Nigerian actress Kate Henshaw has opened up about how she navigated the most talked-about scene in Netflix’s “Blood Sisters” Season 2 — an intimacy scene between her character Uduak Ademola and Akin, played by Daniel Etim-Effiong.
The intimacy scene sparked buzz across social media, fuelling a growing public debate surrounding Etim-Effiong’s on-screen romantic roles, which netizens have accused of being far too frequent for a married man.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the conversation around Etim-Effiong’s on-screen romance peaked late last year, when his kissing scenes with actress Bolaji Ogunmola in “Summer Rain” went viral.
The clip triggered a wave of online criticism and sent Etim-Effiong’s wife, media personality Toyosi, trending on social media, before she silenced critics by publicly giving her husband the go-ahead to kiss as many actresses as his roles demand.
Speaking during an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo alongside fellow cast members, the 54-year-old stressed that professionalism guided every moment of their performance on set, and that Etim-Effiong never behaved inappropriately.
“With the sex scenes. I had a conversation with Daniel, ‘How far? Are you comfortable?’ He said, ‘No problem.’
“My character was topless with him. But there are no viewers who see the bra because there’s no way to cover it”, Henshaw said.
No erection
She added that communication played a vital role during filming, noting that the actor remained reassuring throughout.
She described the 41-year-old as a thorough gentleman. “He didn’t rise to the occasion. He’s a good boy. Let me clear that outside. He’s professional.
“I heard he’s the original Kizz Daniel. I didn’t know. They were calling him Kizz Daniel, and I asked why?”
Response
Amid the reignited debate, with netizens complaining that Etim-Effiong’s kissing scenes are “too much” and warning that “feelings can develop”, the actor stepped forward to address the scrutiny head-on.
He revealed that he prays before such scenes, arguing that the industry leans too heavily on one form of intimacy.
“I get all my inspiration from God; I go on my knees and pray before going on set and before every kiss scene,” he said during an interview on Channels Television’s “Rubbin’ Minds.”
The actor, who left an engineering career to pursue storytelling, believes that work is an expression of worship, drawing on the biblical account of God placing Adam in the garden and instructing him to tend it.
Blood Sisters 2
EbonyLife Studios produced the series four years after its first part, with media entrepreneur Mo Abudu backing it, and it has since become one of Netflix’s most talked-about Nigerian originals.
The crime thriller reunites Ini Dima-Okojie and Nancy Isime as Sarah Duru and Kemi Sanya, two women whose lives became irreversibly entangled after a wedding-day tragedy.
It stars Kehinde Bankole, Gabriel Afolayan, Wale Ojo, Uche Jombo, Segun Arinze, Michelle Dede and Mike Afolarin.
