Your last movie, ‘93 days,’ brought a lot of things to mind, especially the character you played, late Dr. Stella Adadevoh. Was your selection based mainly on the fact that you bore a resemblance to her?
I must say it was an honour to have played that role. What the director and producer did was to pick actors they felt look like Dr. Adadevoh and they invited all of us for an audition. They also had an open audition for anybody to walk in. I went for the audition and luckily I got it.
Given the circumstances surrounding her death, how challenging was it playing that role?
It was very challenging, because there were no videos of her and I was required to portray a real person, unlike the ones where characters are not real. It was a real story; she was a doctor, married and had a life before the incident. I never met her , yet I had to portray her appropriately. I put myself under so much pressure and I was so scared and worried at the premiere, because I knew I had to paint the picture of this woman who was loved by the people. It was my most challenging role, because I was standing for someone I never met and I wanted so badly to portray her character. She was indeed a superwoman. I felt so bad that I never met her; I felt like I missed out for not meeting her, given all the stories I heard. The only other time I had felt like that was when Fela Anikulapo Kuti died. He was someone I wish I met. When you listen to Fela’s songs you would realise that he saw what a lot of people didn’t see. So, when 93 days came out and people saw it, I was so relieved with the feedback I got. I have never been that relieved
in my life.
How did your acting career begin?
My mum told me I had always been dramatic, since I was very young. So maybe it began from that time. She said one way or the other, I was always involved in acting. When I was in secondary school, I was also into dancing and at a point, I joined the choir, even though I didn’t stay long. I don’t think any profession would have appealed to me apart from acting. Even the other things I do, like singing, writing poems, etc., are hobbies. Acting is one thing I’m extremely passionate about. When I chose Theatre Arts as the course I wanted to study in University of Ibadan, my dad didn’t understand it for a while. He just felt you can’t make money from doing stuffs like that. He felt why not go and study something else so I could have a degree I could fall back on. I was a stubborn child, so I said no, I must study Theatre Arts and I did. He finally agreed with me.
What fond memories of growing up do you still have?
Growing up was fun. My mum got married at about 17, and at 18 she had her first child. As a young mother, she was a disciplinarian but loving. My dad was a Customs officer and he was posted to different places, so he only came home on weekends or fortnightly. Then, in the evening, we would sit outside in the balcony and my mum would tell us stories and teach us songs. And anytime she was cooking, everybody; male or female, would have to be in the kitchen with her. While cooking she would be singing and we had to join her as well. I was a tomboy and I liked to climb trees and jump fences. As a result, I always had bruises on my chin. My mum just couldn’t understand it so I was chastised every day. Over time, she couldn’t stop me from climbing trees, because I was a real tomboy. After a while, she got used to it.
You’ve been going to the gym a lot in recent times. What informed that move?
