Comedian and actor Ego Nwodim has been one of the leading cast members of Saturday Night Live since 2018, and now, she’s taking her talents to the basketball court with Stephen Curry in the new Peacock original comedy series Mr. Throwback.
Nwodim stars alongside Curry and Adam Pally in the mockumentary following Danny (Pally), a down-on-his-luck memorabilia dealer who looks for redemption by reuniting with his sixth-grade teammate, who happens to be a legendary NBA player now.
“The three of us had so much fun together. It didn’t feel like work. I think that is such a good sign,” Nwodim told Blavity’s Shadow and Act in a recent interview. “Sometimes that can be a bad thing,” she said, laughing. “In our case, I feel we made it a good thing. It didn’t feel like work, and that is such a magical combination, so rare.”
Along with the camaraderie between herself and her co-stars, the Nwodim enjoyed the change of pace in filming Mr. Throwback. She is used to the rigorous “machine” of SNL, so having the option to do different takes and improvise was “a lot less pressure.”
In the six-episode series, Nwodim portrays Kimberly, the project manager for the basketball star’s documentary and his company, Curry Up and Wait Productions. Kimberly, Steph and Danny were best friends during their childhood and were once an inseparable trio, but all that changed as they got older.
Kimberly has worked with Steph throughout his entire NBA career and is overprotective of him and his brand. She doesn’t hide her suspicions of Danny; viewers get to watch the hilarious antics unfold as his true motives emerge.
Nwodim and Curry previously worked together on short sketches when he hosted the 2022 ESPY Awards. She admitted that while he was great to work with in the past, she was surprised at his fantastic growth as an actor.
“I’m sure he has many other hidden talents, and honestly, acting is one of them. He was so good on set. He was such a good actor. I asked him if he had gotten an acting coach!” she said.
The Baltimore native claimed the father of four revealed his children were his acting coaches.
“I feel like his kids should open an acting school or something like that,” she joked. “That should be next for the Curry brand: Curry acting classes or Curry studios because when he came to set, he was incredible.”
Although the show is centered around basketball, and Curry is credited as an executive producer, learning the game was not a requirement.
Nwodim said she enjoyed sitting in on a couple of Curry’s shooting practices but knows basketball isn’t one of her strengths. She claimed due to her lack of skills, production “re-wrote” a scene where she missed a shot.
“They asked me after they gave me the job. They should have asked me before, but I probably wouldn’t have gotten the job,” Nwodim shamelessly admitted. “I’m actively very bad at basketball.”
Mr. Throwback is now streaming on Peacock.
