In this sizzling issue, Grazia’s Beauty Editor – Kaniz Ali glams up british actress Nina Wadia. Nina renowned for her phenomenal success in super hit tv series Goodness Gracious Me, Eastenders, Citizen Khan, Still Open All Hours along with many others additionally starred in the super hit hindi movie, Namaste London. In this exciting issue Nina opens up to Kaniz talking about work life balance.
Kaniz: What inspired you to become an actress ?
Nina: I have always loved listening to stories and sometimes imagining myself within them. My father was a great story teller and a bit of a joker within his friends’ circle, so they would all gather around him at our parties. As a child I would love seeing him make my mother laugh too. I was a very young girl in India at this time and my parents loved taking us to the movies and I would laugh and cry at what I was looking at. I then thought how great would it be if it was my job to make people feel something, to move them to tears of joy (or sadness depending on the role of course!).
Kaniz: How do you prepare for a new role or character ?
Nina: Well I’m a character actress so I’m a great lover of people watching. I find human beings fascinating. All our quirks and idiosyncrasies make us the individuals we are. The minute I know I have landed a role I start to look around me for inspiration. This can be quite a dangerous thing to do. When I had to create characters for our sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, I ended up taking inspiration from my mother (that’s who the aubergine
lady was based on!) and a lot of my Aunties… some of whom don’t speak with me anymore… understandably. I also like giving my characters detail, perhaps in the way they use an object or even look at somebody. And unfortunately I’m a very proppy actor, so I cause unnecessary issues for myself – but I love how much more natural that can make a scene. It’s also a nightmare for continuity because I might want to eat during a dinner scene whilst talking. I mean that is what we actually do in real life instead of just pushing the food around the plate and pretending to eat – that’s one of my pet hates on camera!
Kaniz: Have you ever had to learn a specific skill or accent for a role ?
Nina: Yes, I consistently have to learn something in the roles I play. I have had to learn several different accents, mostly because of my stint on The Radio Drama Company. The beauty of working in radio is it doesn’t matter what you look like or what your background is, you can be and play anybody. It all comes down to your voice, your accent work and your ability to lift the character off the page. The hardest accent I had to learn was a Sri Lankan South African accent. I sat with the writer, listening to her for hours until I got it in my head.
When I played a neurosurgeon in Holby city we were about to film one of my first surgical procedures when I quickly realised I didn’t know how to hold the instruments. On top of that I don’t do well with the sight of blood and they would play in real operations for us to follow and my knees would constantly give way. I think I actually passed out once!
Kaniz: Are you willing to travel or relocate if necessary ?
Nina: As an actor I travel all the time. In fact it’s one of my favourite things about being an actor. And of course this allows for more people-watching! As for relocating, because I am a mother first, it would come down to whether it would be a good decision for my family. And of course if relocating would be worth it for the role.
Kaniz: Describe a time when you had to work with a difficult director or co-star. How did you handle the situation ?
Nina: In truth, I have been very lucky with the people I have worked with in the industry for the last thirty-four years. That’s not to say I haven’t had difficult moments. In my younger days I was a very quiet person so I would hide my upset and just get on with the filming and the work. This is an industry that can be quite cruel in its hierarchy. And you can come across actors and directors who do not speak to you in a polite and considerate manner. I do try and sort the situation out by taking the person to one side and telling them how I feel. That has worked a lot of times in my career but not always. However, now I tend to speak up and make sure that my voice is heard. One of my favourite British colloquialisms is “I’m just too old and ugly now to take any s**t!” I follow that quite precisely and find that life is a lot easier when you do speak up. I’m quite firm and respectful and I don’t tolerate much nonsense anymore.
Kaniz: How do you maintain your physical and emotional health while working on demanding projects ?
Nina: In the last few years I have taken my health very seriously. I have a routine, especially when I’m in theatre. I start to do physical and vocal warm ups weeks before I start rehearsals. This is because I know my body and throat are going to take a beating for that time period. I tend to eat healthier during that time and walk everywhere and stretch a lot! Emotional health on the other hand is much harder to get in line. When I was filming on EastEnders and my storyline got darker and darker, I found I was absorbing a lot of my character Zainab Masood. It was a domestic violence storyline and I found it very upsetting and started to get quite depressed. I sometimes give private acting lessons or do workshops with teenagers and there is an exercise I ask them to do over two days. I ask them to spend the first day smiling as much as they can throughout the day. And then
I ask them to spend the second day not smiling at all. I then enquire how they felt throughout the two days. And the answer is always the same, quite simply, happy on the first day, sad on the second. This is the way they understand that if you are playing a role in which you are upset all the time, if feeds into your general mood and attitude throughout the day. And if you are playing a role like I did in a soap for six and a half years you really feel the effects of the character.
