Weruche Opia interview
Weruche Opia talks about playing Naomi in Sliced...
Hi Weruche! We first saw you on TV as Cleopatra in Bad Education, back in 2014. Time flies!
I honestly can't believe it's been that long! I still get a lot of love from Bad Education fans - hoping and praying the series comes back.
It still only feels like only yesterday Class K were mucking around with Mr Wickers (Jack Whitehall) in class!
You've appeared in several comedies since, including a great episode of Inside No. 9. Comedy must be a genre you enjoy working in?
The crazy thing is I don't even think I'm that funny. Apparently I've got great comedic timing, whatever that means?!
I find most comedic writers/comedians very intelligent and talented... I mean, to be able to make people laugh is an incredible skill - so I enjoy being around people who possess it.
There's also the energy of a comedy set when the script is really funny, when cast and crew are continually stifling laughter,there's nothing like it!
Plus of course the biggest perk of all, being paid to laugh, that's always a great thing, so I'm always like 'SIGN ME UP!'
Tell us more about your latest comedy role, Naomi in Sliced?
Sliced is about two millennials Joshua and Ricky who are trying to navigate "adult" life, while working in a backstreet inner city London pizza shop, and all the random, weird things that come with the territory.
Naomi is the newbie in the shop and she comes in her with her cute, confident and quirky Black Girl Magic and changes up the testosterone charged energy in the shop.
Joshua - played by Samson Kayo - and Naomi seem to like each other? It's a classic will-they-wont-they situation?
Samson Kayo is one of the funniest people I've ever met, so every single scene with him was hilarious!
He's got the most infectious laugh, so I ended up snort laughing through most of the scenes!
Naomi is almost the female version of Joshua, in the sense that they're both cool, easy going people, in comparison to their fiery best friends who are the instigators for all the madness they end up in.
She's got more of her life together than he does, but they've got this innocent connection - I guess of two young people trying to get to grips with adult life.
It looks like there was pizza everywhere on the set... did you eat any?
I actually didn't! I loveeee pizza but have recently had to cut dairy out of my diet, so I couldn't have any! I spent my time looking lustfully at the pizza and left the rest up to my imagination... pizza wet dreams.
Sliced has plenty of diversity in the cast list. Do you have any thoughts on the topic of diversity and representation on screen?
I absolutely love the fact that cast is so diverse!
The fact is, this show is set in London and London is one of the most multicultural cities, so it would have been a disservice not to reflect that in the show.
I applaud the conscious effort made by Samson Kayo, Phil Bowker and Sally Broome to create and cast such a wonderful mix of people!
As a woman of colour in the UK acting industry, I'm aware and have first-hand knowledge of the opportunities available to BAME actors, and although things are improving, it's still at snails pace.
I know a shocking number of BAME actors, writers, producers (newcomers and known), with incredible content and talent, battling to convince production companies to take a risk and take them on.
The US are realising the strength and influence of diversity representation on screen and are benefiting from it already; the UK needs to get in on it, and quickly, before all our BAME talent go to the other side of the pond. Everybody wants to go where they're celebrated, not tolerated!
What's up next for you?
In addition to sitting by my phone praying and hoping to get a call from my agents and mangers telling me I booked one of the million jobs I auditioned for, I'm trying my hand at creating my own content, for theatre and TV.
I'm surrounded by some extremely talented people and we're pulling our talents together to tell the stories we would like to see and hear.
Sliced looks like it has lots of potential for more episodes. Presumably you'd be up for making more? Any thoughts on plotlines you'd like to see?
1000%!!! I thoroughly enjoyed playing Naomi and being part of such an incredibly talented cast, was amazing, so I'm hoping for that call too! CALL ME UKTV!
I'd love to see Mario's (played by David Mumeni) background! He's one of my favourite characters in the show and want to know how he ended up as the manager of the shop. I would like more female lead plotlines too (obviously), Naomi and Tika taking the lead, and - oh yes - Naheema as well, she's hilarious! It'll be sooo good!