9jaNollywoodstars

Get to know more about bossomy movie star,Foluke Daramola,

Q: How did you find yourself in acting?
A: I started out with a talk show on DBN before I went to the university. Later, I moved to AIT on Our Time.It was while I was at AIT that I met Uncle Tunji Bamishigbin, who took me into Palace. He actually introduced me to acting. It wasn’t so strange or difficult for me, as I had always appreciated movie actors. Besides, I used to speak to myself in the mirror while alone in the room and from there, I concluded that I could actually express myself and expand my talents.

Q: How many movies have you produced or directed on your own?
A: It will be difficult for me to mention all the ones I have been part of because they are very many, both the English/Igbo and the Yoruba ones. But for the ones I have produced and directed, we have Oriojori, Emi, 50/50, Ta ni ki n fe, Nkan Meta and a whole lot of them. I also write and sell scripts

Q: Which of these brought you into limelight?
A: I wouldn’t know, but I will say with me, my acting came with fame. I am just an ordinary girl walking on the street as Foluke Daramola and when I was in the cast of Palace, the same Foluke became celebrated. All of a sudden, people from Encomium just picked some of my pictures from Uncle Tunji and splashed them on the pages of the magazine. So, you see, my acting actually came with fame. But sincerely I was lucky to have been brought up by Uncle Tunji, who wouldn’t allow me minor roles like my peers.

Q: What are the pains of fame?
A: A whole lot. For instance, one is deprived of privacy. You have to act as a role model, learn how to comport yourself at all times. All the same, I think it has helped me to build my life into something worthy of emulation. Though one can’t be perfect, I still try as much as possible to be myself.

Q: Besides acting, do you do other things?
A: Yes. I produce, direct, present and do business like selling baby dresses and jewellry.

Q: From your own assessment of the returns from television soaps and home-movies, which one would you say pays more and is actually worth all the pains?
A: Both have their pros and cons. Then, I’ll say the soap-opera came with fame, while the movies came with more money. But now, both are almost on the same level because the soap operas, the good ones I mean, are currently offering better money.

Q: Have you won any awards before?
A: Yes, about three. I won the Upcoming Actress, Afro-Dublin Awards in 2003/2004 and the Afro-Nollywood Award in London in 2006, which is the most recent. I also won awards while in school. For instance, while in the university, I was the best Students’ Union Government, SUG, Executive as the Director of Socials. And as a youth corps member, I won the most sociable corper award. It could have been more, but for my marriage and its dictates.

Q: Is it true that you are the second wife of your husband?
A: In a way, it is true

Q: How do you mean?
A: His first wife is dead. But that happened before we got married. I have never dreamt of being anyone’s second wife in my life. It has never been my idea of fun. Myself and my husband grew up together. Both families are friends. He was like my elder brother and we attended the same church until we moved from Anthony to Ogba. Then, we lost contact.
Along the line, he got married and lost his wife. We met again in 2001, dated briefly, but not very seriously.
He and my elder brother, now deceased, were close friends. It was in 2004 that we became more serious and got married. Being a second wife is actually against everything I believe in life. To me it is like living in a fool’s paradise. My mother lost my father, when she was only 36 years old. She had the chance to re-marry, but she did not. She stayed single to take care of us and this she maintained till date.
Some may have their reason for doing it, maybe for their lack of interest in younger men, for some religious belief, but for me, its not my idea of fun.

Q: How have you been combining your role as a wife and the demands of acting?
A: Well, it has been very challenging. It has also been exciting as I see my kids and husband. It has actually not been rosy, but it’s worth all the pains. A lot of times, we artistes fail to realise that we should bow out when the ovation is loudest and go backstage. Many cannot differentiate between real life and showbiz. The life behind is the real life. You can’t always be the star, everyone has their time for fame. For instance, the way they call Bukky Ajayi is not the way they call Foluke Daramola and the way they call Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Joke Jacobs is not the way they call me. It goes on like that and it is, therefore, imperative for us all to prepare for the backstage very well and promptly.
This is why you see me spending more time with my family than what I spend out there. I try to build my home now, so that I’ll be able to say I enjoyed my showbiz and also enjoy my home.
Now, my family life takes about 70 per cent of my time and my job takes only 30 per cent. It is simply all about having to balance the two. The experience has helped me to be more realistic and of course it has also made me to be more mature and focused. I wouldn’t have been able to cope, anyway, without God’s strength and the understanding of my husband. But I wouldn’t want to take this for granted.

