Reality TV star and actress, BamBam has opened up on how she experienced mild abuse while she was young and how she’s gotten stronger now. BBNaija ex-housemate, BamBam says she was once abused by a maid while growing up but it didn’t last long. In an exclusive chat, BamBam narrated how she channeled the experience into interpreting her challenging role in a new movie, ‘The Gift’.
Explaining how she interpreted her role, she said,
“Trust me, the director usually gives me time to get back because I don’t fake tears. It’s not news that I have been abused before and during this rape case, I felt for Busayo (Timi Dakolo’s wife) and I connected to her page. I just had to connect to a part of me that had experienced pain and every time I have to express that emotion, things are very tight. So everything you will see me do in the movie was very real. I have not been abused in the aspect of a child… I have actually, my maid molested me but it’s not as cheap as what this child went through.”
Continuing, she said,
“I’ve never had a child before. So, but I just needed to hold on to a few memories here to express the emotions that were expected and it was very real, sometimes, I had to ask for time and with the camera on my face. So, you will see me look emotional.”
BamBam says acting comes to her naturally because it’s something she enjoys doing. The BBNaija Double Wahala alumni say she derives satisfaction interpreting roles and entertaining the viewers.
The 27-year-old indigene of Ogun state born Oluwabamike “Bambam” Olawunmi narrated how she had attended Emem Isong’s film school but wanted more before signing up for BBNaija.
“Well, I went to Royal Arts Academy and did three months but it wasn’t enough education for me as an actor. I’ve done a few small movies before the big brother house, the Royal Arts movies, Emem Isong, Uduak Isong, I’ve been in their movies but I was just like an okay actor. I like to challenge myself so I decided to do stage,” Teddy A’s love interest said.
On why she seems to have balanced her acting abilities on stage and films, BamBam says before ‘Moremi,’ she had never tried the stage but because she challenges herself to do more, she went for it and it’s great.
“When the opportunity presented itself, ‘Moremi,’ I have never done stage before. The stage is one take, you cannot make a mistake, you need to either just freestyle on the spot and not let them know that you made a mistake. You must be audible, you must be large, like, for me, I saw it like school,” she began.
Continuing, she said,
“I didn’t get the role to play ‘Moremi’ but I got a small role, a random role. While in the rehearsals, watching how they stretched themselves. It was fascinating for me and I just fell in love with it immediately and I said I will do stage and TV. I want to be able to carve a niche for myself, I am a stage and TV actor.
“A few more people that are even better than me who are putting in the work but are not getting some challenging roles they desire. So for me, falling in love with the stage was because I challenged myself and I did well and you know what she took me to South Africa and yes, I know it was the first major role on stage and I killed it. I danced, I think I sang, and acted and South Africans just fell in love with me. And now, Bikiya Graham Douglas has just called me for another stage play and that is scaring me because I am playing the lead role. I don’t know how I am going to execute it excellently but I have to be a Yoruba queen. I am falling in love with the stage,” she said.
Working on the same set with her love interest, Teddy A remains a professional affair for BamBam. She says,
“We are actors, so we just get into our characters and do our job and leave our emotions out of it. We went deep into our pains and he went into being the character and I went into being my character and did our thing.”
BamBam became famous for participating in the season three of the Big Brother Naija tagged Double Wahala. She was evicted from the house a few weeks to the end of the show that saw Miracle Igbokwe winning the grand prize of N45 million.
Emmanuel Princewill The Gift movie trailer
