The star actress stars as First Lady Jumoke Randle in the Netflix limited series.
Nse Ikpe-Etim undoubtedly won many hearts with her performance in Kemi Adetiba’s newly released ‘King of Boys: The Return of the King’. It is no wonder the character trended for days after its August 27 Netflix premiere.
Starring as the larger-than-life first lady Jumoke Randle, Nse’s character proved to be a worthy villain matched against Eniola Salami (Sola Sobowale).
With a career spanning over a decade in Nollywood, Ikpe-Etim is easily one of the best in the game. Yet, she admits starring in the limited series came with bouts of self doubt and immense fear.
In this exclusive interview with Pulse, the star actress talks about struggling with the pressure to deliver on a monumental project as ‘King of Boys: The Return of the King’.
What was your first reaction when you got contacted to play Jumoke Randle?
“I was shocked because it had taken over seven months to get a call back from Kemi after my reading. I kept asking ‘why did she pick me?’ ‘why me?’ ‘No, I can’t do this’. But I was happy cause this was monumental for me, for my career, people I was going to work with and there was joy but there was also fear.
“But I never discount my fear because I think my fear drives me. So yes, there was that and it was an honour.”
What did you find most frightening about playing Jumoke Randle?
“I had never ever been in anything politically inclined and so having to be in a space where it wasn’t a romcom, it wasn’t pure drama, it was so different with its theme, a different hue, different everything.
For me, it was like putting a fish out of water and asking them to just dance like it was swimming. But I am thankful to the people I have had to work with, for the director, thankful for everybody because they helped.”
Did you feel any form of pressure to deliver especially with the buzzing fan expectation?
“As a new entry to the KOB army and family, it was pressure for me to step up and match up what had already been done and even better my own personal work. Because an actor is only judged by his last project. So for me, it had to be more than amazing. But I cannot imagine the pressure they felt because they had already done one part with everyone going mental on Twitter and all. For me, it was more personal.”
‘King of Boys: The Return of the King’ premiered exclusively on Netflix on August 27, 2021. The limited series is Netflix first Nigerian original series.
