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Ok before going ahead to read , this exclusive interview was co-ordinated between Segun Arinze and Bimbo Akintola. So you guys will be seeing pictures of both personalities together. Segun Arinze's is Part 1 and Bimbo Akintola's is Part2
INTRO
Born
to an Igbo mother and a Yoruba farther, this enigmatic actor is one of
Nollywood’s finest, who true hard work and dedication has been able to bring
Nollywood to the limelight. He is one of the very few
Nigerian actors whose principles and tenacity has brought him the much deserved
respect and the love of his fans. Known as Nollywood ‘’bad boy’’, Segun Arinze
has been able to create a strong brand for himself, one I believe will stand
the test of time. His sense of humour is something that distinguishes him from
every Nollywood star I have come across, his approach to life is yet another. This
veteran movie star opens up to DANNYDIGIT in an exclusive, about his career,
life and principles. Enjoy!
THE
MAN ‘’SEGUN ARINZE’’
There
is no masking about me; I’m just simply me Segun. I’m just a simple easy going
person and sometimes misunderstood I guess it has to do with some of the roles
they see me play. I had to put a stop to that as well because now I’m a father
and then my kids watching me play those kinds of roles. We are gradually just
getting to the level of understanding the difference between a job and
somebody’s personal life. People have a way of insinuating that since you play
such roles, therefore you are that kind of person, especially when you play the
role so well; for instance if you play the role of an armed robber so well that means you have the
element of been a thief inside you and that is not how it is. All over the
world you have actors playing different roles people who are good at what they
do, so one has to make a clear distinction of that.
I
am very professional, people think because they are close to you they can take
you for granted, they ask you to do things and when it doesn’t come out the way
they want it, it becomes trouble. You sacrifice your professional name on the
altar of friendship. Friendship is friendship, business is business and
professionalism is professionalism, that’s the way it should be.
I
started acting way back in the 1980s when I was still in secondary school
between 1981 and 1982. I was with a guy called Ayo Borowale we started
something called Palm Players back then in Ilorin. It was something that was
innate in me. In those days you had to be a lawyer, doctor, engineer or you are
working in the civil service and if you are not doing any of those you are
simply termed irresponsible. This perception was a carry-over from the 70s into
the 80s and coming slightly into the early 90s, but with hard work and being focused,
things changed and the effect is what we are seeing today. Now you have lawyers
and doctors who want to be actors. I have friends who want to go into this
field because they think they have what it takes. So that was how it started. I
have done countless movies; I will say some good and some very well. I haven’t
retired yet from the industry, I recently did some movies but they are not out
yet, like family fire, which is still in the cinemas, The Gukas, which was shot
in Abuja and will be out in February or early march. I took a little break for
myself; I am working on a personal project a series, I had an audition in
January and I am looking forward to the end of the first quarter to roll tape.
I also started shooting with Tinsel; so far so good it’s been a wonderful
experience working with them. There is no chance for error working with the Tinsel
crew; I am very impressed with what I saw and experienced so far.
NOLLYWOOD
AND I
People
say Nollywood has no content, and I ask them; what do you mean by that? They
say we keep doing the same thing all over again, but I tell them that even the
Americans do that. Stories are recycled; we have a remake of movies and all
that. I don’t see anything wrong in what we are doing. The luck we have is that
we have stories we can relate to, in the American movie industry what they have
is geared towards sci-fi movies, ware wolves, vampires and all these types of
movies in my own views are not appealing to family viewing what happened to
family values? We have all those nice stories that keep you warm on your couch
while you take chocolate or coffee. Our stories show family values that relate
to us, extended family issues, matrimonial issues, government and politics and
so many other things that relates to us directly. We do have content and the
best of Nollywood is yet to come. We are evolving and it’s a good thing and it
means if there is no change then there is a problem.
DANNYDIGIT:
There is this saying that Nollywood is rated as the third in the world in terms
of output. Is this a myth or fact?
It
depends on which side of the divide you are, some people say it is a fact because
of the quantity of movies produced yearly while some will say it is a fact
because we are evolving and the quality is improving. Personally I will say
it’s a good thing that we are being rated. We should also look inwards and rate
ourselves; I don’t want cosmetic ratings, when I say cosmetic rating I am
talking about rating that is given because we churn out movies like rabbits so
let’s give it to you, but we will continue to maintain our own standards. I
want a realistic rating; rate us because we have the talents and production
value as well.
IBINABO
AND ACTORS GUILD OF NIGERIA
Ibinabo
deserves what she got; she deserves to be the President of A.G.N because she
won clean, fair and square. We had tried to do an election in Benin and it was forged,
we then came up with a new method, instead of having all the delegates come to
Lagos, we asked them to stay in their states and on the Thursday of that month,
conduct the election and send in your results. So I don’t know where this story
comes from, the truth of the matter is; it has come and it is done and people
are definitely bound to be aggrieved when things don’t go out their way. We all
saw what happened in the U.S.A, Obama was winning and Romney, even to the last
minute didn’t give up, because he felt there were still votes out there to make
him president. But at the end of the day he congratulated the President and moved
on, that is life, try again next time.
CHALLENGES
IN THE INDUSTRIES
If
asked what I will change in the movie industry if given the opportunity, I will
say, ‘’I will go the whole nine yards and say hey! Let’s continue to improve the
standard of the movie industry, let’s get everything right, let’s do things the
way they should be done; and let’s not do things in a mediocre way. Let’s
strive to attain the international standards’’.
LEISURE
I
try as much as possible to unwind, see a match or a movie, and listen to good
music. If I get to bored I travel to a choice destination and unwind. But the truth is how many Nigerians can do
that, do we have the time to take a break, a holiday and relax, just a few. You
see people on the streets, looking frustrated and angry. It is truly sad, we
hardly relax, but it will be nice if we can find out time to relax.
MY
PROJECTS
I
rested my TV programme, a talk show which aired on A.I.T in 2002 called NO
HOLDS BARRED’’ I will like to come back with it, this time well packaged. I
will like to thank my fans, because any way you look at it, we serve them, they
are our bosses and we do anything to make them happy.
FASHION
AND I
I
don’t like being outlandish or going overboard with fashion, sense style and
simplicity. Just make sure you are comfortable and the cutting is very good and
not raggedly put together. You must use the right accessories, avoid zany
colours. I like to keep it simple. My favourite Nigerian designers will be,
Bovi, based in Abuja, I like Modi.
CREDITS :
GGrandure (for the clothes and accessories)
Okam Photo Studios Ikoyi
Ochanya Mary ( Transcriber)
