Ego Nwodim Shares Her Thoughts on Holiday Gift Giving and More (Excl)

Not only is Ego Nwodim a talented actress and comedian, but she also has another skill to add to her resume — one that’s especially useful during the holiday season.

“I think I am good at picking out gifts for friends, because I’ll listen intently to someone speak,” Nwodim, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly on November 13. “Every once in a while, someone will say something that’s like, ‘I’m missing this. I wish I had this thing,’ or ‘I’m going to get this thing.’ And I’m like, ‘OK, nice.’ Note in my phone. I’m going to get that for them. And so I think I’m pretty good at getting people good gifts, specifically things they want or are going to use.”

Nwodim is teaming up with Scotch Brand for their latest holiday campaign that centers on gift wrapping, something that she admitted she is not the best at.

“I’m really bad at wrapping gifts, and I think that this tape actually makes it so easy,” Nwodim said. “I assumed that the tape would be phenomenal, given we’re doing a whole campaign around it, and I can say and attest to the fact that it is. Gift giving can be so stressful, and that resonated with me. And people’s reactions to gifts, my own reactions to gifts, made this whole partnership make sense. And when it was pitched to me, I was like, I know this face, this ‘resting gift face’ they speak of, and I think it’s really funny and silly and super relatable.”

Nwodim told Us that she loves the “cacophony” of the holidays because growing up, it was often spent surrounded by her family.

“I’m from a big Nigerian American family, and we would all get together,” she said. “My cousins from Jersey and us would either go to Jersey, or they would come to Maryland, where I’m from, and it would be all the kids, all the adults. And I just love the cacophony of the holidays, having us all in one house at the same time. I love that.”

The SNL alum also told Us that she looks forward to the opportunity to continue to be in more films in the future.

“I would love to be in a thriller specifically, or a heist movie,” Nwodim said. “So once that happens, I’ll be like, I did it. I did it all.”

“The Town is a heist movie I absolutely love. I watch it over and over and over again. I’m obsessed with The Town unironically, and it’s one of my favorite movies,” she continued.

Nwodim told Us that she thinks Rebecca Hall, who stars alongside Ben Affleck in the film, is an “underrated celebrity.”

“She’s so talented. What I love is that I didn’t realize she was British until someone told me, and that’s not a dig to British people,” Nwodim said. “It’s just I watched her in The Town, and I was like, ‘It’s a British woman.’ And then I maybe heard it, but I was like, ‘She’s so good.’ And then I think she’s directing now too, and that’s really cool.”