{"id":51216,"date":"2021-10-06T13:18:09","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T10:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kfm.co.ug\/?p=51216"},"modified":"2021-10-06T13:18:09","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T10:18:09","slug":"meet-the-13-year-old-netflix-star-who-is-the-voice-behind-africas-newest-child-superhero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kfm.dembefm.ug\/staging_h\/meet-the-13-year-old-netflix-star-who-is-the-voice-behind-africas-newest-child-superhero\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the 13-year-old Netflix star who is the voice behind Africa’s newest child superhero"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Harun Momanyi, Bird<\/strong><\/p>\n

A quick Google search session will reveal that 13-year-old actress Stycie Waweru recently appeared in the 2021 Netflix film, Just In Time, starring as Ashley. Dive in further and you\u2019ll see that her impressive IMDb (Internet Movie Database) profile has a growing list of credits, including roles in Lusala (2019) and Supa Modo, the 2019 superhero film that first cast her into the limelight.<\/p>\n

The young star has shared the screen with top Kenyan actresses Sarah Hassan and Pierra Makena and has been featured by CNN, Deutsche Welle, Rotten Tomatoes, Toronto Guardian and many other top news platforms and publications for her roles, which often highlight girl-child empowerment, reflecting the lives of modern Africans.<\/p>\n

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Staycie Waweru posing for a picture. Photo Courtesy : John Njata<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Under the guidance of Kenya’s best-known film star, Lupita Nyong’o, Waweru has been working with a team at Kukua, an edutainment startup based out of Nairobi, on the globally acclaimed Super Sema series. She is the voice behind the main character, Sema.<\/p>\n

In the series, her character, together with a twin brother, battles a villainous super robot, Tobor, to protect the twins’ hometown. The series has built a fan-base across the planet, much to Waweru’s delight.<\/p>\n

Her father, Joseph Njata, who is also her manager, has played a key role in her meteoric rise to fame, while her mother, Agnes Muigai, is widely credited with shaping the star appearing on screens across Africa and around the world.<\/p>\n

Waweru’s keen interest in being an actress, however, started off when she was just two years old, according to her parents.<\/p>\n

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Staycie Waweru in Germany. Photo Courtesy : John Njata.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cShe was always glued on television to a point where she would forget her meals. She would also act as if nobody else was in the house – it was only her and cartoons. Her favorite one was the Teletubbies. She knew those characters by name, and I remember we would miss the seven o\u2019clock news on television as she watched her cartoons. She was literally the boss of the TV remote in the house,\u201d says her dad.<\/p>\n

Waweru was born when her father was a booking clerk at the Fox Theatres cinema at Nairobi’s Sarit Center. He would get complimentary tickets for his family to enjoy film releases, meaning that from her earliest years, she did not need a cinema ticket. Armed only with popcorn, the young girl would get lost in a world of animated films, viewed on the big screen.<\/p>\n

As her interest and curiosity grew, her father started coaching her how to act, to camera.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started filming her using a phone and would tell her, \u2018…look at the phone and tell me this and this\u2026\u2019. We have those clips, and it includes a popular one which is on YouTube; in the video, she\u2019s reciting the poem \u2018my first day at school\u2019. This started to build her confidence on camera at a very tender age,” Joseph explains.<\/p>\n

When she was four, Stycie began performing dramas at school and soon received confirmation of her acting talent. She won a streak of awards at drama festivals and her big break came when she landed the lead role in Supa Modo, at just nine years old.<\/p>\n

Her father, who had studied at the Kwetu Film Institute in Rwanda, made sure she continued to build opportunities in both film and voice-over production, effectively preparing her for a big career break.<\/p>\n

Wawreu has been riding high with her Super Sema lead role. For her, working with Nyong’o on the series is a dream come true. Bubbly by nature, Waweru comes across as years ahead of her peers intellectually and clearly enjoys engaging with the team behind the series.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team is full of enthusiasm and it\u2019s super fun. They are hilarious, and everytime I\u2019m recording, and I make a mistake, they tease me in a really funny way. After recording, I get a KFC treat; that\u2019s my favorite part. But I also like the aura; the positivity that\u2019s there every day. It\u2019s just so awesome,\u201d she said excitedly.<\/p>\n

Waweru also had plenty of positive things to say about Nyong’o.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s very kind and nice. Basically, when I\u2019m working with her, she\u2019s always pushing me, encouraging me, and telling me what to do, and the right way to do it. Lupita also tells me to wait, my time is gonna come and this thing I do will be big,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

While not everyone is blessed with a Hollywood star for a mentor, Waweru still comes across as grounded. Acting is not her only passion. The actress revealed that she loves drawing – digital art and pencil drawing.<\/p>\n

Her interests don’t stop there, however. She also wants to explore singing, dancing and other art forms as she grows. Quoting Nyongo\u2019s iconic \u2018all dreams are valid\u2019 Oscars speech, Waweru believes that she can be anything she wants to be.<\/p>\n

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Staycie Waweru posing for a picture. Photo Courtesy : John Njata<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While for her father, parenting has been a rollercoaster of emotions, he is clearly enchanted with his child and her abilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say she\u2019s the life of the house. Her sense of humor is on another level and whenever she\u2019s not in the house, we all feel her absence. She\u2019s also very tech savvy and teaches us a lot of new stuff. She is always asking me questions about technology. Today she\u2019s interested in learning animation and I am planning for those lessons with her. I mean, it\u2019s very rare to find Stycie idling. If she\u2019s not doing her homework, she\u2019s watching a film, reading books or filming videos for YouTube and TikTok,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n

His daughter’s insatiable curiosity may mean he has to conduct constant technological research just to keep up with her but he is more than happy to do that, in the interest of remaining a good parent. She, on the other hand, waxes philosophical when it comes to the issue of parenting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your son comes up to you and says, \u2018mum, I want to be a voice over artist\u2019, please listen to them and give them a chance. There are a lot of people who haven\u2019t done degrees but they\u2019re still so successful. I\u2019m not saying a degree is a bad choice; their children can always manage both of them, if they are willing to,\u201d she said, suddenly serious.<\/p>\n

As an inspiration to millions of young fans across the continent, her opinions on everything from education to acting to life in general, are likely to find a wide audience.<\/p>\n

bird