Q: To what would you ascribe your swift rise in acting?
A: Humility and respect aside, my acting talent has been my potent asset. My mother, being a teacher, always told us to be respectful.
Again, as a Yoruba girl, who also appreciates our culture, I relate with people with humility and respect. God also wants it and preached it in the Bible.
It helps me to get along with people and to retain me in the minds of people, especially those relevant to my success. This doesn’t mean that I don’t aspire to be better; I’m also ready to learn and to take correction.
Uncle Yomi Obileye, one of my godfathers, once instructed me to always put a smile on my face even in the worst of situations just to continue to appeal to my fans.
You can imagine how difficult this can be, when you are just having a row with somebody beside you in a car and a fan suddenly screams your name on the street. But it is just part of the game. This is also required for my husband, a politician gunning for a councillorship seat, needs me to get along with all cadres of people.

Q: Do you extend your humility to your husband and to people at home?
A: I sure do, but you should know that a woman will always be a woman. He is a caring man and sometimes, I take this for granted. I would tell him sorry only when the situation gets very very bad. In most cases, I want him to offer the apologies. We both can be stubborn at times.

Q: Do you still go for auditions?
A: Not anymore, only when I have double-cast roles.

Q: Have you ever been harassed sexually and what is your opinion about its association with the industry?
A: Sexual harassment is everywhere. It is not exclusive to the movie industry. As far as I am concerned, if you don’t want to be harassed, you won’t be. I have said it before that when I started showbiz, it came almost with stardom, but not with money. And by the time I started home videos, I had paid my dues. Once you see that you are not getting jobs, you go home.
You need not to hang around there as if your whole life depends on it. You don’t have to present yourself as being desperate, otherwise people will take you for an unusual ride. You need to carry yourself with dignity. That doesn’t mean you cannot have emotional attachment to people in the industry. Your decision to date somebody is not the same thing as being sexually harassed. People should know that it is not every role they can play.

Q: When was your happiest moment?
A: It was the day I got married. Whenever I remember the day, I easily forgive my husband of whatever offence he has committed. You know a woman’s wedding day is most appreciated. Even when I remember what you press guys did on that day, I usually let go of your bad sides after the event.

Q: And the saddest time?
A: It was when my elder brother died. He was my husband’s friend.
This was in 1991, 10 years after my father died. The day my father died should have been my saddest moment, but I was only two years old and hardly knew anything.

Q: What is the craziest thing a fan has done to you?
A: Touching my boobs. He felt he had to find out whether they are real or not. Well, I also tried to slap him, but he ran away.
Would you like to comment on some of the negative stories about your marriage?
Yes, the first one came two weeks after my wedding. They said Foluke’s husband beat her up and then we were on honeymoon at Ibadan. We were actually supposed to be at Abuja, but I had a production that I had to finish. We were lodged at D-Rovans Hotel in Ibadan when the headline came. You can imagine how hurtful this could be. Aside this, there was another one that came from Encomium, saying I had a misunderstanding with my husband and that he had moved out of our home. Immediately we read it, we went to the publisher and my husband told him that if it ever repeats itself, he wouldn’t hesitate filing a suit against them. They apologised and we concluded that it was the price for stardom. It is painful because it never happened.

Q: Where do you see yourself in the nearest future?
A: I see myself in Nigeria, becoming established in my talk-show. I also see myself becoming a role model like Joke Jacobs, Olu Jacobs, Tunji Bamishigbin, Yomi Obileye, Jide Kosoko, my mother and my father.

Q: How fulfilled are you in your chosen career?
A: So far, I will say it’s been good. I enjoy what I am doing, but I wish to be back in the corporate world to actually practice what I have read.

