‘Industry’ actor Toheeb Jimoh breaks down his big karaoke scene, Ghana’s “vibes for Kwabena,” and whether he’ll return to ‘Ted Lasso’

Ted Lasso alum Toheeb Jimoh had zero qualms signing up for HBO‘s sexy, seedy, cult hit Industry, but he did have one tiny pang of disappointment when he arrived on set to play SternTao analyst Kwabena Bannerman.

“I was a bit bummed to miss out on Pierpoint,” Jimoh said, referring to the iconic trading floor that served as Industry‘s primary set for the first three seasons. “But I think SternTao is a great alternative.”

SternTao’s offices aren’t in a Canary Wharf high rise, but in Eric Tao’s (Ken Leung) luxury hotel suite.

“Way better room service [at SternTao],” Jimoh said. “Yeah, I think there’s a line where Ken’s like, ‘Tell Kwabana to stop ordering chicken wings.’ Yeah, Kwabana enjoyed that, anyway.”

Industry Season 4 follows Harper Stern (Myha’la) as she teams up with former Pierpoint boss and off-and-on mentor Eric Tao to launch the brash financial startup, SternTao. Harper is betting big that shiny new banking app Tender is actually poised for a spectacular downfall. To prove that she’s identified the biggest short in the game, Harper dispatches her company’s only two underlings — Kwabena Bannerman and Sweetpea Golightly (Miriam Petche) — to Ghana to investigate the finances of Tender’s earliest holdings.

**Spoilers for Industry Season 4 Episode 5 “Eyes Without a Face,” now streaming on HBO Max**

Most of Industry Season 4 Episode 5 “Eyes Without a Face” takes place in Accra, the golden-lit, bustling capital of Ghana. While Kwabena immediately takes to conducting business on “Africa time,” Sweetpea chafes at the culture’s laid-back attitude and convoluted paper trails. She’s convinced, like Harper, that something’s fishy about Tender’s earliest operations. As she gets closer and closer to pay dirt, though, Sweetpea also finds herself a target. She’s brutally attacked by a man in a women’s restroom while Kwabena’s blissfully singing Billy Idol’s “Eyes Without a Face” at a beach bar.

This violent development immediately brings the two young SternTao employees together, shattering any emotional armor they were wearing and committing them both to their task. By the episode’s end, Sweetpea and Kwabena have confirmed that Tender is built on nothing. It’s just a Russian doll of shell companies siphoning wealth from bigger and bigger investors.

Industry star Toheeb Jimoh stopped by Decider’s midtown Manhattan studio last month to chat about all things Industry, focusing on Kwabena’s big episode playing international investigator with Sweetpea. He shared behind-the-scenes gems about shooting in South Africa (doubling for Ghana) and teased whether or not he’d be game to play Sam Obisanya on Ted Lasso ever again…

DECIDER: I want to talk about Episode 5. First of all, when the show gets to Ghana, there’s a whole new swagger, a whole attitude just because of the location. Even Kwabena’s outfits have this extra layer of cool to them. Did you guys notice a shift in terms of just the atmosphere on set? And how did you manage to also keep it Industry? 

Toheeb Jimoh: Yeah, I mean, Industry is such a fast-paced show. And as soon as Industry takes Africa, everything kind of slowed down. I think also for my character, who didn’t really care about the mission that we were on — like what’s the line? He says, ‘I think you’re digging for gold in the sandbox.’ You know, like his entire mentality was, ‘Listen, I’m in Ghana. This is a business trip paid for by SternTao to Ghana. I’m here to vibe.’ So, yeah, it did feel like as much as the pace of the show was whip fast, Kwabena at least definitely got to just slow down, chill, dress well. I felt like Ghana was vibes for Kwabena until I got serious. Until she got punched in the face!

I want to get to that, but first, talking about vibes. You get to sing karaoke. 

Oh, my god. 

The implication is that he’s probably there singing for hours at that beachside bar.

