Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/kaluikeagwu
Website: http://www.kaluikeagwu.com
wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalu_Ikeagwu
THE DAILY VANGUAGRD INTERVIEW
How did you get into the movie industry?
My debut on TV was in
2005 with the popular Domino series. I was into soaps before venturing
into the movie industry.
What were you doing before Nollywood and acting?
I was working as a computer
analyst before joining Nollywood.
Did you have challenges as a younger actor ?
I think my main challenge
was the switch from stage to television. On stage, one is trained to exaggerate
one’s character; otherwise one’s means of communication becomes lost to the
audience. Television on the other hand requires subtlety and understatement.
One merely projects one’s thought and lets the camera do the rest of the work.
The other challenging bit was the ‘start and stop’ syndrome where one has to
repeat an action or words up to ten times while at the same time making it look
seamless and natural.
What’s the way forward for Nigeria’s movie industry called
Nollywood?
The way forward for the
Nollywood industry I think, is assistance from the government. The potential
this industry has for redeeming the tattered image of our country abroad cannot
be over exaggerated, not to talk of its ability to bring in foreign investment,
tourism and export our culture to other countries. I still don’t know why
Nigeria is still over dependent on oil when the entertainment industry alone
can earn not only more revenue than the oil sector but can create hundreds of
thousands of jobs for the country as well.
Even if the government is
still hesitant about giving out funds or grants to aid the industry, let it at
least put laws in place to protect the intellectual property of
filmmakers, script writers and actors so that they can benefit from
royalties of their hard work. I can’t tell you how many times I have been
accosted by irate fans who complain about seeing my face on movie jackets only
to be disappointed on buying the movie because I end up not appearing in any
scene in the entire movie.
This is entirely fraudulent
of these unscrupulous people and they should be stopped from taking advantage
of these hapless fans and my reputation I’ve worked so hard for!
You are very handsome, how do you cope with your lady fans and
ladies on set?
How I cope with lady fans? Easy,
I love them. Thanks for the compliment though. I treat them the same way I
treat the women in my life; by appreciating them. That’s how my mother taught
me to. Coping with ladies on set is no great hassle; I believe I have a
charming enough personality to get along well with the ladies I get to work
with so it’s always fun on set for me.
We hear a lot of stories about producers seeking to sleep with
female actresses before they are given roles. How rampant is this? Is it
just a rumour?
Well, I don’t know much
about that given that I haven’t personally observed any incident like that.
Having said that, you should also know there are a few bad apples in every
industry. Just as there are women who’d do just about anything to feature in a
movie, so are there people willing to exploit such people. I can tell you that
these producers, should they exist, are in the minority because it would
logically make bad business sense to cast someone on your couch as a
prerequisite to casting them in your movie. What if the girl hasn’t got the
talent to pull the character off – as is the case most often – and the movie
sales suffer as a result? A wise producer looks at numbers and figures instead
of faces.
The gist is making the rounds that producers prefer Ghollywood
actresses to
Nollywood actresses, how true is this and why?
I don’t know about Nigerian
producers preferring Ghanaian actresses to their Nigerian counterparts; that
hardly makes economic sense. I for one do welcome collaborations; they make for
a stronger general industry and a better garnering of the fan base. As long as
there are structures put in place to protect the local industry and work force,
I think international collaboration is a good thing. Isn’t that what the major
international airlines are doing to not just survive, but also to beat the
competition?
What’s your academic background?
I studied English
Literature at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I also did a postgraduate
diploma course on Business management in the same university, and a diploma in
Computer programming.
How do you manage acting and movie production?
Well, it’s simple; on the
one hand, I’m a gun for hire. All I do is concern myself with my job which is
learning my character and interpreting it the best way I can. The other one is
production, which I’m only just foraying into, is like a baby from conception;
I have to plan how I’m going to give the audience a project they’ll love, reach
as wide a range as possible, and I hopefully make a profit thereof.
This means that on the one
hand, I’m a business man thinking in terms of figures, projections, marketing
and quality of product, and on the other, I’m an actor working for pay who’s
concerned about his fans and the image he portrays. Enough of the boring stuff,
the truth of the matter is I love being in control of my environment and I have
immense fun doing what I do best.
Who is Kalu Ikeagwu outside all these?
Kalu is a fun loving person
who loves living life to the full. It’s not necessarily about partying everyday
per se, but about getting the best out of everything you do, and getting the
best out of everyone you have the opportunity to interact with. I like to
travel and experience different peoples and cultures and this has helped
tremendously with the work I put out on screen. That, I feel, makes me an
overall winner; neither part of my life suffers – the professional and the
personal.
How was it like growing up?
Growing up was, and still
is, akin to a nomad’s lifestyle because we were always moving about. I had
already lived in four different countries by the time I was ten years of age.
The good thing though, even though I couldn’t keep my childhood friends from
school, was I had my best friends everywhere with me; my family. We were and
still are very closely knit and the deeply entrenched family values still dwell
in me today. Apart from that, my growing up was pretty normal; stern and
conservative but with a very funny father for whom education was key and never
forgot to remind us the children. We have a quiet but very strong mother whose
love is still unparalleled and six rambunctious siblings with whom everyday was
an adventure. What more can I say?
Did you ever know you would become a public figure?
Well, I kind of had a
feeling about it as a child. It was a pipe dream though, but it wasn’t until I
was twenty that I knew it would happen. I was also made to understand that
there were a lot of responsibilities that would come with it and so I have
always been careful to keep my eye on those responsibilities and not the
adulation and perks that come with fame.
Would you date a female colleague?
If I weren’t in a
relationship, I could consider dating a colleague. My colleagues are humans
aren’t they? And you cannot choose where your heart is led to. A colleague is
more likely to be understanding of your craft than someone outside your field
of work.
You have a foreign way of interpreting your roles…
There’s no foreign way of
interpreting roles. It’s simple. I just become the character as best as I can.
The secret to my endeavour in this field comes from the ancient maxim ,I forget
who said it, maybe Thoreau, “I think, therefore that I am”. The bible says it
as well: “as a man thinketh, so is he”.
Who do you think you act like in the foreign scene and why did you
choose his style?
Who do I act like in the
foreign scene? Nobody, I came into this industry on my own convictions
and I have a purpose for it. This means I have to be mindful about the way I
follow things through. I have to do my own thing and run my own race. Yes, I
can and do learn from my betters and they are legion but I must leave my own
mark and nobody else.
Who would you want to act alongside with in a foreign
production if given the opportunity?
At the moment, Kevin
Spacey, Nicole Kidman, Don Cheadle and Gregory – I forget his surname but he’s
Australian. He was in the movie ‘The King’s Speech’. I want to know how they
get to be so mercurial without moving a facial muscle. It is indeed amazing.
If you are in a strange country without a family or friend, what
would you rather be with?
If I’m in a strange country
without family or friends, I would prefer to be with God of course! I can never
go wrong there. The next thing I will do is find a pretty lady to chat up. I
have long since learnt that the quickest way to get about a strange place and
learn the language is by charming the pants off a lady – figuratively speaking
and not literally oh! A smart phone would help as well, to use the GPRS
mode to find safe places to go to.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Kindly drop your comments (No spamming pls)