Like many other creative spaces, Nollywood and scandal go hand in hand, making celebrities fearful of losing everything they’ve worked for due to a blunder.
With over nine years of experience in the Nollywood industry, renowned actor Uzor Arukwe recently discussed in an interview how he has managed to keep his head above the turbulent seas of the profession.
- Staying in his lane
- Maintaining his work-life balance
- Staying true to himself
He said, “Since my foray into entertainment, I have managed to keep off scandals. I do that by being in my lane. I like to keep my head down and work hard. I watch television a lot. I relax by watching films. I could also have a drink and listen to good music. I used to play basketball, but I have not done that in a while. I try to sleep as much as I can because I usually don’t get a lot of sleep. When I am not working, I try to catch up on sleep as much as I can.”
The multiple-time AMVCA nominee said, “I will always be myself. If anyone brings anything that does not augur well with me, I would not go to do it, regardless of what I could benefit from it. On the flip side, some people feel that entertainers are wild and wayward. But I don’t agree with that. Some of us have morals. We have standards and principles that we don’t go against.”
He also addressed the stereotyping of actors in Nollywood and other film industries around the world.
“If one is good and has been seen to interpret a certain character perfectly, producers would want one to play more of that character. There are actors one would see in Hollywood films, and one would know the type of role they would play in the movie”!
He concluded by addressing the topic of actors being stereotyped in Nollywood.
Arukwe thinks that actors are usually stereotyped in every film industry in the world.
“To me, that is stereotyping. Stereotyping, in itself, is not a bad thing. But, as a creative, I want to be able to play every character that I possibly can. I want to be able to interpret more characters.”
