A major reason for Fightland‘s success is that it has great villains. Anita-Joy Uwajeh is the breakout performer in the Starz show as the ruthless Cebella Marshall, cold and calculating. Her direct opposite is her brother Zeek, who is played by Charles Babalola as a loose cannon going off in every direction. They’re entertaining to watch on their own, let alone as foils to Duke Kilroy.

In an interview with TVBrittanyF.com, Anita and Charles spoke about how they developed the tension between Cebella and Zeek that adds a whole other layer to Fightland. Anita-Joy also reflected on the importance of Cebella having her own independent story arc. And find out what Charles’ favorite Zeek scenes were this season.

Brittany Frederick: There’s a palpable tension in the scenes between Zeek and Cebella that makes Fightland even better. How did the two of you find that chemistry where there’s love, but also genuine friction?

Anita-Joy Uwajeh: We found that by just getting to know each other initially, and figuring out who each other are in our own worlds. And then okay, how do we bring that into the world of Fightland and into the world of Cece and Zeek? We just really laid out the foundation of how we wanted to work, and that meant that we needed to trust each other.

That meant that we needed to be generous to each other. That meant that we needed to challenge each other and push each other, and that meant that we needed to, at the core, always strive for authenticity. That’s how we were able to build the relationship that that Zeek and Cebella have on screen.

Charles, you have a fun task because Zeek is so amped up, which gives you some explosive scenes. But how did you modulate that, and keep the audience from just seeing him at eleven all the time?

Charles Babalola: That definitely comes into my mind. But for me it was, and it always is, just about finding the honesty of the scene. If I need to go [to] eleven in this scene, I’m gonna go [to] eleven. But if I feel like I need to tone it down for the scene, I will.

And actually, sometimes I just play. I play and I have an idea, but I’ll just go into the scene and see whatever emotions and feelings it’s bringing out of me.

Anita-Joy, one of the really fascinating things about Fightland is that Cebella is perceived as an even bigger threat than her father. Even in the series premiere, she’s thinking about things he’s not. How do you perceive her character arc, because it doesn’t rely on Kingsley or Zeek or even Duke to move forward?

Uwajeh: Thank you for for expressing that, because I think it’s important… that she has her own story arc, independent of the men around her. CeCe goes on a real epic journey in this series, and I think there’s some truth to that—that she is as ambitious as her father. I think audiences will see that she sees a bigger picture.

Her father thinks he really sees what the future holds, but I think Cebella sees something that he hasn’t allowed himself to imagine. And that is what drives her to keep on striving, to keep on finding opportunities, to keep on making opportunities, to keep on challenging all those people around her that want to underestimate her and say no—and to keep on trying to keep Zeek in particular in line and keep the Marshall name afloat.

Charles, do you have a favorite scene in Fightland as far as Zeek goes, with all the big moments that he has?

Babalola: One of the final climax scenes in the final episode. I can’t really talk too much about that.

But I would [also] say the York Hall scene in Episode 2. It’s one of my favorite days on set ever. We were shooting in this really historic boxing venue in the UK, and the extras that day, they just brought so much life to that venue. It felt like a real fight. And I loved it because you see Zeke’s business-savvy boxing mind ticking during that fight, and his conversation with the guy from Legacy Boxing Group that he’s brought to come and watch this fight.

Fightland airs Sundays at 8:00 p.m. on Starz and on the Starz app. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Starz.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.