Roles that pushed me out of my comfort zone — Etinosa

According to Etinosa, playing a man and a revered Edo monarch at that, was both an honour and a huge challenge.

“It was very challenging because I had to play a man. Imagine someone who has never been a man before having to become one and make it believable. Not just any man, but one of the highest monarchs in Africa, an Edo royalty,” she said.

“It was overwhelming, but it made me discover who I am. It tested my resilience, my endurance, my ability to internalize what a man and a king should be.”

She described the film, which tells the story of a girl who disguises as a man because her parents had no male child, as a powerful statement on gender equality.

“It was a gender-equality film showing the world that women are made for so much more. It was an honour to embody that character. I believe I did justice to it, judging from the reviews years after its release. It was timeless.”

Etinosa also named Funke Akindele’s box-office hit, “A Tribe Called Judah”, as another project that stretched her.”Working with Funke Akindele is always challenging in a good way. She brings out the best in you. I love working with her because she pushes me to be a better actor,” she noted.

She added that her film “Greener Pastures” equally demanded a lot emotionally.

“It was a deep, emotional role. The story is about a man who marries and travels abroad immediately, telling his wife to wait. After seven years, he returns with a shock. I had never experienced that kind of pain, so I had to create a backstory and live in that reality. It was exciting, challenging and rewarding at the same time.”