My fiancee isn’t angered by steamy love scenes in my movies

Gerald Langiri says movie scripts sometimes dictate that an actor engages in steamy love scenes, he tells SHIRLEY GENGA how keep his relationship afloat

Who is Gerald Langiri in one sentence?

I am an actor, director, award winner, TV host and blogger.

Tell us about your project actors.co.ke...

I began the actors.co.ke back in 2011 when I noticed a gap in the industry, the public did not know what was going on in the industry and even those looking to hire actors and actresses did not have a source for profiles of Kenyan talent.

So I got pictures from people in the industry, and also began to highlight the acting talent available in Kenya, and to provide professional profiles.

You recently lost a lot of weight, what was the inspiration behind that decision?

Last year I went for an audition for a South African film project, they liked me and I got the role but they required that I go for a health check-up. That check-up changed my life because for the first time I realised I was playing with my life.

I found out I was not only overweight but my blood pressure was high. So although the South African project did not work out because sponsors pulled out, it set me on a health and fitness journey that began last year in November. At the time I was about 109 kg and I set my goal weight as 85 Kg, and so far, I have dropped down to 89 kg.

What were some of the lifestyle changes you made?

I changed what I ate. For example, before I would drink a whole litre of coke daily, plus my weakness was pizza, burgers and fries. I had to get rid of all of that. I now engage in clean eating. Of course I have cheat days but I try to eat clean.

Plus, although I am asthmatic, I jog and go to the gym. It was hard at first and I could not run short distances without going out of breath but I was consistent and now I can easily run for 30 minutes.

Do you feel more confident now?

I have always been confident with who I am. In fact, I would not tell anyone that they have to lose weight in order to love themselves or feel good, my advice is that you should do you, be the best version of yourself whether that is being bigger, medium, skinny or whatever.

I never had a problem with how I looked before, I still felt sexy, I was very comfortable and confident, but in order to live a healthy life I had to make changes. I have now lost 20 Kgs and I feel lighter, none of my old clothes fit, and I feel healthy and fit.

Back in 2013 you had a big public proposal that created quite the media frenzy, three years down the line, and no wedding yet, tell us about that?

It was at the launch of the film House of Lungula which was one of the biggest Kenyan films back in 2013. I proposed to my girlfriend Lyne who I have been with for seven years. I wanted to make it special for her. We are still together. In fact, we are even expecting our first baby. We will eventually have a wedding.

If it was up to us, we would have a small wedding but because family wants a big wedding, we decided to put it on hold until we had saved enough.

Like you have said, you will soon be a father. What legacy do you hope to leave for your son?

I will not leave any legacy for him. I want him to find and build his own legacy. I do not want to be those fathers who impose their dreams on their children.

Having a child was not a mistake, it was something we decided would happen in 2016, and so we have made the necessary arrangements and are both very excited about this new stage of our lives. As a father, I think the best thing I can do for my son is to let him be and define his own purpose and legacy.

Some of your films have a lot of kissing and even love scenes, how does Lyne deal with all that?

What I love about Lyne is the fact that she understands me. I do not feel suffocated, I feel relaxed and in a good place. She understands that what I do on TV or in a film is acting and nothing else.

When did you get your big break in acting?

It was back in 2011 when I got a role in Mashtaka which was done in Swahili, but I grew up in Mombasa and so I enjoyed it. Before that, I worked in the IT industry. I even have a degree in IT but I had to leave that behind because it was not my passion, acting was.

When you take on a role you have a gift of getting into a character to the point where you take on a new persona and Gerald Langiri gets lost, what is your secret?

A good script. When you have a good script it is very easy to get into character. It helps you connect effectively with your character, because you know where your character is coming from, who they are, where they are going etc.

I do a lot of research on the ground, for example in the comedy film Fundamentals, I played a fundi, so I hung out with some fundis, got to know their lingo, the stories and things they have seen on the job to better get into character.