Nollywood actor, writer and producer, Peter Ijagbemi, in this interview by ADERONKE ADESANYA, speaks about his career and the challenges that come with it.
How did you find yourself in the industry?
My first appearance in the movie industry was in my final year at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, where I studied Theatre Arts. Jeta Amaya came to my school to hold an audition for the movie, Sarauniya (Queen of Zazau). I auditioned and I got picked and that was my first acting gig. After this, I went to Ibadan and joined ANTP and my Oga in the Yoruba industry, Biodun Lawal, had a group that we were all in. So, I joined the Yoruba industry for a while, went to the English arm and did soap operas for a while as well.
What inspired you to pursue a career in acting?
My passion for acting inspired me, then I had support from my family. Since I was young they said I was going to make a good actor. I’ve always known my passion for acting back when I was a boy. My mum used to be an active “iya ewe” in church and I used to participate in church dramas during church ceremonies. Initially, my mum wanted me to study Law because she felt I was brilliant, instead, I went for Theatre and Performing Arts because it happens to be what I love most.
How has your experience working in the industry been so far?
My experience has been so great because when you have passion for something, you hardly see the challenges in it. It’s only when you’re not passionate about something that you start seeing the challenges there. When I see something on set, I take it in good faith and learn from it.
How do you stay motivated and continue to innovate in your work?
One thing has always motivated me and it is the fact that I always think of people that I’m better than when I’m having emotional downtime as regarding my career, and when I’m also getting too proud, I also look at people better than me and try to learn from that.
What is the most challenging aspect of your career, and how do you stay motivated and overcome obstacles?
I think the most challenging aspect of my career is image building and image maintenance. There’s a particular way that fans see you and you don’t want to fall short of their expectations from you. When you’re going for an event, you feel compelled to wear something that will be accepted. You also have to comport yourself and carry yourself in a particular way. Sometimes, I’d like to just wear singlet and knickers and go buy roasted corn on the street but I can’t do that because I’ll find myself on blogs. You don’t have to live a fake life but you always have to package and it’s quite tiring.
Can you tell us about a role or project that was particularly challenging or memorable for you?
I’ve had many roles that are challenging in the industry but I think my most challenging one was my role in “Oba Aole”. It was quite challenging for me because I worked with veteran Yoruba actors that have a deep knowledge of Yoruba language.
How do you balance your personal life with your professional commitment?
I keep my personal life personal and my professional life professional as it should be; I don’t mix the two together. Whatever you see on social media or blogs is what I want you to see.
How do you prioritise and manage your time with so many different commitments and responsibilities?
As regards time management, that’s why we have calendars. I make sure my jobs are well-documented and detailed. If I go to a place and you’re wasting my time, I leave immediately. Just try to document properly, manage and schedule well.
What role has mentorship played in your career, and who has been a particularly influential mentor for you?
I am an actor with many mentors. I like Antar Laniyan, Gabriel Afolayan, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ibrahim Chatta, Adeniyi Johnson, to mention a few. I think most actors I’ve worked with, I like many of them. Once your acting is good, I try to watch you and learn from you. I don’t have a particular mentor but I love a lot of them.
What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing the industry today, and how do you think it can be addressed?
I think the biggest challenge facing the industry is basically lack of structure. The structure is not yet there and it’s affecting every actor. We need to make the Nigerian film industry a professional setting. In the banking sector, they have professional courses that you take to be officially certified as a banker, and I think we need to have that in the acting industry as well. Anyone can just set a camera and start calling themselves actors and it’s not right. That’s why you see people calling each other out on Instagram and claiming they are actors.
What do you think is the most challenging about bringing a script to life?
Honestly, bringing a script to life is not easy. As an actor, whatever role you’re given is not you and bringing it to life is not easy. Some challenges are interpreting the role, getting finance for the role, getting the right people to do the right thing, stereotyping actors to a particular role.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time, and how do you balance that with your work and public obligations?
What I like doing when I’m not working is watching movies. I like Nigerian as well as American movies. As long as the plot is good, I’ll watch it. I also like to hang out with friends and sometimes go to parties.
You have worked on a number of films; Which one is your favourite and why?
I’m not going to say a particular movie is my favourite because I always put my best in every movie I’m acting in. Therefore, all the movies I’ve been in are fantastic as far as I’m concerned.
Every industry, including the entertainment industry, is full of competition; what do you do to stand out amidst competition?
I don’t even have a sense of competition. I hate to compete with people, I just run my own race. But if I see someone that does a good job, I get intrigued and try to do better as well but personally, I don’t compete with people.
Can you tell us one thing a lot of people don’t know about you?
One thing most people don’t know about me is the fact that my gray beard is natural I didn’t tint it. Most people always think I tint it white, no I didn’t do that, I was born that way. I have never grown a dark beard in that part, it has always been like that.
Any upcoming project you’d want your fans to know about?
Yes, I’m planning my own project and it’s going to be an epic Yoruba project. In fact, I’m getting scared for myself already because the role is quite challenging. I can’t let you know much but it’s the role of a King. That’s what I’m planning for this year. The role is going to be very big and I know God will help me.
What would you like to suggest to youth about becoming successful in life?
I’m going to say this about youths becoming successful in life. Success is a good thing but I’m going to say this in Yoruba “ma sarekojakadara” (Don’t be faster than your destiny), because our youths out there, especially Gen Z, are so focused on monetary wealth. They have mistaken getting money for success. Success is being diligent in what you do and making impact, it’s not particularly about making money. A 19-year-old shouldn’t be worried about his mother reaping the fruits of her labour because he’s still being trained by the mother. If you don’t make impact, it doesn’t count as success.
What do you consider to be the most important qualities for success in your field?
The qualities you need to be successful are: faith and belief in God, dedication and focus, determination, and passion. You must have all of these to be successful.
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