The lead actress of the popular soap, Selina, says playing the role sips into her real life too.
Celestine Gachuhi spoke about shooting some scenes that really left her broken, so much so that she cried for days after filming was done.
She recalls a particular scene in season 2 where she's being kicked out of the Mackenzie house.
“She went through so much in that scene that it really affected me as Celestine. I cried for two days, and I couldn't stop,” she says.
“I felt so angry at Selina because I couldn’t understand why she was still letting this family (the Mackenzies) do this to her.”
It was a heavy scene, perhaps one of the most emotional scenes in the telenovelas six seasons, and one that Reuben (Selina’s producer and director) also singles out as one of his favourites.
“She (Celestine) was on top of her game when we needed her to be,” he says.
“I felt like my world was being shattered but I think I gave it justice,” Celestine says.
She felt stressed for a whole weekend after reading the script for this scene, she reveals.
“We were shooting it on Monday, and for the first, we finished a whole episode in one day because there was no way you could take that emotion to the next day.”
Celestine has learnt to cope with these heavier episodes by leaning on the people she loves.
“I call the people that I love, and talking to them makes me come back from that place. But sometimes, I just sit silently in my own space, not thinking about anything.”
On most days, she also copes by listening to music, which is actually her first love.
“My mum and I used to sing together,” she reveals, adding that she started singing from a young age, in primary school then high school.
“I’ve also performed set book plays that required me to sing.”
All episodes of Selina S1-6 are available on Showmax.
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