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.
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