By Lina Das
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A long way from Walford: Judi Shekoni in her Twilight outfit
Judi had enjoyed a successful spell as gangster’s moll Precious Hudson in EastEnders, but after moving to Los Angeles to pursue her career, she heard that the producers of the Twilight film franchise were casting for the role of Amazonian vampire Zafrina.
‘I wanted the role really badly, so I got an audition and I landed the part,’ she says. ‘It was a dream come true’.
The Twilight films have raked in more than £1.2 billion at the box office and have transformed Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella Swan, and Robert Pattinson, her vampire lover Edward Cullen, into worldwide stars.
Moreover, with Rob and Kristen at the centre of this summer’s most talked-about celebrity split (thanks to Kristen’s ‘momentary indiscretion’ with married British director Rupert Sanders), anticipation for the film has sent Twilight fans, or Twi-hards as they are called, into a state of near-frenzy.
The couple now seem to be back together — at least to promote the film — not that Judi can shed any light on their status. What she will say is that Kristen, far from being the sullen actress of popular depiction, ‘is completely up for a laugh and for taking the mickey, while Rob is very British — self-deprecating and down-to-earth. Kristen set a precedent for having a good time and not taking it too seriously.
‘But they both had a massive work ethic — they’d be on set before everyone and would leave after everybody else every single day. They were extremely mature and professional.’
Judi spent six months filming Breaking Dawn Part 2 on location in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the U.S., and in Vancouver and Squamish in Canada. ‘When I first arrived, there were Twi-hards at the airport, and kids following us around with their mums.’
She has borne witness to the Twilight phenomenon called The Screamer — where fans attend a Twilight event and ‘scream and just keep screaming’. Even so, she is incredibly accommodating of her followers.
Judi Shekoni's role in Twilight is her biggest break since she pitched up in Hollywood spurred on by her success in Eastenders (pictured)
‘A fan on Twitter invited me to her party but I couldn’t go, so I said I’d give her an autographed picture instead and gave her my address and asked if she wanted to collect it.
‘She came to my house and said: “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve got a couple of friends with me,” and the next thing I know, there were nine or ten of them standing in my corridor. But they were absolutely respectful.
‘Maybe if they’d been standing in Robert Pattinson’s corridor, the door might have been battered down and he might have been missing a few limbs!’ In the latest film, Kristen Stewart’s Bella embarks on her new life as a vampire and as a mother to her and Edward’s daughter, Renesmee (played by 12-year-old Mackenzie Foy).
Judi, as Zafrina the leader of the Amazon coven, helps Bella protect Renesmee from the evil Volturi clan. The role involves Judi wearing a highly unforgiving bra and loincloth, although at 6ft, with her long limbs and an exotic African, Spanish and British heritage, she does her costume proud.
‘I knew my outfits were going to be tight,’ she says, ‘so I went to the gym a lot, took supplements, ate healthily and even managed to get Nicole Kidman’s trainer to help me work out.
‘He’d say: “I have Nicole between 8am and 9am, so you can come at 9.30.” I’d offer to come by at 8am to “help out”, but he wouldn’t let me, so I never got to see her.’
Judi Shekoni wowed the crowd at the Twilight premiere
It’s a long way from the council estate in Manchester where she grew up the youngest of five children. Judi, 30, was raised by her mother Joan — her parents separated when she was three.
‘Not having a father figure gave me a sense of independence and a lot of tenacity. To afford things I wanted, I knew I had to work. I had a job in a market bagging potatoes by the time I was 12 and then I worked in a greyhound stadium, walking dogs around the track. It made me appreciate the value of money, although I always worked hard at school, too.’
She became a model and, at 17, Judi moved to London and stayed in a hostel run by nuns. After acting lessons, she got a small role in Ali G Indahouse with Sacha Baron Cohen and landed the EastEnders role of Precious Hudson, the buxom, blousy wife of local gangster Angel Hudson, played by DJ Goldie.
She loved being on the show: ‘I’d go by a Thameslink train to the set, then Goldie would show up in his gold Ferrari with its personalised number plates.
‘The clothing budget was unbelievable. The costume people took me shopping and we spent the day snapping up Gucci, Dior and Chloe numbers. I felt like I was in Pretty Woman.’
Nowadays, she is dating a fellow actor, ‘but it’s very early days and it’s not anyone who’s in the public eye,’ she insists.
As for Hollywood being lonely, Judi says: ‘I love it here. I don’t often get lonely. I love reading. As long as I’ve got a book, I’m pretty happy.’ Who can blame her? After picking up the book of Twilight she ended up with a part in one of the biggest film franchises of all time.
Breaking Dawn Part 2 is out now.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2233751/The-ex-Eastenders-star-whos-vamp-vampire.html#ixzz2CNfR4hcV
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