Ikponmwosa Gold has, in the few years he has been in the Nigerian film industry, shown that he is an actor of no mean consequence. In this interview with Assistant Life Editor, TERH AGBEDEH, the father-of-two from Edo State talks about his craft and expectations for the future.
Lagos is the unofficial headquarters of Nollywood, why are you based in Abuja?
When I finished studying theatre arts, at the University of Ibadan. I didn’t even think that I would major in acting.
You studied theatre arts in Ibadan
Yes. When I finished, I came back to Lagos and started working with Nigerian Breweries in marketing until a friend of mine, who lived in Abuja, said “let’s go to Abuja and start life”. I said: fine. And that was how we moved.
What year was this?
This was in 2005.
Was that about the same time work on the television series, Wetin Dey, started?
No, Wetin Dey started around 2006/2007. But when I got to Abuja, I started this social drama called Area 11 Centre where I played the vendor. From there, I did Dominoes, Tajudeen Adepetu’s soap where I played the professor. Then we moved to 168 Hours, also from Tajudeen (Adepetu). From there, we started Wetin Dey, which was where Kenneth Gyang and I met, and he did say that after Wetin Dey, he would like me to be in a film that he would want to do.
Confusion Na Wa, for which you are nominated the Best Actor in a Supporting Role (at last year’s Nollywood Movies Awards) seems to be your first nomination.
No, my first nomination was in AMAA (African Movie Academy Awards).
And the Best of Nollywood Awards (BON)?
No, I wasn’t nominated in the BON, but the film won the best film at AMAA. So (Gyang) came around and said that the thing we talked about was ready. And that was how he sent me a script. Of course, every good film starts from the script, a good script. But I said I was somehow confused about the title and he said yes, that is why it is called Confusion Na Wa. When I read it, I saw the people involved: OC Ukeje, Ali Nuhu and so on, and I said this is good.
Gyang has said Confusion Na Wa was shaped after the mould of films like Babel, and that he is a fan of that kind of filmmaking. Would you say that you are also a fan, that is why you did this film?
I don’t know how (Gyang’s) mind works. He has the mind of an artist, really. We have worked together, and when the script came, I was like, what is this all about? He said, “go and read it”. I read it again and told him I was confused somehow. He said “yes, I want you to be, and that is where the challenge is” – being an actor, to be able to draw out what this mind is talking about. So I went back to read the script again. So, unless you watch it with the mind of an artist, you may not really quickly know what he is talking about. And I think a good film should; not these days that you start watching a film and you already know where it is ending. We have gone past that level and I think we are growing past it day-by-day.
Is this your first film?
Yes, it is.
Are you looking at doing many more?
Yes, I am looking at starting another. Deji Arosho, who won at the BON, is starting another film soon. I have done some other films like Closure, a short film though, by Ihuoma Okereke. Not that I have not been challenged, but this film has been the one that brought out almost everything in me. The narration, I mean, one thing I learned from Kenneth, was that there is always a way of saying every line. There are some lines, when you say them, that carry the meaning of what the writer has said or what it is intended to carry. So that when the lines are spoken, they are spoken in the way that relates to the person that you are trying to reach.
You evidently like the director. Is that what you are going to be future?
No, no, no, I have no intention to direct; I am okay as an actor. I was telling someone recently, it is only in this part of the world that people feel that as you are growing from actor, you should become a writer, a producer. No, if you are not cut out for it, please do not go for it.
Have you written any script?
I write scripts.
Has any been produced?
I write basically for stage, and I have written many scripts for stage. And they have been produced on stage.
Would you say that you are more in love with stage than the big screen?
No, in this world, you have to be very flexible. Flexibility is the key. I was trained on the stage as a theatre practitioner, and coming out to the industry or becoming a professional, you need also to work on your voice in such a way that it is saleable. I take every script as a new challenge. So when a script comes, I clear my mind of the fact that I had done anything. We are told that there are about seven billion people on the surface of the earth; you should be able to interpret that script in a way that it reaches at least one billion people.
Before Confusion Na Wa, were you getting script from Nollywood?
No, for the ones I was getting, one producer actually told me that he wanted a face that could sell his movie. I was like, well, is that how it works in Nollywood? I was just asking, as sometimes you just need to ask questions. We should come to that point where if your script is good, it will sell. I am not denouncing the fact that there are people who may make it sell; but if your script is good, it will sell.
What do you miss about Lagos and your old marketing job in Nigerian Breweries?
I miss the hustle of Lagos. I love Lagos. I miss the craziness of Lagos. I miss the fact that Lagos can make you want to go the extra mile. That is the spirit of Lagos. For the marketing job, I think acting is second nature to me.
How different are the Abuja girls from the Lagos ones?
(Laughter) They are not so different; it is just that they say every man needs a bit of pride. The market is not really in Abuja. Take the ongoing insurgency for instance; it is hindering producers from coming to the Northern part of Nigeria to work. So, for people to want to come, the girls try to do beyond the (normal). That is what I think. And sometimes it could be overboard, but they say that these days if you don’t tell people that you are here, nobody will ask you where you are.
But why are you in Abuja, why not Lagos?
For some time now, I have been coming around.
So there is likelihood that you will be coming back?
Yes, definitely, Lagos is where it is happening. We must not forget that fact. Lagos Lagos is where the market is. Lagos is where the entertainment is. Though we hope that it will spread to other parts, Lagos is like the mother hen.
Do you then regret your movement to Abuja?
No, no, no. Why would I regret that? I have been to Abuja and from Abuja the men can now come to Lagos. I am here in Lagos now, I was in Port Harcourt; it is just that when you put verve on what you are doing, it doesn’t matter wherever you are based.
Certain people classify Confusion Na Wa as new Nollywood, which means there is old Nollywood and people now even talk of a new Nigerian cinema. Which of the three would you say that you belong to?
(Laughter) In trying to classify anything would be to create division, and at this time it is not division that we need. Without the old Nollywood, the new one would not have come. So why would we want to create such division among ourselves? There is no need for it. Thank God for the people who started it. The farmers of old started farming; today there are new ways of farming; so are we going to say the old ways were bad? Without the old ways, we would not have known that there is a better way of doing things. What we should rather go for are the better ways of doing things and how we can improve on what we have before, such that whether new or old Nollywood, it is still the same. But we are striving towards a goal. Whether you like it or not, the future of entertainment lies in Nollywood.