Nigerian actress Scarlet Gomez has opened up about the emotional toll of playing the lead role in the hit series Wura, revealing that she had to seek therapy after the role began to affect her real life.
Speaking during a recent episode of Paul and Baaj, hosted by Paul Utomi and Baaj Adebule, Gomez said she struggled to separate herself from the character after months of filming.
The actress, who plays the powerful and ruthless Wura-Amoo Adeleke, said the intensity of the role lingered long after she left the set.
“I heard people call me number one, I felt like I was Wura,” she said.
According to her, the experience became deeply unsettling when she returned to her normal routine and noticed a shift in her behaviour and thoughts. She explained that even while working on other projects, she found it difficult to step out of the mindset of the character.
“I went back to my YouTube job and I am supposed to play the victim, and somebody is talking to me, and I will look at the person and think, ‘Do you know who I am? I can just kill you now, and nobody will find your body.’ It was that bad,” she said.
Gomez said this moment made her realise that the role had begun to affect her psychologically, prompting her to seek professional help.
The turning point, she added, came during a conversation with her husband, who noticed a change in her tone and emotional responses.
“I knew I needed to do therapy the day I was talking to my husband and he goes, ‘Why are you sounding insensitive?’” she said.
Reflecting on the experience, Gomez said playing Wura taught her a difficult lesson about acting and emotional boundaries. While getting into character can be easy for actors, she said detaching from a role, especially one played over a long period, can be far more challenging.
“I found out through that Wura role that getting into character is easier than getting out of a character, especially when you played it for a long time,” she said.
Wura, which streams on Showmax, has gained popularity for its storytelling and complex characters, with Gomez’s performance praised by viewers. The show follows the double life of a respected businesswoman who is also deeply manipulative and ruthless behind closed doors.
Scarlet Gomez is a Nigerian actress, model and former beauty queen who rose to prominence after winning Miss United Nations Tourism in 2012. Over the years, she has built a career across television and digital content, but it was her lead role in Wura that brought her mainstream attention and established her as a household name in Nigeria’s entertainment industry.
Beyond her work on screen, Gomez is married to filmmaker and director Temi Gomez. The couple often collaborate on creative projects, particularly on digital productions, and have spoken publicly about balancing their professional and personal lives.
In addition to Wura, Gomez recently played the lead character in Behind the scenes, the latest production by Funke Akindele. The film has enjoyed major commercial success, grossing over N2 billion and currently ranking number one on Netflix.
