Industry’s Toheeb Jimoh Found Kwabena’s Turning Point in Ghana

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Spoilers follow for “Eyes Without a Face,” the fifth episode of the fourth season of Industry. 

Kwabena Bannerman, a character on the show Industry, recently returned to Ghana and gained a new perspective. Throughout the fourth season, he’s been the team member skeptical of their pursuit of Tender. While Harper, Eric, and Sweetpea are convinced Tender is hiding something in Accra, Kwabena initially views the trip as more of a supervisory role and a chance to enjoy his time back in his family’s homeland. He expects to relax while Sweetpea investigates, then return to London and move on to other work. However, when Sweetpea is unexpectedly attacked, Kwabena starts to believe she might be onto something. He then uses his connections in Ghana to help her investigate Tender, and by the end of the episode, they return to SternTao with solid evidence that Tender’s operations in Ghana are a sham.

For Kwabena, a shift happens when he realizes Sweetpea is more resourceful and intelligent than he initially believed. While he guides her through Ghanaian culture, Sweetpea takes the lead, eventually even initiating a casual encounter between them. According to actor Jimoh, this adds another layer of complexity to the already tangled relationships between Sweetpea, Kwabena, and Harper, who are already involved with each other. Jimoh’s first intimate scene in the series occurred during this episode, a significant departure from his role as the cheerful soccer player Sam Obisanya in Ted Lasso. (He won’t be returning for the fourth season of Ted Lasso, which will focus on a new team.) Despite the change in character, Jimoh brings his natural charm to Kwabena, transforming him from someone who seems unmotivated to a dedicated member of the SternTao team. Jimoh explains that seeing the team’s commitment to their mission ignites a similar drive within Kwabena, helping him understand his own purpose.

Kwabena’s background is interesting – his family is from Ghana, but he was raised with privilege and went to a British public school. How did you balance those two aspects of his identity when creating the character? He’s actively chosen to embrace his British public school identity and doesn’t have a strong connection to his Ghanaian heritage. He sees his upbringing – private school and the finance world – as something that doesn’t benefit from acknowledging his roots; speaking his native language wouldn’t help him professionally. He’s essentially assimilated, and that’s reflected in his humor, which is geared towards fitting in with his colleagues. The unique dialogue in Industry is a big part of what makes the show so popular – the specific slang, rhythm, and old-fashioned references. He likely exhibited similar ‘laddie’ behavior and energy while working with Otto Mostyn, and he and Rishi would have gotten along well. But SternTao is a different environment, a different group of people.

Kwabena’s return to Ghana is a powerful moment. Seeing Tony Day speak Akan to him, a language he doesn’t understand, forces him to confront parts of himself he’s left behind. To succeed in the UK, he had to adapt and, in some ways, distance himself from his Ghanaian roots. In episode five, we see him grappling with this as he realizes he doesn’t quite fit in back home either. He’s created a persona that works for his career, but that comes at a cost – a loss of connection to his background.

The Ghana storyline is essentially a two-person scene focusing on Kwabena and Sweetpea. Initially, Kwabena clearly underestimates Sweetpea, much like many others have throughout her life – and how some viewers might as well. He expects her mission to fail. However, Sweetpea proves to be incredibly determined and persistent. By the end of the episode, while they’re traveling, Kwabena asks for her guidance, effectively handing over leadership to her. It’s a pivotal moment for Sweetpea, demonstrating her growth, and ultimately, Kwabena comes to respect her as a capable partner. She faced a serious challenge – even being physically assaulted – and didn’t give up, which understandably inspires him.

Many factors contribute to their connection, and the physical aspect feels almost secondary. What’s more compelling is the honest conversation they have beforehand. Despite being vulnerable – they’re both intoxicated, and she’s injured – they reveal their true selves and desires. For him, it’s a chance to overcome personal shame, and for her, it’s about regaining control of her body after an attack. They find a brief, safe space to fulfill those needs, then return to their professional lives as if nothing happened.

