Actress Etinosa Idemudia has revealed that playing a witch in a movie series had a significant impact on her mental well-being, leading her to seek therapy to detach from the role.
In an interview with Saturday Beats, Etinosa spoke candidly about the challenges of embodying intense characters, noting that a casting director’s perception plays a major role in the types of roles actors are offered.
“The role an actor gets is a function of how the casting director perceives such actor. It is difficult to explain how the mind works, but after playing some characters, it rubs off on you,” she said.
Reflecting on her experience filming the series Blood of Enogie, Etinosa shared, “I remember playing a witch for three months, and after we were done, I had to go for therapy to come out of that witchcraft persona.
“As funny as it may sound, it is real. There have been cases where actors fall in love with their on-screen romantic interest and even marry them in real life.”
On the topic of limits in her acting, Etinosa stated that she steers clear of roles that glorify violence or dishonesty.
She also emphasised the importance of women’s empowerment, urging women to be ambitious and not to be deterred by societal expectations.
“It is very heartbreaking when people, even women, sometimes attribute the success of every woman to a man,” she said.
“I personally uphold that success is not gender-based, just like wisdom is not. A man can help a woman succeed, and a woman can help a man succeed; it just depends on the circumstances and available opportunities.”
Regarding her film projects, the actress highlighted that her work often draws inspiration from real-life stories.