Lara Lourens on character Koekie

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Actress Lara Lourens opens up about her role as Koekie Koekemoer in KykNET’s Banana Air.

LARA LOURENS ON ‘BANANA AIR’ CHARACTER

Actress Lara Lourens plays the role of Koekie Koekemoer in the kykNET comedy Banana Air, which airs on Monday nights. Koekie is the energetic flight attendant in business class and a belly dancer in her spare time.

“Koekie Koekemoer is a character so close to my heart. Look, she’s really not book smart, but you shouldn’t underestimate her. Despite all the drama among the staff at Banana Air, Koekie is actually just grateful to have a job and to be part of the team,” said Lara.

As per KykNET, Koekie is not someone who plans ahead or thinks things through. She is impulsive and lives in the moment – resulting in unexpected romances and sticky situations.

According to Lara, developing her character was a process.

“Koekie is pretty far removed from who I am as a person. You always start with the script – the entire text for each episode – and by familiarising yourself with the dynamics of the characters and the storyworld, you can see how your character fits into it. Character analysis is just as important as text analysis. So, I had to make sure I understood Koekie’s thought process because it’s not necessarily how I would think or reason as Lara.”

Even though Koekie and Lara are vastly different, sometimes she wishes she could be as spontaneous and impulsive as Koekie. “I often overthink things, and I’m always analysing,” she added.

“I can’t speak for others, but I like Koekie because she doesn’t take herself too seriously and sometimes creates big drama without even realising she’s in the middle of it all. I really enjoyed playing the role. Koekie is a case of ‘what you see is what you get’. She is who she is, and she’s perfectly fine with that.”

LARA ON STARRING ACROSS HER BOYFRIEND

The actress stars across her boyfriend, Kaz McFadden, who plays the role of Brand.

“It was nice to act opposite my boyfriend, Kaz. We had so many moments on set that still make me giggle,” she said.

“During one scene, I had to jump off a chair and walk across a wooden deck with Danielle Retief (Barbie), but somewhere in the process, my heel shot off my foot and landed in the rafters. The camera was rolling, and I didn’t want to break character or laugh. So, Koekie resolutely bore down on Hester (Liane Heyl), limping in one shoe,” she continued.