The return of Makmende to the screens

Actor Kevin Maina played Makmende, a fictional superhero who became an online craze and won a Kalasha award

Tell us a little about yourself?

I grew up in Ngumo with two brothers. My father died when I was 10. He was disabled and so, my mum did most of the upbringing. I was a very shy and goofy boy, as well as chubby, with crazy, big dreams of being an all-rounded entertainer.

I wanted to be an actor, musician and comedian. My dreams seemed impossible, and life kept shutting me out. But things are slowly coming together. God is good. And He is everything.

You seem to have come out of nowhere in 2010 when your role as Makmende in Just A Band hit song, ‘Ha-He,’ went viral. How did this change you? I have been acting for 15 years, but Makmende was my big break. It opened up many opportunities, like networking. My social sphere went crazy! Everywhere I went (and even now to some extent), people recognised me. Also, it opened up opportunities for many other things like emceeing, creative work and acting.

Did you think your role as Makmende would blow up like it did? I’m a friend of the members of Just A Band, and I happened to be hanging out with them when the Makmende music video concept was born. Because they knew I was an actor, plus I had the Afro they were looking for, they asked if I was interested. I loved the song already, and I jumped at the idea. We shot the video three days later and the rest is history.

You recently won a Kalasha award. Tell us more.

I was humbled. I played the lead role in a TV musical drama series called Groove Theory, which was recognised. It is a musical, and so, while acting already requires a whole lot, throw in vocal exercise, learning music and recording up to 40 songs in studio, per season.

Plus, lots of dance choreography for most of the music, for which we have intense workout sessions everyday of rehearsal for about a month before we start shooting! It’s crazy.

My character on the show is called Zamm, a young guy in university who is dealing with the post-teen struggles of life - finding his identity, expressing himself, parents and school authorities pushing him in a direction that he doesn’t feel is true to himself, surviving campus life, social scene on campus, dating and so on. All these while pursuing his passion for music.

What does winning a Kalasha mean for you? It’s validation, for a start. When Makmende happened in 2010, it felt like that role wasn’t really considered as ‘acting’, as though people didn’t believe I was actually an actor.

So, the Kalasha showed me that I wasn’t just wrapped up in my own world where I believed I could actually make it to the top. The Kalasha award also marked a new beginning - a re-ignition of my life’s passions.

What other projects, both film and theatre, have you been featured in? I am part of a comedy live show called Because You Said So that we do every other month. It’s the first show of its kind in our region. It’s not a play, no scripts, no rehearsals but lots of laughter. Our most recent show was on December 10 at Braeburn theatre.

I have also been involved in the 48-Hour Film Project twice, a global short-movie contest held annually where teams are supposed to write, shoot, edit and deliver their movie within 48 hours from kick-off. Our team won best movie (Kenya) last year.

I have also been on a commercial or two, and also been in a bunch of music videos and done quite a bit of dance choreography for the same. I have also played a supporting role in the TV drama Rush.

You are both a stage (theatre) and film/TV actor. What is the difference between the two platforms, is it easy switching from one to the other? I believe strongly that starting with stage and theatre gives you a better foundation. You build confidence in your craft faster, because you’re in front of a live audience.

You learn to think quickly and improvise, when you or your fellow cast members forget lines or actions, or when props and anything on stage go wrong! You learn voice projection, plus being more expressive, because stage acting has to be ‘bigger’.

Moving from that to TV is easier than the other way around. TV has the benefit of multiple takes and so on. It’s also meant to be more realistic.

Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years? Having cemented myself as an all-rounded entertainer, and being that guy who has significantly contributed to advancing the music and TV/film industry. May God help me!