ANGEL WARUINGE

ANGEL WARUINGE, 29
ACTRESS
Why she is a woman to watch: Angel can be seen on our screens every Tuesday evening as Miss Morgan, the no-nonsense deputy headmistress of Tahidi High. She stumbled into acting 10 years ago after spotting an audition poster at the French cultural centre. Her vast body of work has resulted in various endorsement deals, and she now has ambitions of producing her own TV show. Keep doing your thing Angel!
Acting was not something I had planned to get into. In high school I was more of a sports person. One day in 2001, I was waiting at Alliance Francaise for my dad to leave the office when I saw a poster looking for people to do commercials. I went in for the auditions and I was called to do a beer commercial. My mum freaked out because I was just 18 and doing a beer commercial was not something she expected me to do. But after seeing the hefty pay and the thrill of seeing myself on billboards, there was no looking back.
After the beer commercial, I was called to do a stage play called Gone up in Smoke. I had a minor role but after the directors and producers saw me on stage, they started giving me bigger roles. I was on stage until my big break in TV and film came when I did a show called Stigma in 2006. I had a main role and I also got to be on set with Naomi Kamau who was writing for Tahidi High. She told me about it, I went for auditions and got the part of Miss Morgan.
Playing Miss Morgan has been my greatest challenge but also my greatest joy. She has helped me grow as an actress and has exposed my talent in the most amazing way. Through her, I have become easily recognisable and other doors have opened more easily.
Many young people tell me that I am their role model but they are actually referring to Miss Morgan, not Angel. However, I am quite different from her. I smile and laugh a lot, something she doesn’t do. But when it comes to principle and no-nonsense approach – that I have! I admire her character and borrow a lot from her because she is principled, confident and focused.
When people first meet me, they take time before approaching me because they think I am like Miss Morgan, my character in Tahidi High. Most people call me Miss Morgan. Even my mum has started doing it! I laugh and smile a lot and can be quite witty.
I have done a film in Ghana and acted in other international films. One was a Danish movie called Lost in Africa where I worked under a Hollywood director. I have travelled widely and considering that acting was something I got into quite unexpectedly, I have had a lot of fun.
The most interesting thing about acting is that you get to be someone you are not. I can even get to be a queen and know how that feels like. I get to live someone else’s life even if it’s for a short while. The most challenging part is that your private life is no longer private. People out there are always judging you and the media is always ready to pounce on you. It is also hard to maintain who you are as a person and not let fame get to your head.
When I was younger, I dreamt about being a lawyer because I believe in justice. I love watching criminal investigation shows. However, I did journalism in school, first a journalism diploma at Kenya Institute of Mass Communication and then a communication and sociology degree at Nairobi University.
To anyone wanting to join the film industry, I would say follow your dream. The sky is not the limit anymore; people have gone as far as the moon! But the only way one can stand out in acting is by combining it with a good educational background. You need to know how to manage your finances and negotiate your contract. You can’t do that without a decent education.
To really make it, one has to have discipline, principle and respect. Discipline helps you to focus on executing your roles and opens doors to other productions. You also have to research your roles so as not to come off as fake. People think that acting is easy but trust me, it’s not. It is work! For a long time, acting had been a career that one wouldn’t rely on to foot the bills. Things are gradually changing. I live majorly on acting.
When I’m not working on Tahidi High I am busy at Media 4 Production, a company I started with two of my colleagues from Tahidi High, Dennis Mugo (O.J.) and Lydia Gitachu. Our company deals with developing talents in marginalised areas. We also do a lot of motivational speaking and also aim at creating jobs for the youth in their own communities. I was also recently approached by Naivas Supermarket to be their brand ambassador. They gave me a one-year contract so every month I do a promotion for them.
The one character I would have loved to play is Ann Merai Harrison which was acted by Sanaa Lathan in the film Out of Time. Locally, I’d say Liz Njagah is one of the actresses I look up to. When I started acting, I saw her on stage and was wowed by how comfortable and natural she was. She actually seemed to be enjoying herself!
In the future I would like to try my hand at producing. I want to do a local show that is juicy and broad. God willing, I would like to do an East African show which would draw talent and concepts from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan.
The one weird habit I have is that I can’t sleep without my socks on. It doesn’t matter whether I am in Nairobi or Malindi, I will pull on my socks before going to bed.
I am not married though it is about time! I am seeing someone who I am in love with and I hope it leads to marriage. I have no kids because I believe in doing things the right way. I was brought up in a marriage institution and it’s only fair that I give my kids the same. In my free time, I love travelling, camping, swimming and watching movies.