…How my looks opened doors for me in America

By BENJAMIN NJOKU

US-based Nigerian actor cum model, Ike Steele was in the country recently to familiarize himself with the country’s showbiz  industry.Specifically, his  mission in the country is to  see how he can bring his wealth of experience as an international actor cum model to boost the ever  flourishing Nigerian movie industry.  He shares his story with Star Tracker.

20 years ago, you left the shores of this country in search of greener pastures in America, how do you feel coming back home to give back to your country?

Growing up in Lagos, every youth in my area wanted to escape to Europe or America. That was my desire and passion. I wanted to travel abroad to build a better livelihood for myself and my family. Now, I am coming back to my roots to look for new opportunities.

That’s the irony of life. I am here in search of new opportunities in our movie industry. I have a production company called, Ike Steele Productions. We can produce anything from music videos to documentary, movies and reality TV shows.

Ike Steele

So, I am here to explore opportunities that are available for me: how I can collaborating with professions back home and take the industry to another level. Basically,  I intend to star in Nollywood  movies.  I am open for collaboration. Hopefully, we will be able to transform Nollywood to a point  that the issue regarding production quality and sound quality will be eliminated in our movies. We will make movies that will be easily nominated in the same category as Hollywood productions.

You have heard so much about the nation’s creative industry. What’s your take on the great strides the industry has made over the years?

I am aware of the breakthroughs we have recorded  particularly in  the music and film industry. It’s amazing. May be if this is where, we were about 20 years ago, I wouldn’t have gone anywhere.  I’m impressed with what I’ve seen so far.

I think Ebony Films are doing a great work, I saw “The Wedding Party” and the same company produced another film called “Fifty.” I was blown away with the sound quality and the picture quality. I’ve always known that we have great stories, we just don’t tell it right because of continuity as an issue and lighting. Those things have been addressed with films like “Wedding Party,”  “Fifty” and even Kunle Afolayan movies.

Your initial plan while you migrated to America wasn’t to go into music or acting. What’s your story?

Actually, it wasn’t my initial plan. I started from my foundation. I read Electrical Engineering at  University of Lagos. When I migrated to Houston, Texas in 1997, I discovered that the entertainment industry there was very huge. That’s not to say that money was the main motivation. Money wasn’t the main reason. I had the looks and the opportunity comes for the looks to be appreciated on a different level.  While in  America, I attended a modelling school.

I later studied Nuclear Medicine in Texas.  I was also taking my modelling classes by the side.  So, I started working as a Nuclear Medicine technologist and I’m still  passionate about the profession.  It’s been 17 years that I’ve been involved in Nuclear Medicine.  I moved to LA in 2003, to pursue a career in acting. I got to LA and found out that things were a little bit different – you don’t become famous overnight. So, I had to learn the business, take acting classes. I did my first big budget production in December 2003, when I  starred in a film by Stephen Spielberg called “The Terminal.” It was the movie that gave me my break in Hollywood.

Later, I joined the screen actor guild December in 2003. It wasn’t long after that, I started learning how to produce my own movies. I produced  my first movie in 2007 which opened a lot of doors  for me and then in 2010, I started Steele TV . Steele TV is my production company that houses a lot of my talk shows. We talk about things that help or benefit the community. It was  life changing working with Stephen Spielberg

What was it like growing up in Nigeria?

The experience was like that of every other young Nigerian. I wasn’t born with silver spoon.  I was a street boy back then in Olodo, Apapa. I was playing soccer on the streets of Ajegunle then with my friends. I grew up as an area boy. I attended Ajeromi High School, Ajegunle. I got admission in  St. Finbarr’s College, Yaba as well as Government College,  Ijanikin. But my father wouldn’t allow  me attend any of the colleges  because he thought he was very poor.

You are also a model. How did you delve into modelling?

I grew up as a shy person. When I was in Nigeria, I couldn’t go into modelling. I couldn’t talk publicly, talk less of talking about acting. Though I started working on getting shape at a very young age. At 16, I have already  nurtured  my shape. But it was not a big deal then because I didn’t see anything that would make me to stand out.  I knew I have something unique  and my psyche was a plus to me. So, my modelling career kicked off when I got to Houston.  I’m very gifted in a lot of things, I could play soccer very well. I played soccer on a professional level back then before I migrated to America. I could play soccer but that’s not something you want to tell your parents, nobody will support you.

Was it  that easy  breaking into Hollywood for you?

It was a learning experience and a lot of hard work for me. It wasn’t challenging but it was a little bit frustrating. It’s been like this, if you go to Hollywood, you are a nobody. You start from scratch. My impression about Hollywood changed when I joined the industry. I found out that I had to learn everything from scratch. So I started taking acting classes, going to auditions and doing whatever I could do to survive in Hollywood. But I thank God because I had a 9 to 5 job while I was pursuing acting.

When did you have your first encounter with Nollywood?

My first encounter with Nollywood was in 1996, when I featured in a movie directed by Lancelot Imasuen and it starred the likes of Kate Henshaw among other actors. The movie was shot in America, but at that, I was not ready to come back home.