Kaniz: Are there any particular roles that you prefer, feel most comfortable in?
Nina: I think I enjoy comedy roles more. Mostly because there is a lot more laughter around you while you’re working. I also enjoy roles in which I have a partner to play off. It’s always more fun being in a relationship on screen especially if you have someone you really respect and enjoy working with. Then there is something quite exciting about playing a role that you really have to research and create from scratch. A role perhaps outside of your usual typecasting. I’m currently doing a short film based on Roald Dahl’s ‘The Landlady’. She is essentially a serial killer and it is a very dark story. It has allowed me to create a character that I don’t think has ever been on screen before. An Indian female serial killer. (The hard part is I keep creeping myself out.)
Kaniz: Name your favourite memorable moments in your career ?
Nina: I always find this kind of question so difficult to answer because I have been blessed with such great moments in my career. There are certainly pivotal moments so here goes; My very first job at the wonderful Theatre Royal Stratford East. It was ‘Robin Hood’ and I have never laughed so much. ‘Macbeth’ with the incredible Mark Rylance who taught me so much.
My scene with Tim Robbins, I play a Mexican woman who is dealing drugs, in the movie ‘Code 46’, Michael Winterbottom directing. ‘Goodness Gracious Me’, my big break in television and more laughing. ‘EastEnders’, creating and playing Zainab Masood and working with the wonderful Nitin Ganatra and Himesh Patel. ‘Namaste London’, playing the great, late Rishi Kapoor’s wife and working with the fabulous Akshay Kumar. ‘Still open all hours’ working with the great Sir David Jason. Performing in front of the Queen with Michael Palin and Adrian Lester for her Jubilee at Royal Albert Hall. And the moment I thought I was being pranked about my OBE!
Kaniz: What has been your favourite role to date and why ?
Nina: This is an impossible question for me. I have loved almost every role I have ever played because my career has been so varied and crazy. Everything from children’s TV to huge movies like ‘Aladdin’. And it’s never the size of the role it’s always what I can do with the character.
Kaniz: How do you handle criticism in the industry ?
Nina: You have to be very thick skinned to work in this industry. It’s a lesson I learned many times over as I was very sensitive when I first started out. You also have to remember that when you are in the public eye everyone will have an opinion about you. You must learn to filter out the noise and separate reality from media nonsense.
Kaniz: Which do you prefer most, acting on stage or acting in tv/movies and why ?
Nina: Here’s the dichotomy. When I am acting on stage I would rather be on TV, and when I am in a movie I’d rather be on radio and when I am… and the list goes on. I’ve just always been like that which is hugely annoying. As I have gotten
older I have learnt to enjoy and live in the moment more. I think the problem is I appreciate all the mediums in different ways. If I had to absolutely choose, my first love is being on stage. So much so, that I have just commit to a six-month tour of a new musical around the UK, ‘Now! that’s what I call a Musical!’ based on the Now! franchise of music, choreographed and directed by Craig Revel Horwood, starting this September. This will be my first ever musical. I like to frighten myself by giving myself new challenges as I grow older, (hopefully disgracefully! If I could insert a laughing emoji here I would…)
Kaniz: How do you balance home life, being married with children and a demanding career ?
Nina: I don’t! It can be quite messy. I do however have a secret weapon in the shape of a husband. Without him, for the last 25 years I would not have half the career and life that I do. There is a lot of compromise involved. He is an incredible composer and when he is working, I’m with the kids and vice versa. I have taken our children onto almost every set I have ever worked on and they have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I remember picking up my 7 year old daughter after I had finished filming for the day, and she had discovered the make up truck. I think it took me two hours to wash her face that night. I also remember a very humbling moment in my career. My daughter was only about a year and a half old and I was wearing a stunning purple dress that had been designed for me, as I had been nominated at the Inside Soap Awards. It ended up being one of the best nights of my life as I won two awards, one for Best comedy and one for Best partnership. I returned home late and slightly delirious, only to be told by my babysitter that my daughter had not been feeling very well. I felt terribly guilty for having had such a good night and leaving her, that I grabbed her in my arms and she instantly threw up all down the back of my beautiful purple dress. I spent the last moments of the night on my hands and knees cleaning up sick off the kitchen floor and thinking I don’t think this dress can be dry cleaned… like I said, it can be quite messy.
