Tosin Morohunfola didn’t expect Tyler Perry’s Finding Joy to feel so personal.
“When I read the script,” he says, “I thought it was a holiday romance. But Tyler doesn’t do surface. This is about someone who’s been overlooked—in her career, in love—and has to face herself before she can find anything real.”
In the film, Shannon Thornton plays Joy, a talented New York designer stuck under a demanding boss and a string of bad relationships. Pushed by her friends Ashley (Brittany S. Hall) and Littia (Inayah), she follows a crush, Colton (Aaron O’Connell), to Colorado for the holidays. A betrayal and a brutal snowstorm leave her stranded. That’s when she meets Ridge—Tosin’s character.
“Ridge isn’t a savior,” Tosin explains. “He’s not rich, not flashy. He’s a local guy who fixes things—cabins, fences, people who let him. Tyler told me in the audition: ‘He doesn’t rescue Joy. He reminds her she doesn’t need rescuing.’”
Tosin recalls the snowstorm scenes shot in Georgia woods with wind machines and fake snow. “We were freezing. Shannon’s in a thin coat, I’m trying to stay steady. But in the quiet takes—when Joy finally stops fighting and just listens—that’s where the truth came through. Tyler would say, ‘Don’t act vulnerable. Be it.’”
He credits the cast for the film’s warmth. “Brittany and Inayah are the heartbeat. Ashley gives tough love, Littia gives hope. Shannon carries the weight and makes it look effortless. And Aaron—he makes Colton charming enough that the twist actually hurts.”
For Tosin, Ridge reflects his own journey. “I’ve chased versions of success that didn’t fit. Playing Ridge reminded me: joy isn’t in the destination. It’s in the pause. The moment you stop running and see what’s already there.”
His favorite line? When Ridge tells Joy, “Storms pass. The view after—that’s what you came for.”
“That’s Tyler,” Tosin says. “He doesn’t write fluff. He writes truth wrapped in a hug.”
Tyler Perry’s Finding Joy arrives this holiday season. For Tosin, it’s more than a movie—it’s a reminder that sometimes, the best love stories start when you’re stuck in the snow with nowhere left to hide.
