There is no gainsaying the fact that mastering the art of role-interpretation in the light of the principles of plausibility and reality is always every actor’s first major task. Though the Nigerian movie space is replete with talents, both veteran and budding, the challenges of acting continue to wear different faces with every passing day. In this celebrity vox pop, some young Nigerian actors share with Newton-Ray Ukwuoma some of the secrets of their successes in the make-believe industry.
Deinso Ifeanyi Odukwe
I would like to share a secret Lancelot taught me in 1998. He told me that a large percentage of every character we would ever play lives in us. He said even if you are asked to play the role of an armed robber, you would have at some point in your life tinkered with the idea of stealing, or of even becoming that character. He said the subconscious mind can draw from its warehouse of experience if we are willing to tap from it. Then there is an actor called Stanislowsky; he is Russian. His style of acting is mixed with a kind of psychology where actors get to tap into experiences of their roles and become them. I learnt about it a long time ago and that has been the model. I am also glad to have worked with Lancelot. He is very passionate about what he does. I learnt that from him. But when I found out about the Stanislowsky Law, which is known as Method Acting, I followed it. That is what people like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro practise, method acting. Sir Daniel Day Lewis is my best actor of all time. He has won an Oscar for almost every movie he has done. I practise his style of acting.
Adesua Etomi
Nothing comes easy. In the movie industry, challenges hit you hardest in the beginning. Initially, when you come in as a new face, the biggest challenge would be acceptance. You know, people don’t know you; they haven’t seen anything you have done. Every actor will have to confront this challenge of getting people to see beyond the surface and to hire you. It is a struggle. There is no easy principle; you just keep pushing. And when you finally get your first job, getting more jobs is another challenge a newcomer will face. And when you start gaining recognition, getting good pay becomes a challenge. When you start getting paid, you also face the challenge of being typecast: everybody wanting you to do one role for every movie.
As an actor, it is not easy getting into character, while people are watching from behind the camera. I have a theatre background. On stage, the audience is not so much in your face as the camera and the crew are on set. On set, everyone is watching you from behind, the sound man, the DOP, the director, make-up. It is really not an easy environment to be in character. However, acting, in whatever form, requires discipline, a lot of hard work. My take is, do not judge actors, but rather encourage them because acting is hard.
Khing Bassey
Handling criticisms has been my main success secret. I get a lot of negative criticisms, especially when I first started out. You know, the issue of wannabe Ramsey Nouah or Van Vicker. Some people will be like, “Oh! He is trying, but there is a lot of work to do”. I did not let the negative part of those criticisms get to me. I took the part motivated me to be better. I decided to work on and improve myself. That is what has happened. I know that I have improved. People know that I have improved. That is what is important to me. The fact that every day, I am putting one foot in front of the other – I am making progress. So, I don’t take negative criticisms to heart.
Angela Okorie
When I started, I didn’t know how to act. It was not my thing; modelling was. In modelling, you are very conscious of your face, body and gait. But for acting, you are not only conscious of these things, you also had to tailor them to the character you are playing as real and believable as possible. You always need to create an illusion of reality. I realised I didn’t have these qualities in the beginning. What I did was to get the requisite knowledge about acting so that I could become a professional. I went back to study Theatre Arts in the university. Now, it has become my profession and career.
And about success secrets, I discovered with time that acting is make-believe and practice can make you better. I realised that even the best actors practise all the time. I practise on my own, in my room, before a mirror. And with time, it becomes a part of me. Role playing becomes much easier when you practise.
Blossom Chukwujiekwu
Every movie comes with its own sets of challenges. You have to build a character from the ground up. And that is a big challenge; you know, trying to fit into a new character in, sometimes short notice. I would say that we couldn’t have picked up so fast without taking a few titbits from them.
Kehinde Bankole
I do not have any customised view of playing a role. However, I have always emphasised the importance to depth, research and internalisation in portraying any character. And I think this is what works for me.
Linda Ihuoma Ejiofor
I think it is observation, practice and consistence. Wherever I go, in a bus, at the market, I love to watch people. I started acting by watching and imitating people. From secondary school days, after I watch a film I would imitate some characters in the movies. Sometimes I would share roles with my siblings at home. Other times I wait until I returned to boarding house, when we have nothing doing, we will all gather and I will begin to narrate the stories from the movies we have watched at home to people and while we are narrating the movie we are showing them by acting some of the funny roles from the movies. I think also that you have to have a creative mind. You have to be able to remember what you have read or watched. So, you have to have the talent; you have to read books, watch movies and watch people. When you have all these, nothing will hold you back. You will always be a success in auditions.
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