Source: nigeriafilms.com

The Nigerian movie industry popularly called Nollywood and the third highest movie industry in the world has produced top actresses that have stood the test of time in the make believe clan. Some of them have been described as shooting stars that never fade as well as role models to upcoming actresses and other female admirers in Nigeria and beyond. Among these trail blazers are:

Liz Benson:- This top actress turned evangelist had her first stint in 1990 in the Tv Soap ‘Fortunes’ which was aired in 1993. after that she found her way into Nollywood in the movie ‘Circle of Doom’ where she played a minor role, while the movie ‘Glamour Girls,’ shot her to public eye. Today, this renowned actress, widow and mother of three is seen as a role model by many budding actresses.Like every star,Liz as she is popularly called has gone through a lot of topsy-turvy in the media Aside the devastating death of her husband,late Samuel G. Benson,the lesbianism tale and the litany of men linked with her are some of the issues that have kept the 43 year old thespian away from the movie scene.

However, this has not made her change her mind in Nollywood as she is currently serving the Lord and cooking something new for her teeming fans.

Joke Sylva:- She is adjudged the undisputed queen of the Nigerian movie industry. Aunty Joke as those who look up to her, call her was groomed in the UK before she returned to Nigeria. She had her stint into acting in the TV soap ‘Mind Bending’ in 1990, but shot her profile in the Yoruba film entitled ‘Owurolojo’ in 1993.Ever since, this mother and wife of renowned thespian, Uncle Olu Jacobs has upped the ante in the industry making it difficult if not impossible for others to reach.

Joke Jacobs,nee Sylva knows her onions in the movie scene, both on the stage and in front of the camera, she displays her dexterity and acting prowess to the delight of her fans. As a role model, she is and still remains the only actress in Nigeria that is controversy free.Her countless works both on stage and in Nollywood are sublime and always professional. Still thinking of which movie she has played in recently, then check out ‘30 Days’, directed by Mildred Okwo, and if you missed the stage play ‘Vagina Monologues’, then you have not known enough of this multi-talented screen goddess and one-time AMAA best Actress.

Eucharia Anunobi:- UK as she is popularly called by her numerous fans and admirers breezed into Nollywood in ‘Nneka the pretty serpent,’, but the controversial movie, ‘Glamour Girls 2’ was the flick that brazed her to limelight. It was in this movie that she acted an erotic scene with Zack Orji.At that time,the phenomenum called Nollywood was still in its gestation period,so people were shocked at her pluckiness to interprete such a role and to be candid, she did it so well.

Today, this Nollywood Sharon stone has won many adherents and the number is increasing by the day after disclosing to the world how her husband Charles Egwu abandoned her and their sickle cell child. The top actress can boast of over 200 movies to her kithy and more are still coming.

Kate Henshaw-Nuttai:- This vivacious actress cut her acting teeth in Hints production way back in 1994 in the movie, “When the Sun Set,” since then, her profile has continued to rise in the industry.Many see her as a role model, a mother and a friend. With over 100 movies to her credit, Kate seems not to be done yet as the onus has fallen on her now after been crowned Africa’s number one actress by AMAA in the movie, ‘Stronger than pain’.

Before she got married to Mr Roderick James Nuttai and both having a lovely seven year old daughter named Stephanie, she had topsy-turvey affair with acclaimed Gospel artiste Sammie Okposo, that hit the rocks following some unprintable issues. This delectable actress is a role model for many budding artistes in the industry.

They both have tiny frames but they are giants in their chosen career.Aki and Pawpaw are the petit Nollywood stars who have turned their physical disabilities into creative tools in the entrtainment industry.The two actors,who are usually paired for roles in movies.

Aki
Chinedu Ikedieze (aka Aki)the older of the two was born into the family of Mr and Mrs. Michael Ikedieze Ogbonna.He hail from Iluoma Nzeakoli in Bende local government area in Abia State. After his primary and secondary education,he proceeded to IMT Enugu where he studied Mass Communication.Acting is a talent that God deposited in him right from the cradle.He satrted during his secondary school days,he was a member of the Art and Dramatic Society.He got his greatest opportunity in his first year(August, 1998)at IMT,where he met a friend whom he told his desire to become an actor and to discover more about the Nigerian movie industry.

