Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine on Freddy’s Final Acts on Smoke Season 1 Episode 7: “I Had to Go to the Edge”

Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine has delivered two astonishing performances this summer  —  one as the gentle Blessing on Dexter: Resurrection and the other as Freddy, the deeply broken arsonist in Smoke. 

But it’s Freddy’s devastating final moments on Smoke that truly shook us.

We spoke with Ntare again, this time after fans witnessed Freddy’s chilling confrontation with Dave (Taron Egerton), which marked the climax of his arc  —  and the end of his life.

“That was the pinnacle scene for my character.”

Freddy spends most of Smoke lurking on the edges, a mysterious and damaged man whose motivations are never entirely clear. But when Dave walks into that interrogation room on Smoke Season 1 Episode 7, the power dynamic flips.

“Getting to go toe-to-toe with Taron Egerton was such a thrill because he’s such a dynamic performer,” Ntare shared. “He just sucks all the energy in the room in, and I was just wondering if I could hold my own.”

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He needn’t have worried. Freddy doesn’t just hold his own — he dismantles Dave with a few carefully chosen words. 

The one that cuts deepest? “Why didn’t she love you?” he asks, referring to Dave’s mother, catching him completely off guard.

From that moment, Dave spirals. Freddy sees through him, calling out the hate he carries like it’s written in his bones. “You are like whitewashed tombs,” Freddy says with eerie clarity. “Beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, full of bones of the dead.” 

It’s the line that finally breaks Dave, whose quivering lip gives way to a full-body heave once he’s back behind the glass.

The Preparation Behind the Performance

This wasn’t just another scene for Ntare — it was the final day of filming, and he knew he had to bring something raw to the table.

“I literally stayed awake for I think two nights,” he revealed. 

“I was binge-watching Reindeer the night before. I hoped I wasn’t sabotaging myself by being too exhausted to do the work… but I thought, ‘What if I could combine that Dustin Hoffman/Olivier story and see what happens?'”

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He also dropped weight to reflect Freddy’s final state. “I drank coconut water for a week and tried to strip down and get to that exhaustion… and just pray that I wasn’t too exhausted to forget my lines.”

That physical and emotional toll wasn’t just for show — it unlocked something potent. 

“Freddy was more lucid in that moment than at any other point,” I noted, to which Ntare responded, “Yeah… I think sometimes clarity comes from when you’re in an extreme state like that.”

The Poetry of the Ending

After unburdening himself in the interrogation room, Freddy returns to his cell. 

There, we see fleeting memories of his childhood — his mother’s warm embrace, moments of innocence that still cling to his fractured soul. And then he hangs himself.

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It’s one of the most quietly harrowing sequences in the series, and the visuals — his life flashing through the reflections in his eyes — leave a lasting impression.

“It was shocking, terrifying to see myself on a noose,” Ntare said. “Yeah, it’s one of those things where I have to keep that one at bay from my kids for a while.”

But for all its horror, the ending felt oddly peaceful, even beautiful.

A Role That Resonates

Freddy might not have said much throughout Smoke, but his presence lingered in every scene. “He’s often unintelligible, but he’s never unreadable,” I told Ntare, and that duality was very much intentional.

“I never once pretended to understand the depth of despair that he’s gone through,” Ntare explained. “I just used my imagination to see where that would take me. And I think it led to some surprise discoveries.”

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One of those discoveries? Just how much this role — and that final scene — would resonate with viewers.

“I think that scene will be on my reel for the rest of my life,” Ntare admitted. “It’s the kind of work you hope for.”

And for the record? We’ll be thinking about Freddy’s eyes — reflecting joy, pain, and finality — for a long, long time.

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