Yeah. Yeah. [Nods and laughs]

Did you have any say in the songs and did you know that you would be singing the song that tied to the title of the episode? 

No, I didn’t know it tied to the title of the episode so that was a great surprise. But no, you don’t get consulted about these things. You just show up to a read through and it says, “Kwabena is singing karaoke.” And I go, “I see.” [Laughs] That’s the mission. But it was really fun. I actually give a big shout out to all the supporting artists on the day in that karaoke bar. Like so much of it didn’t end up making it into the actual TV show, but like we were all on stage at one point. We were all singing at one point. It was so much fun to just pretend to be super drunk with all of these lovely strangers. By the end of it, we were like a band of brothers. It was great.

You mentioned that Sweetpea gets punched and there is that moment where you see her come out of the bathroom bloodied and you’re like, “Oh, my God.” How does he feel knowing that he’s ostensibly supposed to be there as backup for his parter and she’s been hurt the one moment he kind of takes his eyes off of her?

I think that’s where the switch in the episode happens for Kwabena. Up until then, it’s just like vibes. We’re not going to get anything out of this and so I might as well just enjoy myself while I’m here. And then that happens. I think he realizes that this is really serious. She’s put so much time into this. And you know, he’s kind of there to look after her while she’s in Ghana. He’s on home turf. His family’s from Ghana and she’s not. I think there’s a lot of guilt and a lot of shame that he feels for what happened to her. So yeah, after that day, I think we see like a real shift in him. Like he’s woken up early the next scene, he’s got all the information, he’s organized a sit down with the auntie who happens to have the golden nugget that we need. I feel like a lot of the guilt of that moment feeds into Kwabena then becoming “Mr. SternTao” and “Mr. Let’s-End-Tender.”

I also think that you guys have a more tender scene when she’s icing up her nose. For the first time, it seems like there’s no BS between them. I’m curious if you and Miriam noticed that kind of shift happening as well, just on the emotional level of the scene?

There was something about being away from work, being away from the office. You know, after she’s been attacked so violently, I think it gets to a point where they’ve both been drinking, everything’s gone haywire, everything’s gone shit. There’s just a level of honesty that they have with each other in that scene where they’re asking each other like what kind of porn they’re into. That moment kind of bonds them and the conversation they have really bonds them. It’s one of the more honest scenes in the entire series where people are just talking to each other and there’s no pretense and there’s also no judgment. And then they end up sleeping with each other — spoiler.

But I think there’s something really lovely about the fact that these two people can just sit down and have a completely honest conversation about some of the stuff that they feel they probably wouldn’t be able to admit with anybody else. In this little bubble of of Ghana, they can just be themselves and then they go back home.

Before you go, I have to ask you about Ted Lasso because you were so charming and wonderful on that show.

Oh, thank you. 

Have we seen the last of Sam Obinsaya? Did you like the way Season 3 wrapped up his story? Can tease anything? I’m just so curious because part of me, personally, I’m still rooting for Sam and Rebecca even though no one else likes that ‘ship.

[Laughing] Oh, I always find it so funny how polarizing that was. Like some people detested it. Like they couldn’t stand it at all. Then some people were like, “No, I’m still rooting,” and I’m like, “We’ll see.”

I did love the way Season 3 wrapped up for Ted Lasso for so many of the characters. I felt like a lot of those arcs got to be completed in a sense. I feel like there will always be more. You know, like what comes after the end? The next beginning. So if there was an opportunity to do more, I’d definitely be up for it. But there is also a part of me that feels like that chapter ended in a really lovely and brilliant way. And I’m so excited for Season 4. I’m excited for the women’s team and, yeah, I think it’s going to be a great season.

Industry Season 4 Episode 6 comes out on Sunday, February 15 at 9 PM ET on HBO and HBO Max.

Ted Lasso Season 4 will premiere on Apple TV Summer 2026.