As God would have it,the discussion coincided with an audition slated somewhere the very next day and he promised to take him to the place and the following day,they went to the venue of the audition at a popular hotel on Ogui road in Enugu.The audition was for a movie titled Evil Men 1 $ 2 and luckily for him,he got a role. That was exactly how he started and since then he have been actively involved in it.

He had his major break in 2000 with The Last Burial.After the movie,he went to Port Harcourt and people wanted to literarily steal him and this was before Aki Nu Ukwa, which eventually brought me to limelight.


Pawpaw
Osita Kenneth Iheme hail from Mbaitoli Local Government area of Imo State.
His parents are Mr Herbert Iheme and Mrs Augustina Iheme,he come from a family of five;four boys and a girl and the youngest of the five siblings.Like Aki,Pawpaw is equally the only member of his family who is short.He attended College Primary School in Abia State and presently studying Mass Communication at the Enugu State University.In 2001,he auditioned for a part in the movie Cold Blood and succeeded.He was then paid N5,000 for his supporting role and since then,he has been making waves in the industry.

The Nollywood twins met each other at an audition in 2001 and since then,they have become inseparable friends.Both of them said they are more like brothers than colleagues as they share the same flat,height,weight and talent,so either both of them are cast in a movie or neither.They first paired in Aki Na Ukwa and their performance in that film took them to the limelight.In September 2004,Aki and Pawpaw went to America’s New York Film Academy to brush up their acting dexterities.They are grateful for the opportunity fame has given to them to travel around the globe to meet role models like Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, and Gary Coleman among others.

The pint-sized Nollywood actors,Chinedu Ikhedieze(Aki)and Osita Iheme (Pawpaw) have been through a lot of heat from Marketers and Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) due to complaints by parents,they are concerned about the immoral roles played by Aki and Pawpaw in movies,claiming that it has negative influence on their children and be discouraged from roles that do not portray good morale to their viewers,especially the teenagers.This is because they are role models and ambassadors to innocent teenagers out there who think they are age mates.

The death of Oba Funso Adeolu,the Alaye Ode of Ode Remo was announced last week by Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State in a condolence letter to relations of the late Oba and people of Ode Remo,noting that the Oba’s exit was a great loss to the traditional institution in the country as well as the arts in general.He extolled the departed oba on his contribution to the development of the modern Nigerian drama,described him as “a colossus in drama genre, a cultural icon of no mean standing and a traditional ruler par excellence excellence.”

The late Oba Adeolu was an old student of Methodist Boys High School,Lagos.Before he became the traditional ruler of Ode-Remo,he acted the role of Eleyinmi in the drama series,which ran on prime time for years.Many Nigerians would easily remember his role, especially for his many antics on stage.The late Oba Adeolu was the second in-command to Oba Ajelende in the drama series,which he starred in years after he appeared on the production of "Things Fall Apart" in Enugu.

He was a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University,Zaria and London School of Journalism (1962).He started his working career with the Federal Ministry of Education as an education officer.He taught at Kings’ College, Lagos.He left the ministry as Senior Inspector of Education in 1968 to join Texaco Nigeria Ltd,as area manager.He later joined the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation as a sports commentator in 1970.He transferred his services to the Nigerian Television Authority where he set up the sports department.He left the television to join Rank Xerox Nigeria Limited as the training manager from where he left to set up a private business in advertising, public relations and film production in 1977.His productions included the popular The Millers in which he played the lead role.

He was crowned the Alaye-Ode of Ode-Remo in 1990.A year later, he was made Justice of the Peace (JP) by the Ogun State Government.In 1997 the Federal Government honoured him with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).

When alive,the late royal father was not well disposed to the phenomenon called Nollywood.And he had his reasons;First,he detested the low quality of the movies being churned out daily by producers,and secondly,he observed that many of the practitioners lack requisite training.It was a lot of self-interest,dedication,devotion and love for the art that motivated them more than the monetary aspect.