Vancouver-born actor Solomon Irama is as comfortable acting in front of the camera as he is playing on the basketball court, and he’s been doing both for a very long time.
“I have been acting and hooping for almost my entire life,” Irama told Daily Hive. “I knew I wanted to be an actor when I did my first acting gig at seven years old. It was a Kellogg’s commercial.”
The performer and player of Ugandan, South African, and Irish ancestry had the opportunity to combine his passions in his role as Phil Marksby on the Apple TV+ series Swagger.
Swagger, created by Reggie Rock Bythewood, is inspired by the life of NBA star Kevin Durant, who was also an executive producer on the critically-acclaimed series.
Irama played Phil Marksby, the tough centre with a heart of gold on the youth basketball team, for the show’s two seasons.
“Swagger is an amazing TV show about the youth growing up in the DMV area (District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia) playing basketball,” explained Irama. “More importantly, though, it is a show about life and all the things young people face growing up in America.”
Solomon Irama/Submitted
The six-foot-eight star recently got to show off his basketball skills during a practice with the UBC Thunderbirds. The opportunity came when he met coach Kevin Hanson after a game and was invited to participate.
“Working out with the Thunderbirds was great,” said Irama. “We did a two-on-one drill, shooting, and scrimmage. They were things that I had worked on in Swagger. Whether it was on the screen or at practice, we played lots of high-level basketball.”
Solomon Irama with the UBC Thunderbirds/Submitted
Brian Wallack, captain of the UBC Thunderbirds, shared that the team enjoyed having Irama join them for practice.
“Solomon brought an exciting energy, the feeling in the gym was a lot warmer and loud,” Wallack said. “He didn’t look out of place at all. He was making some tough shots and playing some strong defence. It was nice to have Soloman out to have a fun, stress-free practice.”
Wallack is currently finishing a master’s in Kinesiology and has played for the Thunderbirds for the last seven years. Even with a busy work and basketball schedule, he added that he’s going to make time to watch Swagger.
“I’ve seen clips from the show, but my teammates have watched every episode,” Wallack said. “They talk about it being such an accurate depiction of what the high school AAU scene is like, including the politics, gameplay and drama associated with those teams.
“After seeing Soloman and hearing my teammates rave about how captivating the show is, I’m going to have to dial in.”
So what’s next for Irama, who has appeared in Netflix’s Cop and a Half: New Recruit and CW’s Supergirl, among other projects? The answer is simple:
“More acting and more basketball.”