Lilian Afegbai and William Benson have shared insights into their performances in Kemi Adetiba’s mini-series ‘To Kill A Monkey’, which premiered on Netflix on July 18.
During an interview on Arise TV, the actors lauded Adetiba’s directorial approach, hailing her as an actor’s director” whose guidance was instrumental in helping them fully embody their characters.
Afegbai revealed that working alongside powerhouse actors like Benson and Bucci Franklin motivated her to elevate her performance.
To be fair, we had an actor’s director, not a regular director. She directed my mind, asked for my opinion on scenes, encouraged conversations, and gave me room to explore the character, she said.
So, I added some slang based on her instructions. I knew it was a huge project, with William Benson and Bucci Franklin, whom I see as beasts, so I knew they would stand out, and I wanted to as well. That’s why I brought my A-game.
Benson, on the other hand, described how Adetiba’s relentless pursuit of authenticity pushed him to emotional depths.
He added that through multiple retakes, he reached a point where frustration gave way to raw, unfiltered performance, exactly what the role demanded.
Truth be told, Kemi is an actor’s director. She gets into your mind, and if she wants something from you, she will take you to that breaking point,” he said.
When you start having retakes, at some point, you get frustrated, and that’s when the actual character comes out.
She knows how to squeeze the juice out of an actor, no matter what. I told her on set that of all the directors I’ve worked with, she’s the only one who has brought me closest to what the character should be.
It’s beautiful to have someone who manages you but also gives you the freedom to get into your headspace and deliver quality. Kemi doesn’t know anything beneath excellence; she wants it, and she will get it.
Afegbai revealed how she had to connect with Stella Damasus ahead of production to rehearse lines and build chemistry.
She said, despite being fully prepared, she still felt anxious on her first day on set with Adetiba.
As much as I was extremely prepared for my role, my first day on set with Kemi Adetiba, I was anxious, nervous because I had never worked with her, she added.
Prior to the production, I had reached out to Stella Damasus to rehearse lines. I went to her house so we already had the chemistry before the production.
