DESPERATE!
Tari Gambadia, divorced mother of 12 year old Aisha Gambadia, competes for the attention of a hunky new plumber who has moved across the street.
The Desperate Housewives Africa series is quite a feat. How does it feel to be a part of such a phenomenon?
The week we began filming felt surreal initially, especially as I was going to be playing a character from a TV series that I was a huge fan of. I distinctly remember rushing home like a crazy person in time to see what Bree, Susan, Gabrielle, Lynette and Edie were getting up to. It’s been a baptism of fire and an unforgettable and exciting journey for me as I’ve learnt so much. Hats off to the actors around the world and especially Nollywood, now I understand how hard they work.
For someone who was never an actress prior to acting in Desperate Housewives Africa, what was your initial reaction when you knew you made it past the obviously very competitive auditions, and what part of you did you tap into for the emotions of the character of Tari Gambadia?
When I got the call that offered me the role, it honestly came as a complete shock! I was so happy, and then suddenly I thought, “What have I gotten myself into? I’m not a trained actor!” I asked her if they were sure they wanted to give me the part. I guess the fear set in at that point, with the realisation that I would have to portray another person unlike when I’m presenting and can be myself. Tari Gambadia is the complete opposite of my personality. I’m outspoken and very expressive, I certainly don’t think I would ever ask my 12-year-old daughter for relationship teri hatc her
(susan mayer) advice. Playing a mother was also quite challenge as I don’t have children yet, nor have I ever been married, but I realised while filming that in order to do justice to the character I had to behave like a slightly ditsy adult/ child who is awkward when it comes to romance and life in general. So I found the emotions by remembering what my friends and I were like as teenagers. The only thing I’d say Tari and I have in common is her inquisitive nature, which came naturally to me.
From TV presenter and MC to actress, where do you see yourself in ten years?
I’ve realised that when we make plans on this journey called life, there are always unexpected detours. Years ago I thought I’d be a fashion designer living in Paris, New York or Milan, and then life happened and I ended up in Lagos as a TV presenter for Big Brother Nigeria instead. I then said in an interview two years ago, when asked if I would consider acting, that I enjoyed talking into a microphone directly, to a camera far too much to ever act, as it would be difficult pretending to be anyone other than myself. Again life happened and I spent four months pretending to be Tari Gambadia. Who knows what will happen ten years from now. I have dreams and goals I want to achieve, but life will undoubtedly happen again and I could either be making an acceptance speech for winning an Oscar award, or I could be the next Simon Cowell, creating and ‘executive producing’TV shows and formats.
If you could magically play another TV character for one day, who would that be?
Fantastic question! One of the characters in the TV series ‘Heros’, Olivia Pope in ‘Scandal’, definitely a marvel character in the ‘The Avengers’, ‘X-Men’ characters like Storm, Mystique or even Domino from the comics. Zoe Saldana’s character in ‘Colombiana’, Taraji P Henson’s character Cookie Lyons in ‘Empire’ or even Charlize Theron’s character Aileen in ‘Monster’ , the list is endless. I’m sure you are thinking it may have been a mistake asking me this question, as I have a vivid imagination and could list at least twenty more characters.