Zahra Bentham

Set to star in the highly anticipated limited series, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J Walker, Zahra Bentham is opening up about what’s to come, behind-the-scenes set moments and more!

words by VANESSA SALLES photos by JAH GREY

Tell us about Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J Walker! What made you want to be involved with this series? The story is what really drew me to be so motivated for the role. When I was first told about the series, I did a bunch of research on Madam C.J. Walker and her story. It was mind-blowing that I didn’t even know who this remarkable woman was. I mean, why didn’t I learn about her in school? When I received the audition for the role of Nettie Ransom, I declared that the role was mine. Being on set was a whole other experience. Seeing the amount of dedication Octavia Spencer brought to Sarah Breedlove aka Madam C.J. Walker, as well as everyone else, was moving. I feel blessed to have been a part of making history in sharing this with the world. Allowing Madam C.J. Walker’s hard work and her life reverberate through myself and our future generations.

What’s been your favorite part about bringing Nettie Ransom to life? It would have to be the times in the hair and makeup trailer and also doing the fittings! Getting on set and seeing everything come to life obviously helped bring Nettie to life, as well. It’s thanks to all the hard work everyone poured into the long hours, the costume designs, the set decoration, the writing, etc. for Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J Walker to be what it will be.

What do you hope viewers take away from this show? I hope it’s a learning lesson. A lesson of history that many of us don’t know and/or weren’t taught. I hope it inspires other black women to continue in pushing for greatness within their careers as a businesswoman. I think the generation of ‘Millennials’ has cracked the code on sustaining a “Self-Made” life and I hope this can motivate anyone who is starting a business, old or young, that it is possible to do and have whatever you put your mind to.

Working alongside Tiffany Haddish and Octavia Spencer, what’s the biggest lesson you learned on set? Number one thing: come to work prepared. Octavia stood by this strongly with her demeanor and conversations we shared on set. She always liked to be ahead of the game, even with the scenes she had to learn. Sometimes, as an actor, we can do all the prep work we want of how we want the scene to go, but once you get there, everything can change. Working on Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J Walker made me realize that there are so many moving parts – you just have to do your part as the actor so that you can make everyone else’s life easier. I was always taught that it’s not about you, it’s about the team.

What do you want to see more of on TV? When you think of your ultimate dream role, what comes to mind? I want to see more of anything that is breaking the norm of what we see on our screens. I want to continue seeing our stories and also seeing stories that have been written for Caucasian actors, for ethnics. I would love to see an Asian superhero, mainstream, Marvel, BOOM. Would that not be amazing? I think times are changing but we still got a long way to go.

Any special message for fans? I’m currently working on my EP and plan to be releasing it in the coming months. It will be my first time releasing anything written of my own so I’m happy and excited and nervous all at the same time. I don’t want to say too much but it’s going to be a very special project. If you want to stay connected, add me on Instagram @ ZahraBentham! Stop by and say what’s up!