The British actress plays aspiring comic book artist Clance Morgan.
“She’s a really forward-thinking, modern woman,” Ikumelo says of Clance.
“I found it really exciting to play that, to play the funny and the quirkiness.
Gbemisola Ikumelo as Clance Morgan on ‘A League of Their Own’.Anne Marie Fox/Amazon Studios
She’s a bit of an outsider, but she is just so full as a person.”
Still, they became fast friends, both on and off screen.
They nailed that, casting us."
Chanté Adams and Gbemisola Ikumelo on ‘A League of Their Own’.Nicola Goode/Prime Video
Ikumelo says with a laugh.
“But I am, definitely.”
Here, Ikumelo talks stepping up to the plate withA League of Their Own.
Gbemisola Ikumelo at the ‘A League of Their Own’ premiere.Michael Kovac/Getty Images
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: As a Brit, were you a fan of the original movie?
Are you a baseball person?
GBEMISOLA IKUMELO:We have rounders in the U.K., which is like baseball’s poor cousin.
So I didn’t know much about the game at all.
I got to do a little bit [on set].
I was a Madonna fan, so I was like, I’mdefinitelyabout this.
A lot of this story centers on the central friendship between Max and Clance.
What about that friendship really intrigued you?
So I think it’s really lovely that we get to be that.
That feels really powerful in terms of what this story is doing.
But it’s also about finding your team, which is what this whole story is about.
What excited you about seeing that story on screen?
It’s so exciting.
As Chante said, there’s this Black joy that you get.
[Max’s mom] runs this business, and it’s like, her husband is there too!
It’s really lovely to see these supportive husbands because Clance has a supportive husband as well.
In this era, these men were just fans of their partners, of their wives.
Look, I don’t think we shy away from the fact that there’s racism.
I think those things are very clear.
There’s the mere fact that Max will never be able to join the Peaches in this time.
But in the midst of all that, there are also people gravitating towards joy.
It’s about finding joy in their places to exist and be who they are.
So seeing that on screen is joyful.
What was it like to immerse yourself in the sets and costumes of the 1940s?
I loved everything that Tracye [Field] did with the costumes of this.
I just think she’s a genius.
Everyone has their own interesting quirks.
I think there’s something about putting on a costume as an actor.
Our clothes inform that.
Our shoes inform that.
So it’s really great when you get to see why the posture changes and why it shifts.
You start to live it, and you start to think, “Ah, I get it.”
When you think back to the filming process, what was your most memorable day on set?
It was a really beautiful moment.
