Video: Brenda Wairimu brings out the claws in Monica

Anyone who’s followed Brenda Wairimu’s career since making her acting debut in Changing Times in 2010 will agree that her growth has been delightful to watch. Brenda has been consistent on-screen, even successfully escaping typecasting. But it was really in her role in Monica that Brenda first brought out an acting range we had never seen before, and by the looks of it, KOT agrees.

The drama series Monica, created by Scolly Cheruto and directed by Neil Schell, follows Brenda as the titular Monica as she lies and cons her way to the top, showing ambition that threatens true love, friendship and family bonds.

Brenda Wairimu really owned the character that is Monica. That show is it 🤣

— RaMaverick 💯% (@RamzZy_) August 12, 2019

A life-changing role

A career-defining role, Monica has opened doors for the actress, who is now stirring up trouble playing the villain Rosette in the hit telenovela Selina. In a recent interview, Brenda reveals how the character helped her grow as an actor.

“Monica was good for my career because it moved me from this very young character into someone who’s a bit more grown-up. Also in Monica, the claws do come out more,” she says.

“I had to let go of the person that I was and just immerse myself into this person and try and bring justice to this character.”

For an actress who’s been previously cast as a spoilt brat, there wasn’t a role more fitting to help shake off that image than that of a woman leading a double life on the extremes. On one hand, Monica is this street-smart, tough girl from the ghetto who can hold her own in a fight. On the other, she is a brilliant PR graduate from London who can ward off negative publicity and false narrative against her governor boss.

“I had to let go of the person that I was and just immerse myself into this person and try and bring justice to this character that someone has spent time to write,” says Brenda.

The star-studded cast

Monica also features a strong star-studded cast of Joyce Maina (Aisha), Fidel Maithya (Selina), Torome Sision, and of course screen legend Raymond Ofula (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, The Boy who Harnessed the Wind) who Brenda is privileged to have worked alongside and learnt some important lessons from.

“The one thing I have learnt from Raymond is discipline. He’s been doing this for much longer than I have and he’s almost always the first one on set…he always has his lines. He’s just very professional and not in a nose-in-the-air kind of way, she says.