Kaniz: Talk to us more about your OBE ?
Nina: Getting my OBE was a particularly special thing that I wish my parents had still been around to see happen (though I do believe they are always with me). Never in a million years would I have thought that I, this little girl from Bombay, would be standing in Windsor Castle receiving an honour for 30 years of service in the entertainment and charity fields. I’ll tell you what though, having those three little letters after my name has help me raise so much money for charity I wish I’d got it years ago!
Kaniz: How do you stay up to date with industry trends ?
Nina: I know I am open to changing and adapting with the times. But I also know my limitations and only do things I’m comfortable with.
Kaniz: What do you think stands out about you the most ?
Nina: I’m hoping it’s my sense of humour and the fact that I don’t take the industry too seriously. I do like to let the universe guide my way.
Kaniz: How do you build chemistry with your fellow actors especially in romantic or emotionally intense scenes ?
Nina: I’ve been very lucky in my career to get on well with my co-stars. I find humour and being comfortable in your own skin can help build chemistry very quickly. It’s always very awkward to have to kiss someone you may have only just met and convince the audience of this life you have with them. Knowing your character inside out is very important and spending time with your fellow actor off set can really help too. It’s like fast tracking a friendship sometimes. With the more emotional stuff there has to be a real trust there.
I do remember the first time I had to kiss Ardal O’Hanlon in Death in Paradise. We are both quite shy people so we just bumped our lips together instead of actually kissing… But we kept it in because the characters were both quite awkward so it worked well.
Kaniz: How do you handle the pressures and expectations that come with being in the public eye
as an actress ?
Nina: I don’t always, if I’m honest. I can get quite emotional and even depressed if I’m having a grey day or something is going on in my personal life. Something as simple as going to the supermarket can be a bit tiresome if you’re on screen and people just want to talk to you about your job. What they don’t understand is that I get asked the same questions, sometimes several times a day and it can be a little bit torturous. But then I have to remember that without an audience I wouldn’t have a career.
Kaniz: What’s the best advice you would give anyone looking to head into the world of acting ?
Nina: I think I have been asked this question more than anything else in my career. The first thing I do is ask the person this question. ‘Do you want a career full of risk and inconsistency?’ Then I ask, ‘Are you thick skinned?’ And finally I ask, ‘Are you resilient but also realistic?’ If the answer to these three questions is YES, then go ahead and enter the wonderful insane world of acting. If there is any hesitation and you answer NO to any of the above, save yourself the heartache and “Do as your parents say and become a doctor or a lawyer, innit?!”
Kaniz: If you were not an actress what would you be ?
Nina: If I was not an actress, I would’ve been a sportswoman of some kind. I loved playing football and Netball and like to drive very fast, so possibly something in Formula One!
Kaniz: You have been married for many years, what is the secret of having a long lasting successful marriage?
Nina: Pick your battles and compromise. Marriage is one of the hardest things you will ever do in your life. Make sure you’ve chosen the right person. Oh, and also laugh a lot and travel.
Kaniz: Are there any actresses or actors who inspire you or whose careers you admire ?
Nina: I grew up in Hong Kong and we used to get mostly American TV shows. I was obsessed with Robin Williams growing up and I loved stand up. I would sneak into my bedroom and watch Eddie Murphy’s ‘Raw’ because I wasn’t allowed to, what with all the swearing in it. I liked Joan Rivers too, but again very adult humour for a teenager at that time. Honestly, I didn’t do drugs, I just did comedy. From the British shows out there I was obsessed with Blackadder, Fawlty Towers and the Pythons.
Kaniz: How do you stay motivated during long periods without work ?
Nina: My family hates when I am out of work because my attention turns on them and the house and garnering new hobbies. So yes, I busy myself with life! Oh and I cook a different cuisine from a random country. Also to the chagrin of my family.
Kaniz: What’s your favourite food ?
Nina: I could not live without cheese or chocolate.
CEO : Zahra Saifullah
Managing Editor: Nashmia Amir Butt
Creatively Directed by Kaniz Ali
Photography by Danny Singh
Make Up / Styling by Kaniz Ali using Charlotte Tilbury
Hair by Iman Chana
Wardrobe / Outfits by Raishma
Location: Colonel Saab, London, UK
Words by Sibgha Batool
