Josh Tedeku is a name you have probably heard many times this year. A trailblazing and highly determined actor, he holds an impressive résumé at the tender age of 21. Starting his career in the comedy Festival of Slaps, which won a British Independent Film Award for Best British Short Film , Josh quickly came to prominence in the series A Town Called Malice, starring as Eddie Carter. This year alone he played the leading role of Jaheim in the critically acclaimed BBC show Boarders and he currently stars as Tazer in the recently released Netflix sci-fi series Supacell, created by Rapman about five black South Londoners who come to the realisation that they have superpowers. It is clear that Josh is an ambitious and supremely talented actor who is only getting started. We are pleased to showcase Josh on our July digital cover and interview him about his acting features, fashion, and the future.
Top: Fred Perry
Trousers: All Saints
Jewellery: Dower and Hall
Belt: BOSS
Hi Josh, congratulations on an amazing year so far and the success of Boarders and Supacell.
To start off, have you always wanted to be an actor?
For most of my life yeah! When I was a kid, my brother who is a director , used to put me onto movies and that’s where the obsession for screen work started. My obsession for acting in general started even before that in the playgrounds of my primary school, where my friends and I would make little 5 minute plays for show and tell. I caught the bug from there and being the confident little guy I was I always had a feeling it would be the path I followed.
If you hadn’t gone into acting, what type of career do you think you would have pursued?
I don’t think I could do anything else but the arts, if I had to it would be any sport. I’m convinced a lot of my confidence and intense mentality is actually derived from how much sport I played as a kid. As most other English guys would tell you, I thought I was going to be a footballer first!
You have a YouTube channel called Tedeku Hub- would you consider having your own production company in future?
My brothers are actually the spearhead of that channel and I loved acting and making projects alongside them! They treat it as a production company already because they, like me, believe that you should treat it as what you know it will become and know their worth. So I’d love to be a part of it more actively someday! We all share the need to tell stories with no leashes or bounds. We want to tell the pure authentic truth and that’s exactly what you get at Tedeku Hub. I can’t wait to one day be in the era where we can produce amazing, unique feature films under our own name.
Waistcoat: YEF Studio @BLACK PR
Trousers: Dickies
Trainers: Clarks
Bracelet: Claire Hill Designs
Necklace: Vintage
You play the lead in Boarders – how did you prepare yourself for the role and what can we expect in Season 2?
It wasn’t extremely hard because I have experience in that culture shock of moving from a black area and school, to a significantly whiter one. For Jaheim, to get into his mind frame I just had to ask myself lots of questions and build this character to be a fully fledged believable person that I could step into and play truthfully. In Season 2 you can expect the students to be a bit more relaxed in their environment now that they have slightly settled in, but you never know what’s lurking around the corner…
Supacell is such a groundbreaking show. What were the most exciting aspects of filming the series?
The most exciting part for me was getting to play a character so different to who I am. It’s a dream for us actors when we get to do that because the more work there is to be done the more enjoyable and rewarding the process is. Diving into Tazer was such a beautiful point in my life because I know his character seems a bit far fetched at times. Especially to people that don’t know that world, I don’t even know that world. However, in my eyes as an actor trying to get in the mind frame of Tazer, it became quickly apparent there are underlying issues with him and boys like him in real life, to the point where I could argue he’s the most realistic character!
Top: Reiss
Belt: Tom Ford
Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren
Trousers: Cernucci
Bracelet: Claire Hill Designs
How important is your character’s story line when accepting a role?
Very important. The story in general has to be good, it has to make sense. My character has to have a role that makes sense within the story line. I like when it can correlate with the point I’m at in my life and career. It has to have a significant difference to the role I’ve played before.
Out of the five superpowers we see in Supacell, which one do you think would be the most useful to have in real life?
Oh definitely Micheal’s. Even teleportation alone is the best. Go anywhere in the world I want within a second? I’m in!
Jacket: River Island
Trousers: All Saints
Necklace: Claire Hill Designs
T-Shirt: DTT
Would you ever be interested in performing on Broadway in New York or working on a musical in the West End?
1000000% !!! It’s my dream. It’s on my bucket list which means it will be done by God’s grace. I’m such a theatre nerd and it’s where my love for the craft started, so it’s where my heart will reside, no matter what. Doing theatre is the best feeling in the world bar none… watching theatre is a close second.
I understand that you are a fashion enthusiast. What is your favourite outfit in your wardrobe?
Right now it’s probably this long black nylon jacket that I love wearing everywhere. It goes with everything and I feel like I’m undercover which is great because I like just being in my own world when I’m out by myself. Every time I don’t wear it I’ve been stopped in the street, so that tells you something!
Top: Fred Perry
Jewellery: Dower and Hall
Shoes: Grenson
Trousers: All Saints
Jumper: BOSS
Who are your top three designer brands?
You guys are trying to get me to throw away the bag huh? I love all of them equally, so it would be amazing to work together with any of them.
If you could choose a designer to design your outfit to wear to the Met Gala, who would it be and why?
Ozwald Boateng or Spencer Badu. Simply because they are amazing at what they do and they are my Ghanaian brothers. Gotta show the world what we’re on.
Can you tell us about any upcoming projects or other creative plans you have for the future?
I’m excited for the future – to work more, to meet more people in the industry. I’m looking forward to Boarders Season 2 which I’m lucky enough to be back in production on at the moment. I hope this is only just the beginning and I can’t wait to keep showing you guys what I have for you. Love.
SUPACELL is available to stream now on Netflix.
Follow Josh on Instagram @joshtedeku
Team credits:
Photographer: Jacquetta Clark @jacquettaclark
1st Photography Assistant: Joshua Blease @joshuablease
2nd Photography Assistant: Kasim Rareali @kasimrareali
Fashion Stylist and Interview: Charmaine McKoy @charmainemckoystyle
Fashion Assistant: Emma Hockenhull @emmahockenhull
Grooming: Louise Lerego @louiselerego
Videographer: Luke Sterling- Jackman @visualsbythatguy
Video Editor: Nana Opoku-Agyeman @throughthelensofnana @official_solarflare
Cover Design: Sofia de Vita @sofia.devita
