An Interview with Chiké Okonkwo & Jon Seda from ‘La Brea’

LA BREA -- Season: 3 -- Pictured: Chiké Okonkwo as Ty, and Jon Seda as Dr. Sam -- (Photo by: Jasin Boland/NBC)

Chiké Okonkwo and Jon Seda are a pair of accomplished actors that have appeared in iconic franchises in multiple mediums. Currently, they star as Ty and Dr. Sam on the hit NBC series, La Brea, and with the show now coming to an end, we here at NTG were fortunate enough to speak with both of them about their time on the show.
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John Betancourt: What are each of you going to miss the most about working on this series?

Chiké Okonkwo: It's, you know… it's always people, isn't it? It's like being in a family, and there are things that are difficult, and there are things that are wonderful. But you always look back and you're grateful for the elements that were in that family. So as much as it was tricky being on the other side of the world filming in Australia, that was also joyful and beautiful in lots of ways too. It always comes down to the people for me, and that's, that's the reason I do the job. And it's the thing that I love most about the job, the people you get to work with along the way. So, it'll be that for me.

Jon Seda: Yeah, I agree. I mean, you know, outside of missing the fact that, you know, working with this amazing cast and crew and, and just being able to experience that in Australia, you know, maybe down the line, we’ll have the opportunity that we could potentially work together again, and you know, that that would be fantastic. But the show itself, you know, is what I will really miss, you know, the surprises in the scripts, and getting the scripting and seeing where David Appelbaum was thinking of taking our next journey, you know, and going “Oh my gosh, he wants to do that? How are we going to do that?” What I'm gonna miss the most is the show, filming, and the surprises. It was so much fun. And from the beginning, you know, I always felt this was a special show. I think it was unique and great for us to be a part of.

John Betancourt: What are each of you most proud of when it comes to your work on the show?

Jon Seda: Oh, yeah, you know, I'm just so proud of being able to get to know Chiké and to get to know the rest of the cast. You know, just it's an incredible group of people, you know, from Natalie Zea, Eoin, Jack, Zyra. Just, on and on, you know, Scott, you know, it's just… I’m not gonna list everybody, but just an incredible group of people and the crew, which I had an opportunity of working with on another project out in Australia a few years back, so to meet up with so many of them again, and, you know, I'm just, I'm just proud to have been a part of it, you know? I thought, like I said, I thought it was something that was gonna be special. And I'm proud… I gave 100% all the time. And hopefully, it's something that, you know, people will be able to watch over and over again, and feel, the passion that we put in, and how special it was to us. And hopefully, they'll feel that. So, I'm proud of that, I'm proud of, of how passionate everybody was to try and make La Brea the best thing that we could.

Chiké Okonkwo: Yeah, and I'll jump on that and say, I'm really proud to be able to complete a story, you know, to be able to tell a story from beginning through the middle to the end, and to be part of such a cohesive whole in doing that. Because, you know, as a kid, when I was first thinking about being an actor, it was that. It was always the stories. It was the ability to be able to throw yourself in with a group of people and tell this unique story. And then, you know, when you get into your career, it's not always the case that that you get to finish it. It's not always an option for you. So, I feel really proud of David Appelbaum, what he created, and the fact that we were able to stick the landing like we did.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. The final season of ‘La Brea’ debuts on NBC on January 9, 2024, at 9p-10p ET/PT and will be streaming on Peacock, the next day.

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