you got involved with the show?
TO: Ghostwriter is about three friends who meet at a library. A book falls off the shelf, and as they open the book, characters start to jump out. These friends are trying to gather these characters from the book. Some of them are from songs, others from stories, and [the friends] need to solve riddles to get them back in the book. I originally auditioned for another character, The Scarecrow, from The Wizard of Oz.
Weeks later, I got an audition for a bigger role. I had a lot of fun with it. The next thing I knew, I got the callback. This was during the height of COVID. Everything was done via Zoom. The director, Luke [Matheny], is from LA, so it was helpful that he got to work through Zoom. They hired me, and I had the great privilege of working with the amazing team at Apple.
MM: How does your character Malcolm fit into the seasonal narrative?
TO: Malcolm works at Village Books. Village Books is like a coffee shop at a mall where they sell books. Malcolm works in the coffee shop slash bookstore where the kids congregate and find this magical book. There’s a lot of magic happening around Malcolm, and he has no clue about it at all. He’s more there to support the three friends who come in daily.
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MM: Describe Season 3 using three words.
TO: Magical, haunting and nostalgic.
MM: Without giving too much away, do you have a favorite scene or a filming highlight from your experience on the show?
TO: My favorite scenes are any of the scenes I get to work with the kids. They are extremely talented. Our job is not easy. You have to show up every day, be off book and be committed. The hours are long, and sometimes our partners don’t exist. It’s a tennis ball, or we’re acting into space because a lot of it is visual effects. So, to allow ourselves to go on this journey and tell the story authentically was a challenge for me. Imagine the three kids. Watching them work and navigate this workspace as professionals was a blessing.
MM: What can audiences expect for this season of Ghostwriter?
TO: This season of Ghostwriter is entertaining like the past two seasons. Still, I feel like Luke and the team did a great job in leaving the audience with a message and something to learn about themselves and society, which I don’t feel this show has ever done. It challenges the social construct of the world we live in. I think it’s powerful that we’re using the platform of children’s media to portray these messages.
MM: Do you share any similarities with Malcolm?
TO: We’re both extremely handsome — my mom says I’m handsome. We are both advocates for social justice. Malcolm’s a university student and the president of the Black Student Union. He ensures Black students on campus feel safe and have a safe space. He helps mediate any discrepancies between staff and students of color.
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As for myself, I am on the board of a not-for-profit organization called Black Scholar Dollars. We raise money from different corporations and businesses and ask students of color to write an essay about what they would like to do after high school and what type of post-secondary school they would like to attend. We delegate finances according to the students with the strongest argument or desire. That’s to alleviate a bit of the financial strain that exists in the Black community in Canada.
MM: Since this is a show about ghosts, I have to ask: Do you believe in ghosts?
TO: I believe in ghosts. Any space that I hear is haunted, I will not go. I don’t even go to haunted houses. I can’t do it.
MM: Oh, I don’t like those either.
TO: I’m okay with things I can touch. But a ghost … I can throw something, and it’ll go through them.
MM: What else is on the horizon for you?
TO: I wrapped a couple of episodes on a TV show called Murdoch Mysteries, which is in Season 16, if you can believe it. I play the first Black hundred-meter track and field Olympic athlete from Canada, John Armstrong Howard. Next week, I will be joining the cast of Star Trek: Discovery.
I’ll be doing a couple of episodes on that, and then I’m back in the theater world, working on a production with Camp Stage to tour. It’s called Fall on Your Knees, a book that was part of Oprah’s Book Club and has been adapted into a play. I’m excited about that. I’ll be working on that from November through April.
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MM: Have you binge-watched anything interesting lately?
TO: I’m watching Dahmer right now. It’s very creepy. It’s crazy what human beings are capable of, honestly.
MM: Name your top five favorite films.
TO: I would say Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom with Chadwick Boseman — that’s my favorite actor. The Great Debaters with Denzel Washington. Love me some Superbad. Pulp Fiction. Do the Right Thing from Spike Lee.
MM: Thank you so much for chatting with me, Tony. Congratulations on Ghostwriter and what’s to come!
TO: Thank you, Melody!
You can follow Tony on Instagram (@tony_ofori). Ghostwriter Season 3 is now streaming on Apple TV Plus.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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