By Bimpe Ade

With over 30 movies under her belt including the critically acclaimed “The Figurine” by Kunle Afolayan and “Anchor Baby” Omoni Oboli has become one of the prominent names in Nollywood. She dishes on her career, family, success, and upcoming projects. She also speaks on the journey of Nollywood, and explains  why her husband is always by her side even she’s on location.

Excerpt…

For those who may have recently started following your career, how old were you when you started acting professionally?

I was 18 years old when I started acting professionally. This was in my first year at the  university when I got a role as Liz Benson’s maid in the movie, “Shame”. The movie also starred RMD. I left the industry that same year to concentrate on my studies and came back 10 years later.

Did you undergo any type of training to acquire acting skills?

I didn’t undergo any formal training, but I had many years of informal training. I have been acting since I was 3 years old, and I would always make sure that I was in every school play. I ended up becoming the head of the drama club in my secondary school days.

Omoni Oboli

I also wrote many plays that we presented to the students and parents. I acted in French plays as well. Come to think of it, even though I always said that actors are born and not made, the ones who are born with it must also polish their skills, formally or informally, by constantly exercising their God-given talents to bring out the best in them.

Think back to your first audition. What was it like?

Auditions, when I first started in 1996, were real hustles. You go for the auditions with nothing more than the passion for the art and a lot of hope that you’ll be the one they wanted to pick. I didn’t go to an audition with any expectations to get the lead role or r supporting role. I simply wanted to be in a movie, period.

Thankfully, my very first audition was for the movie, ‘Not My Will’, produced by Fidelis Duker, and I got the lead role. In those days, there was no cellphone. After the auditions you all leave and come back another day to look at the board where they pasted the results of the auditions, to see those who were selected and for what roles. It was just like looking at JAMB results! It was fun though.

How many movies have you starred in till date?

I can’t say exactly. Maybe about 30 movies.

What makes a good movie script? And what moves you to choose your roles?

I’m a scriptwriter, and I look out for the script first, before I consider starring in  any movie. A good script for me must have; First, a good story that jumps at me; Secondly, a good plot that does not insult your intelligence; Thirdly, the character that I’m called to play must be challenging and exciting to play; Fourthly, the character must be relevant to the story such that if they took it out, the story would lose its essence.

When all these are in a script, the next thing I want to know is what the producer’s vision for the movie is, so that I may know if they’ll be able to execute the story to the extent that the audience would be entertained and grasp the plot. After all that, I’m ready to give my 110% to the project to take it further than where the producer wanted it when I was first approached. Not to say that I only work in mega movies, but when I’m touched by a good script, even if the budget is small, I still put in my 110% to get it to greater heights. I love to add value to whatever I’m involved in.

Is there a character at all that you played that you’d like to revisit?

All the characters I’ve portrayed so far, I have given my best, but there’s always room for improvement and there’s no role that you couldn’t have done better given different circumstances. I prefer to “let sleeping dogs lie” and move on to better performances with newer characters that I will be portraying.

Do you ever think that you could have done better in any particular role?

I try not to think about that. The shooting of a movie can be such a grueling ordeal that all you want is to put it all behind you and wait for the outcome of your performance in that movie. When it finally comes out, believe me, I’m my own worst critic and my husband doesn’t play nice when it comes to telling how my performance is. He says it as it is, but in a way as to improve the next job and he does it with a big pat on my back to congratulate me on my performances. I try to improve with each performance.

How far are you willing to go for the art?

I’m  willing to push myself very far  end for the art the best way I can. I want my performances to present the most believable characters audiences the world over can relate to. I want them to get lost in the movie. I don’t want them to get distracted from the storyline of the movie because of my lackluster performance.

God forbid! But there are boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed, no matter what, ‘for the sake of the art’. When you make me believe something without actually doing it, it’s magical, and that’s the art I would love to portray. You don’t kill someone in a movie so that your audience can believe the character died, can you?

Omoni Oboli and husband

Neither should you sniff real cocaine, just to prove that you’re really a drug addict. Acting is a job just as any other profession, and we must see it that way, so that what we do at work should not cross the line to reality such that it affects your life. Your job shouldn’t put you in harms way or make you cross morality lines, and it couldn’t, unless you let it.

What are your thoughts on the journey of Nollywood?

Nollywood is like a speeding runaway train with no driver. It’s going all over  the world and occupying territories but has no control from the home station where it took off from. It’s time for us to take stock and start repairing our house. When I mean us, I mean all of us as Nigerians. We need to start respecting what we have and start thinking like conquerors.

Conquerors take territories so that they can build their homeland. Nollywood is one of the key sectors in Nigeria that can unlock the doors to employment and investment opportunities for our people. We have done it so far by our own devising; it’s time for us to start consciously buying or buying into Nollywood so that we can build a new source of income that we all can benefit from. It’s done very well thus far to get to where we are today, but we must do more, systematically, to take it to greater heights.

Tell me about your role in the upcoming Emma Isikaku’s  movie?

It’s one of those roles I didn’t think I would be playing, ever, in any movie, but Emma came to me and challenged me to play the role of Adaku in His horror flick, ‘Grave House’. It was challenging and it was a different kind of acting that I had to bring to the table because of the film genre.

