In “Black Snake, the legend of the black snake”, Thomas Ngijol plays Clotaire Sangala, a selfish and unambitious man who becomes the first African superhero with ancestral powers. A role for which the actor and director had to train so that the fights seem natural.
black-snake: a new kind of superhero
Great powers do not necessarily imply great responsibilities. Clotaire Sangala, the hero of Black Snake, the legend of the black snake interpreted by Thomas Ngijol, is proof of this. Released in 2019, this comedy recounts the return to his native country of this somewhat cowardly and selfish individual in the 1970s. An orphan raised by a martial arts expert who took him in after finding him in a trash can, Clotaire has forgotten all about the precepts with which he grew up, preferring the comfort of Parisian life.
But after being bitten by a yellow snake, he finds himself decked out with ancestral abilities. Overpowered, he becomes Black Snake, the first African superhero. Despite his lack of courage, Clotaire will do everything to free his people from the grip of the dictator Hezekiah (Michel Gohou).
Karole Rocher – co-director and co-screenwriter, Édouard Baer, Sabine Pakora, and Bernard Ménez complete the cast of Black Snake, the legend of the black snake, born from an idea of Thomas Ngijol and Jean-Pascal Zadi. It is following a sketch on Superman and his non-existent relationship to Africa that the comedian decides to develop the evolution of this character with his co-author, by linking it to a very real frame and time.
Thomas Ngijol’s training
If he does not launch into the most impressive choreographies in the history of the seventh art, simply because his hero is not capable of it, Thomas Ngijol has several fight scenes in the feature film. The actor and filmmaker notably confront the famous kick-boxer Jérôme Le Banner. Not being accustomed to martial prowess, the actor logically performs physical preparation, as he explains to QG in 2019:
To be honest, I mainly trained physically so as not to hurt myself, but I still took kung fu lessons, the problem is that I was really bad at fighting. So I made gestures as best I could with my clumsiness. And that’s what I found funny.
Recommended by stunt choreographer Alain Figlarz (Babylon AD, Taken 2, Lucy), Thomas Ngijol, therefore, trains to make Clotaire’s limited talents seem natural. In the press kit, the comedian says:
I prepared myself well: it was not a question of taking me seriously but my way of fighting had to be credible. To be credible by embodying a draw, you have to have the basics! (laughs) So I learned certain gestures to do them naturally and without forcing them, and on the screen to do them badly! It was about having fun without taking yourself for Fast and Furious Where Impossible mission : Breaking anyone’s face has never been my fantasy! I didn’t want to transform my body but I trained to be in shape. Alain Figlarz coached me and he choreographed the fights in the style “we’re going for real but I’m a little to the west”! (laughs)
A dreaded confrontation
The other big physical challenge for the actor during the shots is the sequence with the snake, which he is in no hurry to shoot. During his interview for QG he says with humor:
I was very apprehensive, because snakes are disgusting. But I wanted to go after things. The trainer presented me with several tamed snakes, I refused the boa which was too big, but we had a good feeling with the yellow snake from the film. They had planned a stunt double for me, but the snake didn’t want him. So I did the scene myself. I was very afraid of being bitten. It’s a scene in Caesar, close to DiCaprio’s performance with the bear in the Revenant !
