actors in Nollywood who has been consistent in his career. Nouah
who is known as ‘loverboy’ for his many roles in romantic movies, in
this interview, the 2010 Africa Movie Academy Award winner for
Best Actor in a leading Role shares the pathetic story of his journey
into acting, the industry and why he stopped attending public
functions with his family.
How did you begin your journey into the movie industry?
My journey into the movie
industry actually started when I
was trying to sit for my GCE
examination. I didn’t have money
to purchase my GCE form, and
there were no jobs then. It was
hard to secure menial jobs and I
couldn’t bring myself to do such
jobs. Later, a friend of mine
advised me to try my hand at
acting. But I didn’t welcome the
advice because I prefer to act in
Hollywood. It was funny.
Later I went for a couple of
auditions and precisely in 1990, I
went for a soap opera audition
called Fortunes and was engaged.
Later it had problem with the title
and so it was changed to ‘Mega
Fortune.’ I was one of the key actors in that soap and it was better
than Telemundo.
After starring in that soap, I did a couple of movies that didn’t see
the light of day. I was supposed to have featured in the famous
“Glamour Girls” but the producer was too stingy. He was very
professional, and actually brought a letter inviting me for audition
for “Glamour Girls” and I played my role. He jumped from his seat
and shouted yes, that’s the guy I’ve been looking for.
He invited me for negotiations and to my disappointment, he was
pricing me like I was a meat in the market. It didn’t work out. I
actually became a hustler working with marketers and other
practitioners. I was in all the episodes in Fortunes as Jeff Akin-
Thomas and was paid N100 per episode. I was paid N1,200 for only
a quarter. I was in that soap just for the passion. Things were bad
that I didn’t have clothes, my trousers were torn.
I actually patched my trousers by myself. Thank God my mom
taught me how to sew. With the 1,200, I rushed to Yaba to purchase
second hand clothes. I looked at myself after I had washed and
ironed them and said, “Ramsey, you have arrived now.” I wasn’t
thinking of the cash or fame though I was in serious need. I didn’t
even know the benefits of being an actor.
It took me time to be used to my fans rushing at me and
appreciating me until my producers told me it was normal. As time
went on the job actually began paying my bills. With the first major
money I earned, I bought a sound system, TV and later Air
conditioner. By 1996, filmmakers discovered that I am a better actor
as a lover boy so I was typecast as a lover boy. I played love in my
life and grew tired. Whenever they brought love stories, I asked if
there wasn’t any other issue they could talk about.
Later in 2003, there was a nose dive as pirates made it impossible
for filmmakers to get back their money so, they began churning out
films. Some of us who are more concerned about making
Nollywood a brand, began thinking of how to make things better. At
this point, cinema came as a huge breakthrough, Bank of Industry
has also been helpful unlike the banks. Today I’m very happy about
how things turned out.
You were the guest speaker at a Nollywood event held at the Pan
African University, Lagos, recently, how was the experience?
I saw that as an opportunity to exchange ideas. A lot of people
don’t know what’s going on in the industry so I was elated when I
discovered that there is a Nollywood Study Centre there. That
means Nollywood is going pretty far. So, with honour I obliged to
come and share my experience with people who are aspiring to join
the industry and also, to let people know that the industry is not
secluded but an open market.
Before AY’s “30 Days In Atlanta”, you have been missing on screen.
What happened?
It’s not like I went off the screen. You know that I have been one of
the pioneers wanting to fly the new Nollywood. You know the
industry lacks structure, it’s almost like buying and selling which it
shouldn’t be. It’s like you come and act, they pay you off and there
is no future for you. It ends there ; there’s no pension plan, some of
my colleagues were sick and when they died, we had to start
begging from people to bury them. That’s too bad.
What else do you need since the past President Goodluck Jonathan
set up a grant for filmmakers to access?
The grant is not enough to sustain the industry. We need structure,
the structure I’m talking about predominantly is distribution. The
distribution channels. If we have more cinemas in the country there
will be a huge improvement. “30 days in Atlanta” for instance,
showed in only 13 cinemas in Nigeria and gross more than 160
million naira before it was pirated by our Alaba brothers.
It sold even more than Avatar, only in 13 cinemas. Imagine if it is in
20, 100 or even 200 cinemas, you do the math, and understand that
Nollywood is a big industry that can sustain itself.
Why did you call being a celebrity a cross?
Well it is a bigger cross than you can think about because you have
to be concerned about your looks. You must make sure that
everything is on point. Dress properly to suite every event. You have
to build on your looks and image so that people will admire you. It
makes you classy and a role model. Your behaviour or attitude is
another selling point. If you maintain good looks and image, big
multinationals will be after you.
If your track record is bad then there’s no space for you. People
look at us and want to be like us not understanding that we wish we
had a more normal or simple life style. Ramsey will dare not be seen
fighting on the streets. I better turn the other cheek to be slapped a
second time than retaliate. Although there are benefits for instance,
the pay is good, you got to be admired but then, its a cross.
As a celebrity, who are the set of people who avoid most?
It is the Press! I might just say hello to a girl and the next thing is,
Ramsey Nouh is toasting one girl. The media almost destroyed my
marriage. But thank God they failed and my marriage is 14 years
now blessed with four children. I told my wife to keep away from
the press, let me handle them. If they don’t see you, there will be
nothing to say about you. Because of that, I have stopped
appearing at public functions with my family.
Aside the restriction, how have you been able to deal with the press?
The best way to deal with the press is to ignore them. Whenever
they start telling lies about you, just ignore them. The greatest
mistake you’ll make is to respond to scandals. When you ignore
them, the stories die off with time.
What else has being a celebrity done to you?
It has prevented me from enjoying quality private time with my
family.
If you are to change anything, what would that be?
Get back my private life.
We see same faces in so many movies, does it mean that producers
don’t call for auditions anymore?
Auditions are publicised even on the social media. The problem is
that producers want to put their money down and get it back. So,
content must be sold and if they use new faces, it wont sell.
How then can up and coming actors break into the industry?
Just believe in yourself, be passionate about your career and let
nothing stop you from pressing forward.
What’s responsible for your transforming into a star actor?
Hard work and passion. Also, the mirror has been my best teacher.
It helps me learn to get into character and improve upon my job. I
am concerned about how to make the industry great, so passion
remains my motivator.
Most challenging movie?
The most challenging is “Dangerous Twins” because there was no
technology sophistication at the time of production. Everything was
done manually. One scene took two days to be shot, so it was
tasking. But then, it was part of the tutorial to be professional.
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