Kehinde Bankole’s phenomenal rise in Nollywood is attributed to an opportunity thrown her way by Wale Adenuga Productions’ Super Story in 2007. She recently won Best Actress (Drama) at the 2015 Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Award (AMVCA) for her role as Tawa in the epic movie, October 1. In this interview with ORUKPE NELSON, the beautiful actress talks about her beginning, how the award is speeding up her career and other matters…

You started in the entertainment industry as a model. How did the whole acting thing begin for you?

Well, acting began after I wanted more than modelling. I had competed twice already in a beauty pageant, being the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 2004 and Miss Commonwealth in 2003, where I made top 10 and top five respectively and went on to do run-way modelling for Mon Ami, but I was advised then by the actress playing Miss Pepeiye for Papa Ajasco series, Leona, and my twin sister who had begun acting then to come for an audition at Wale Adenuga Productions. I went and that was the beginning.

Between modelling and acting, which is more lucrative?

They both are lucrative. Let me explain. Modelling at the level I started which was just runway was not lucrative then when compared to acting, but modelling for me now is quite lucrative as it’s not just being a face or a body any more but advanced unto being a brand spokesperson and ambassador and professional image representative.

From 2007, that little seed of hard work, faith and tenacity is blossoming into fame and fortune. How do you find this?

It was a lot of hard work and it’s also been very stressful. There were auditions every time. It was my own way of assessing my performance. If I don’t get a job, I want to know why. When I get back home I reflect on it. I look at who was picked and try to see what I can learn from the way the person looked or sounded, and then I apply what I learnt in my next audition.

I also applied these steps in any small role I got, and that was how I kept getting better as I came along.

It must be getting increasingly difficult to deal with men’s untiring patronage now…

I try not to cope; I just ignore it. I don’t let anything fester. There’s no pressure, because it’s what you give in to that stays. It is not a do-or-die affair. Naturally, even people who are not actors get hit on regularly. It’s normal. If you don’t let anything fester and you attend to it swiftly and move on, you’ll be okay. I don’t have pressures from men. I handle them quite well, and I don’t see it as anything out of the ordinary. It’s something every other female out there is experiencing as well. Once you handle it well, there’s no pressure.

You’ve had to pick many scripts these past years, which would you describe as the most challenging?

It’s always hard to choose, because all of them have their different challenges. Some of them have longer scenes and periods of work than the others, so it’s hard for me to pick one. When I was shooting The Meeting with Mildred Okwo, I was meant to play Femi Jacob’s 19-year-old daughter. I looked at the producer when I was given that role and she looked back at me and told me I could do it, and I did. The role brought with it the challenge of sounding and walking in a certain way; I was just growing up then.

For that phase, that seemed like my biggest challenge at that time, but I moved on. When I shot Imala, I was a pregnant secondary school teenager. I had to deliver emotions but couldn’t fake anything. Andy Amenechi, who directed the movie, put me through and helped me get through that challenge. October 1 as well presented its own challenges; I had to look African, with dark complexion. I also had to read and have natural afro hair.

When I saw the calibre of people I was to be on set with, I was initially overwhelmed. But when we started reading, I realised I had something too and I brought it to the table. There was no room for holding back because the project was a team effort where everybody put in what they had, and the results are obvious now.

What do you expect winning the Best Actress award at the AMVCA 2015 would attract to you?

It will tell people that I’m a good material, and they can think about working with me. People can now think about the direction I’m taking my work to, and if it appeals enough to them they can work with me. The AMVCAs was like a validation that I’ve been doing the right thing and going in the right direction. You know, it’s not good when you’ve been working for a while and there’s nothing to show for it.

Sometimes you know you’re good, but the question lingers: ‘when will I be noticed?’ For me, the AMVCA was my validation and notice ground. Now, that I have been noticed, I hope I’ll get more opportunities. I want to explore; I’m the excited type that wants to work and take the entertainment industry forward. I want to get opportunities, give them my best shot, and see where it takes me. So for me, I believe the award will make people take notice of me, and then we’ll see what we can do together.

How did beating an A-list star as Rita Dominic to that honour feel?

I felt like I was in space. I would have heard if a needle dropped because everywhere suddenly went so quiet and there was this echo inside my ears; I was hearing all the claps from a distance. It was like I went back into myself and I embraced myself. It was such an exciting feeling and a happiness that was so genuine.

What other things do you do apart from acting?

Singing – I love writing music. I make little poems here and there. And I love to sketch.

What do you consider as your major assets?

My skill as an evolving actor, my heart and my unique looks.

There were a bit of theatrics and it later stirred the speculation that, Tope Tedela’s attempt to woo you on stage was no joke. Did you feel he really meant it?

It wasn’t a script, it was real.

So, he was really wooing you on stage?

(Chuckles) He was playing. We were just trying to get people excited, I guess.

Is there really anything romantic between both of you?

No, there’s nothing. Honestly, there’s really nothing between us. Though we did work together on one project, it’s not out yet. The working title of the movie is “The Apostates”. He did a fantastic job on the project and I’m looking forward to having it out soon. Apart from that, there’s really nothing between us.

Which Nigerian actors do you regard as your mentors?

Well, because my craft is creative; I can have role models for my life and personal things, but for my work, I don’t have anybody I’m trying to fashion my work after. I’m learning from the structure and people, and I’m taking a lot from different people around me. It’s dangerous to take after one person because you’ll become stereotyped, so I’m learning from a lot of people. For lifestyle, I have local and international mentors.

But, my work is open to life; it’s open to anybody and everybody to teach me. I have mentors in life and people I look up to generally like Wale Adenuga, Oprah Winfrey. Everybody discuses Kim Kardashian but I love her so much because she’s my fashion icon. I love Tyler Perry and Kunle Afolayan too. Mildred Okwo too has been an inspiration.

What three movies would you rather be stuck with on a deserted island and why?

I’d pick Why Did I Get Married Too, October 1 and Sometimes in April. I’d pick Sometimes in April because it teaches the sober reflections of life. It’s not every time one can be happy and the movie will endear one to the world in such a situation and place like that. I picked October 1 because in such a place, I need to remind myself how fantastic life and the arts are, and I need to be able to see myself and see what my colleagues have done.

It would also be a good motivation for me because I’m in it, and I’m in such a bad position at that time. Then, I picked Why Did I Get Married Too because it’s entertaining and Tyler Perry is there; he’s one of my key people.

If you were not acting, what would you have been doing?

I would be a singer and beauty business consultant.

Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?

I see myself in international film projects that will make Nigeria shine steadily to the rest of the world and projects to be remembered in a long time to come.