In a conversation about potentially dismantling Tender, Kwabena jokingly suggests they’d be creating fairer economic results for everyone, prompting Sweetpea to call him dismissive. This raises the question of what Kwabena truly believes. He tells Sweetpea he joined Tender because he trusted Harper, but also because he felt discarded by Otto Mostyn after briefly being involved in a diversity program. While there’s conflict at SternTao, they appreciate his contributions, and he feels valued there. Initially, Kwabena seems motivated by personal gain, but as he connects with Sweetpea and her goals, he starts to genuinely believe in her mission and wants to be part of something meaningful.

Apparently, Kwabena was eating sandwiches during his scene with Tony Day, and I’ve heard from other actors how unpleasant it is to eat on camera. I really don’t want to get into the details, but it was a terrible experience! I’ve vowed never to do it again. Here’s why: that sandwich-eating scene was originally paired with another scene where Kwabena was supposed to be violently sick because he’d been drinking heavily the night before. It started while they were waiting for Tony Day – he actually threw up into his hands, and we used a quick cut to hide it. I had to eat a lot of warm soup just to spit it out! All that work for a scene that ultimately got cut. Then, I moved on to the sandwich scene, also drinking water. Originally, the idea was that he was hungover, which explained the eating and drinking. Without that context, it just looks like he’s being inconsiderate. It was a rough day for my stomach – a truly awful day for having to ‘act’ while eating.

Okay, so about the karaoke… honestly, as an actor, you just open the script and sometimes you’re like, “Seriously? My character is singing karaoke?” It felt like a bit of a punishment doing it completely sober – I really wished they’d let me have a drink, but it wasn’t to be! Surprisingly, it actually ended up being a lot of fun. We had tons of extras, and there were takes where my character, Kwabena, was pulling people onstage with him, and I was even stripping down a bit during one performance! As for why Kwabena puts on a stronger accent when flirting with tourists, I always saw it as him just having a bit of fun with the situation. These British backpackers come to Africa with their own ideas about what it’s like, and Kwabena figures, why not give them exactly what they expect? It’s his way of playing along and maybe even poking a little fun at the whole thing.

We filmed parts of the episode in Wales, trying to make it look like Ghana, which was a tough task for the production team. The rest was a quick, four-day shoot in South Africa that everyone really enjoyed – almost too much! We were still filming on the day we were supposed to fly home and had to rush to pack everything up and get to the airport.

When you return to London, Sweetpea will be the one to reveal to Harper that you slept together, not Kwabena. He’s been open with Sweetpea, but he can’t bring himself to be honest with Harper. Despite trying to convince themselves their relationship is casual, both Kwabena and Harper are developing feelings for each other. Keeping such a secret suggests he cares deeply about what Harper thinks. He likely regrets not telling her, worried about upsetting her, and perhaps there’s a bit of wanting to reciprocate the hurt after she ended their financial arrangement. However, when he confronts the situation, he realizes he doesn’t want to hurt her, but his dishonesty ironically has the opposite effect, causing her to become distant and rebuild the emotional walls he’d been breaking down. Her biggest issue is his lack of honesty, and he doesn’t realize how much progress he’s undone by keeping it a secret.

You played a very optimistic character in Ted Lasso, but Industry presents a much more cynical outlook. Has that shift in roles changed how you see the world yourself?

I don’t think my work really affects my personal worldview. For me, it’s more about trying to live up to the characters people connect with when I meet them. If someone is a Ted Lasso fan and recognizes me as Sam, I want to be kind and maintain a bit of that character’s spirit. I think it will be more challenging – and interesting – when I play less likable roles. But I try to learn something from every project. Ted Lasso really emphasized the Walt Whitman quote, ‘Be curious, not judgmental,’ which is a great message. And Industry had that quote from Ken about escaping pain by losing yourself – a warning I definitely take to heart. I won’t be following that path! [Laughs]

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2026-02-10 18:56