The director of the movie, Ikechukwu Onyeka, was on hand to make the journey a smooth one. The DOP, The Oracle, with the director and I had worked on the set of ‘Brother’s Keeper’, and he was great to work with again on the set of ‘Grave House’.

Mike Ezuruonye played the lead role and that was my first time acting in a movie with him. We were both able to bond well enough to give the best performance for the movie, given the circumstances. Tony Monjaro and Uru Eke also gave good supporting performances to make the movie a must watch for all.

How is this role different from the others you have done in the past?

I think basically because the movie is clearly defined, produced and presented as a horror movie. Horror movie lovers will be going to watch it because they love horror movies. In the past. I have done thrillers but they were not defined as horror.

Do you identify with this character in any way?

Not really. I only had to put myself in Adaku’s position to play the role better and feel what she felt when confronted with that scenario.

Do you feel you have to fulfill the expectations of your audience?

No self-respecting actor would get into any role without the express desire to fulfill the expectations of his/her audience, as long as those expectations are wholesome. We’re just not wired that way. It’s this desire that compels me to raise the level of my performance each time I step into any role. Nevertheless, as I said earlier, there are boundaries that should not be crossed.

What is something you know now that you wish you knew when you were first starting out as an actress?

I don’t know, because those early experiences helped shape me into the actress I am today. I needed to go through whatever I went through then so that I can acquire the necessary experience to build me up professionally

If you could choose, name one actor you would really want to work with here in Nollywood or Hollywood, and why?

My role model is Tyler Perry and I would love to work with him. His road to success inspires me and his kinds of movies are not very far from where we are right now. His movies are drama driven and that’s where Nollywood is strong.

What is your favorite movie of all time?

Coming to America.

What is something embarrassing or unexpected that happened to you on a movie set?

I really don’t know. I can’t put my finger on anything. I’ll lookout for one and get back to you. I just pray that it will be a good expectation or embarrassment of blessings.

What has been the hardest part of your career?

Staying away from my family for long periods when on location outside the country, but that’s one of the cons of the job. We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do.

*Omoni Ogoli and her family

You are married, and you have three boys. How do you manage your family life, and being a working actress?

The most important ingredient in achieving this is the grace of God. The love and support of a God-fearing man like my husband makes it even sweeter. Together, we are raising our children in the fear of God and I thank God that they are not terrible children. This is where I draw strength from to go out into the world and give my best.

It’s my backbone and the muscle I use to stand firm and hold my head high. I don’t take God or my family for granted and I don’t take my job more seriously than my family. My mother also trained me well. I didn’t just happen into the world. There has been a process of getting to where I am  today and that process shaped me and trained me to do what I do. I wouldn’t say it’s all so easy to balance it all but God’s grace is sufficient for me.

Why does your husband go everywhere with you?

I would think that if a married woman wasn’t seen with her husband, the question, “Why aren’t you ever seen with your husband?” would be more appropriate. I can’t imagine not being with him as much as I am. We’ve always been close and always been together.

Everyone who knows my husband from when we first got married till now and all his business dealings know me and him together. So, I would say, “Why shouldn’t my husband go everywhere with me?” There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be with the one you love all the time. If he’s not with me, I call him till I see him, and that’s the way love goes.

Is this your way of keeping him secure in the marriage?

I don’t need to keep him secure. How can I? He’s totally secure himself. What we do is simply because we love each other and totally enjoy our company.

Last year, you took a highly publicized trip to Jerusalem. What was the purpose of the trip?

I went with a group of Christian women under the auspices of Awesome Treasures Foundation led by Mrs Adejumoke Adenowo. It was a spiritual retreat.

What was the experience like?

As the name of the foundation goes, I would say, simply Awesome! It’s one of those things that everyone should put on their bucket list and set a time to just experience it for themselves, but with the right company of Godly people to make it count.

What has been your proudest moment in your career?

Winning two international awards outside the continent of Africa, that was purely on merit: The Best Actress, Harlem International Film Festival, and Best Actress, Los Angeles Movie Awards, for the movie, ‘Anchor Baby’. The fact that I wasn’t there made it even sweeter. I felt so proud

You are also a movie producer. How many movies have you produced?

I produced a movie, The Rivals, with my friend, Blessing Egbe, which went on to win the Best International Drama at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival in 2007. I’m  currently in pre-production for my second movie which I would also be directing.

What else are you working on that your fans should be looking out for?

I shot a couple of movies that would be released this year and they include: ‘Blue Flames’, produced and directed by Paul Apel (Papel) due to be released soon. ‘Brother’s Keeper’, produced by Oakfil and directed by Ikechukwu Onyeka, due to be released soon at the cinemas.

The Ukrainian blockbuster movie, ‘Feathered Dreams’, which will be taken to the Cannes film festival before it hits cinemas across the world. Another blockbuster movie, ‘Render to Caesar’, due to be released  later in the year in cinemas around the world. Emma Isikaku’s ‘Grave House’,which will be released later in the year and many other productions that are sure to keep my fans and audiences spellbound.

What is one thing that you would like to accomplish this year?

Raise the bar  in Nollywood,  so that the up and coming actors can see and strive to up their game in the industry.