In Lifetime’s latest “Ripped From the Headlines” feature Taken at a Basketball Game, a desperate father hopes to reconnect with his estranged daughter by attending a basketball game. His worst fear is confirmed when he realizes she’s been kidnapped. In his race against the clock, he enlists an unlikely ally to find her before it’s too late.
PopWire recently had the opportunity to chat with that ally, Moni Ogunsuyi, who portrays Splendid, the young sex worker who partners with the distressed father in search for the taken girl. In our chat she introduces her character, what it was like working with her on-screen partner, and why viewers should tune in when the movie, inspired by real events, premieres this weekend.
“Splendid is a woman who has gone through a lot in her life,” Ogunsuyi tells us. “She had a very rough upbringing and she found herself to be in the sex work life and it’s a very dangerous life to be in sometimes. In order to prepare for that role, I really had to get into the mindset of what someone who’s gone through a lot and someone who’s doing this as a means of survival. I really wanted to get into her headspace and where she would be at.
Courtesy of Lifetime
“So it did take drawing on certain experiences in the past because I’ve witnessed this firsthand. It took me drawing on that and also trying to be respectful of sex workers to not make a caricature of them. I was very careful with building her personality, but also building the personality of who she really was, like beneath the surface, and I really hope that I did that justice. I tried to show like the two distinctions of who Splendid is, but also who she truly is at heart.”
The real-life pageant queen turned actress shared the screen in Taken at a Basketball Game with D.B. Woodside (“9-1-1: Lonestar,” “Lucifer”), who portrays Wayne Edwards, the father she teams up with. Ogunsuyi shares that working with Woodside was “like a dream” and a “full circle moment.”
“When I had first met him, I didn’t realize that I actually watched him growing up. He was on ’24,’ he was in ‘The Temptations.’ He’s done so many amazing projects. I don’t really watch much TV, so I didn’t remember until I looked him up. I remember walking in on set and I was like, ‘You’re in The Temptations with hair!’ Oh, my God. He was honestly amazing. He was so fun. We joked around a lot, and when we needed to be serious, we were.
Courtesy of Lifetime
“He gave me so many pieces of advice. He was kind of like a dad. Like he was he was so warm and welcoming. They say never meet your heroes, but he is someone that I think people would want to meet. He is so nice and he’s definitely great to work with. He’s so professional. It was amazing being able to work with a veteran actor like that.”
Along with Taken at a Basketball game and the recent Oscar-winning sweep that was “Anora,” the sex worker industry has been getting a lot of visibility recently. The actress says that it’s “really important” to humanize sex workers and share their stories.
“I think that there’s a stigma against them,” Ogunsuyi says. “A lot of people think that they’re doing this just for fun. A lot of the times this does stem from a lot of trauma that goes on in early life. A lot of times people do this out of survival. People do this because they don’t see another way. There’s the side where it’s like, I need to survive. This is what I need to do to get by. But then there’s another side where it’s like I’m being forced to do this; I don’t want to do this.
Courtesy of Lifetime
“This movie touches on both of those aspects, the need to survive and also the side where it’s like you’re being forced. And I think that we need to help women and men, because men can be in this too. I think that we need to talk about why this is happening and how do we help people in these scenarios so they don’t feel like they need to turn to this to survive. It’s just it’s really gut wrenching to hear some of their stories.”
Taken at a Basketball Game is a suspenseful feature which depicts violence, including human trafficking, which may be disturbing to some viewers. The actress encourages viewers to watch so they don’t miss out on the important subject matter and to catch the performances of the “amazing cast.”
“I keep saying this — we have such powerhouses,” Moni Ogunsuyi says. “Everyone on this cast did such an incredible job. I think that people should be expected to be moved by this project and to be like glued to their seat. I know they’re going to want to know what’s happening next. I really hope they tune in and they watch and they come along the rollercoaster ride with us and tell us what they think at the end.”
Taken at a Basketball Game premieres Saturday, March 15 at 8/7c and available to stream the next day.
