The concept of side hustling where an individual has a main job but takes an extra job on the side has received adoption in the Kenyan media landscape, with media personalities making it big in the newsrooms and also in the film industry.
In this article, we outline five media personalities who are great actors and have been featured in some of the best films aired in the country.
Sanaipei Tande
Although she is widely known as a radio presenter thanks to her time at KISS 100, Sana as she is popularly referred to, is a multi-talented creative as she can also sing and act.
Sana has released several songs and featured on top telenovelas in the country namely Aziza that aired on Citizen TV and Kina on Maisha Magic East.
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In December 2022, she won Best Lead Actress at the Kalasha Award for her Nana Tandala role in Kina.
She, however, left Kina in February 2023, citing exhaustion and the need to take time off the set and rest.
Jimmy Gathu
Gathu is a veteran media personality having been in the industry for over two decades. His time in the media industry saw him work for several stations that include; KTN, Capital FM, Citizen TV, Hot 96, K24, and NTV.
In addition, to being a talented journalist, he is also a great actor and has featured in several productions that include; Kina (ongoing), State House (2014), Rafiki (2018), and Nairobi Half-Life (2012).
Ferdinand Omondi
He is widely known for his current role where he serves as British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Kenya correspondent. Prior to joining the BBC, Omondi worked for Citizen TV as a Sports reporter and also had stints at KTN and NTV where he served as the stations' Coast-based reporter.
In addition to being a renowned journalist, Omondi is also a respected actor and featured on Kenya's high school TV show dubbed Tahidi High. In the show, he played the role of Mule.
Alex Mwakideu
Mwakideu is arguably one of Kenya's best radio presenters. He started his radio career at Baraka FM in Mombasa and later upgraded to Radio Maisha where he served from 2010 to 2018.
In 2018, he left Radio Maisha for Milele Radio where he is serving to date. Currently, he is the Head of Radio at the MediaMax owned franchise.
File image of Alex Mwakideu. [Photo: Courtesy]
He made his professional acting debut in 2020 when he landed a role in the film Nafsi which featured among others Catherine Kamau alias Kate Actress.
However, that was not his first time in the acting scene as he was involved in drama and skits during his primary school days.
"I was an actor since my primary school days. I developed an interest in acting because my brothers were actors, they had won so many certificates because of acting. Acting got me this radio job. They wanted a radio commercial skit and delivered the client was happy (Baraka FM) and they promised to call us for more gigs," he said at a past interview.
Nick Ndeda
He is a veteran media personality. He made his debut in the media industry in 2007 as a stand-in breakfast show host at HomeBoyz Radio. In 2010, he joined Hot 96 as the breakfast show host, a role he held until 2011 when he took a break from radio.
In 2012, he joined X fm as the breakfast show host. He served until 2019 when the station closed shop. He later joined Radio Africa's KISS 100 where he served as a presenter until February 2021 when he left the station.
During his time on radio, Nick also featured on several films and productions that helped him build a name for himself as one of the best male actors in the country.
Some of the films he's featured in include; Selina, Higher Learning, 18 Hours, and Second Family among others.
Other media personalities who've also featured on films include; Janet Mbugua, Makena Njeri and Monique Bett.
