Vic Student, Movie Star and Writer—How Does Kudakwashe Rutendo Do It?
(Photo by Minh Truong)
Vic student Kudakwashe Rutendo is balancing her studies with a thriving career in film and her aspirations as a novelist. What’s her secret?
By Joe Howell
Even on a campus full of busy, engaged students, Kudakwashe Rutendo stands out for how much she packs into her schedule.
The fifth-year Vic student is on track to graduate this fall and somehow juggles her coursework with a flourishing career in film and television. She was named one of TIFF’s 2023 Rising Stars for her breakout role in the drama Backspot, which follows two students (played by Rutendo and fellow Canadian actor Devery Jacobs) on their journeys to become professional cheerleaders.
She’s immersed in the literary world as well. Rutendo placed second on Canada Reads 2024, the annual CBC competition in which celebrities “champion” Canadian books and are eliminated Survivor-style until a winner is crowned. Rutendo, who championed Shut Up You’re Pretty by Téa Mutonji, made it to the final vote before falling to author Heather O’Neill, who was defending The Future by Catherine Leroux.
Next time around, someone might just be championing Rutendo, who recently finished writing her own novel-in-verse. “It’s set in Toronto and follows a Black ballerina as she struggles with mental health,” she says. “I really love poetry, so a huge thing was trying to integrate poetry and prose together.”
We had to ask: what’s her secret to managing everything?
“Honestly, I think I only function if everything is happening all at once,” Rutendo says, laughing. “It’s hard to have time for readings plus learning my lines. But if I’m ‘only’ doing two things, I feel like not enough is going on. For me, writing is something that just comes out, so I have to make the time for it. Sometimes I have limited hours.”
Limited hours is an understatement. “It’s taking me a bit longer than I thought to get my degree just because I really do enjoy my classes,” says Rutendo. “ I’m lucky—the Vic Registrar’s Office has been very helpful because it can be hard to make sure that I’m doing my class work. I like academia and really do enjoy what I study—English, philosophy and classics—so a huge part is that I actually want to be there in class and be able to contribute.”
She shot Backspot in the spring of 2023, just before strikes by writers’ and actors’ unions shut down many productions. With less work going around during the labour disputes, Rutendo had some breathing room, but that quickly changed after settlements were reached. “Oh my goodness, I can barely get my bearings now!”
Her life has only gotten busier since being selected last year as one of nine Rising Stars by the Toronto International Film Festival. “They put us through an accelerator program where we got to network with casting directors and gain insider insights.” Rutendo says the experience helped her navigate the industry. “It gives you momentum and gets you into a lot more rooms.”
With her acting talents more in demand than ever, she says it makes the solitude of reading and writing all the more valuable. “When you’re on set, there are maybe 100 people interacting with you. You’re always ‘on.’ Writing is introspective and therapeutic, so it’s a great opposite to the film industry.”
Rutendo is working to get her novel-in-verse out to literary agents. But before she turns to promoting the book or future acting projects, she’s excited to graduate—and is grateful for the guidance of Registrar Yvette Ali in helping her head toward the finish line.
“Yvette has been really good at assuaging my worries,” says Rutendo. “She’s just so kind and lovely. She worked with me, saying like ‘Okay, we can do this, we can take this avenue and that avenue.’ It’s nice to feel like you’re not just weathering the University of Toronto waters by yourself.”
Kudakwashe Rutendo costars in Backspot, which opened for theatrical release on May 31, 2024. Click here to watch the trailer.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of Vic Report.