By Segun Adeboyo

Nollywood actress and TV presenter, Nancy Isime, played the role of Kemi in the blockbuster movie, Blood Sisters. With the movie presenting a fresh challenge for Isime, she opens up about her role in the movie in this interview with SEGUN ADEBAYO.

Your career has been on the rise and your name on notable movies and entertainment events across the country.

I am just happy about how my career has been unfolding with so much beautiful stories to tell. It has not been any easy but I am in the middle of a blossoming career and I can’t complain about it because this is what I have always wanted to have- to make great movies and be in the spotlight for the right reasons. I feel great about this moment and grateful to those who have made the journey easy.

People say you put so much emotion into your character in the Blood Sister movie. Is this true?

My job requires I give my best and it is what I had to do. If people say there was so much emotion in the movie for me, I will say they are right. At least, that tells me people are seeing the movie and drawing lessons from it. Talking about emotions, I actually put in a lot of emotion into the shooting and into everything, it wasn’t Nanny on the screen, Kemi took over. It was Kemi that people saw not Nancy Isime.

Tell us more about Kemi character and what you think about it?

It was amazing to bring such character to life, but it was emotionally and mentally draining for me; there’s a scene that ended up differently because we were not supposed to break down, but we ended up crying, we didn’t stop crying even after we were told to cut so, it was just an unforgettable experience, and I am grateful for it. As actors, we are as good as the opportunity we are given, if we don’t get it, there is no way to show how good we are.

How draining was the movie for you?

We were on set for almost two months and Ini and I were in character almost through. I was overwhelmed towards the end of the shoot. I was overwhelmed by Kemi’s character. There was a day I went back to my room after leaving the set and cried because I just wanted to be free from Kemi. We were so immersed, especially in the second part where we were shooting back to back at a remote village in Lagos.

The movie appears to have taken your career to a new level judging from the deluge of positive comments that have been trailing it since its release. How much of yourself did you throw into this project to bring it to life?

It was not really all about me and what I did into the project that made it what it is; it was a collaborative effort of everybody, including the director, crew, producer and Netflix who ensured that we give our audience within and outside this space the real movie. We believe that nobody can tell our stories better than ourselves, so it was a job that we all had to give the best of ourselves to. I am truly happy that the audience appreciates the end product.

So when the call came that you had been picked for the role, what was the first thing that came to your mind?

Oh! It was celebration time for me. I remember celebrating the being considered and then I also had to remind myself of the big task ahead of me because you just have to give your best to this kind of job. You don’t want to live anything to chance. I looked at myself and said this is one big job for you, and you must do it well no matter it takes.

You had to be emotional and tough at the same time. Have you always been an emotional person?

I think you will have to find out when you get close to her. Right now, I am happy I could portray a picture that showed how much work went into the project. When I have to be emotional, I truly don’t know how to bring it out from the surface; it has to come from the inside. So I really had to go down into the deep place to bring out the character and show it that it was real. It is actually funny because as an actor, you know that there is thin line between acting and reality. You know that this is a piece of material that you have in front of you and you already know what the script is about and what is going to happen but I had to do my research to dig it up.

You had to go that far?

Yes, I did a lot of research here and there for this character. You had to go down into a deep place. Apart from the material I was given, I had to build a world for this character outside of what I already had. I had to look at it from the very beginning, the day she was born, her secrets, how many siblings she has and find out what makes her who she is. You need to almost be in a place where you let go everything you know but you are still conscious because you have lines to say. I think that is the most amazing thing about acting and what makes our job so special.

You and Serah who played the character of Kemi in the movie seem to have a special bond now. How did your role bring that to life?

I was Serah’s backbone. She would not have been able to deal with all that madness without (Kemi) behind her.

You have done a lot of movies before this, what makes this so special for you?

You know I didn’t get to see the entire script until we had auditioned and were picked for our roles but I don’t think there is anything more special than that for me. The fact that I was going to be part of a series that was so powerful and extremely pulsating that people could sit down and watch made it special for me. It was such a powerful show. As an actor, I was so happy to be part of the movie because I love story telling due to the feeling I get. When you watch a good film, you will feel like you are floating. I have always wanted to be part of something that people will watch and don’t get distracted by the mishaps; I love that people are going to take all the lessons from this movie.

Personally, what do you think the movie taught you?

It taught me how to be kind, intentional and deliberate because as human beings, it is so easy to point fingers at people while we forget that four other fingers are pointing back at you. It is so easy to be judge, jury and executioner but if we all just take a minute, we will realise that we are not perfect.

Originally published at Nigerian Tribune