I still stop at my best roadside bukka and eat what I want to eat — Calista Okoronkwo

Calista Okoronkwo, a leading filmmaker, in this interview with Segun Adebayo,  speaks on her journey, growth, values, and vision in the entertainment industry.

How did your journey into the entertainment industry begin? 

I learnt that nothing good comes easy, and persistence is key. Because, back in the day, we used to hustle a lot. From one audition to the other, like two or three auditions a day, and then you might not even be called back for anyone. But we kept persisting. Persistence is what has brought many of us here. That also includes me, because I can mention lots of names, we used to attend auditions together. Sometimes, one person would go ahead of us and go and write our names at different auditions. 

How was your first time on set/stage? 

My first time on set was bittersweet. Bitter because I had some people making some comments like “Who is this person that they gave this role?” But I didn’t let those comments on set affect my performance whatsoever. The three scenes they gave me felt like thirty scenes, and I wanted to prove a point. Sweet because that first time on set, I was able to impress the director who started giving me more roles after that performance. So I think it was a good one.

What were your initial challenges when you started and how did you overcome them?

 My initial challenges were the fact that I would attend several auditions and never really be called back for any. Because I used to struggle between going to auditions and actually passing for an actual production in my school, it was quite difficult. Because as at the time I started to take acting as a career, I had also gotten admission int the University of Nigeria to study Economics. So it was a bit difficult, because most times I would attend auditions and then, any time at all I get called back, I would not be able to make the production, because I would either be on my way to school or I’m already in school, and I couldn’t leave school and just come back for a production. It was a bit difficult

That was very challenging, and all I had to do at that point was focus on my studies squarely, and I said to myself that I couldn’t juggle these things, because acting is very jealous – you have to face it if you really want to be consistent, and there is no way I can face it when I have my books to read, I have examinations to write and courses to register. It was a challenge then. That was the reason I had to face my studies squarely.

 How did your parents find out about your choice of career and what were their initial reactions?

 My father was not too happy about the fact that I had chosen to be an actress at the time, because he said he wanted me to be a medical doctor. And so, it took a lot of time before it could sink in that this is something that I like to do, because in secondary school, as a junior student, I was already Drama Prefect. It was a bit unusual because in my school were usually senior students, but as a Junior student I was already there. I used to coordinate a lot of dramas, hence the prefect title.

 My Dad just knew that I had something inside of me, and at a point after my Mom talked and talked, he started budge. He took me to my first movie set. He drove me himself, because he wanted to be sure what was going on there. He was very protective. My Mom didn’t have a problem because she loved the fact that I was going to be an actress because she herself loved movies and loved to watch them.

Did you see yourself becoming this popular from the onset?

 I set a goal for myself to become a household name from a certain time. But as time went by, I came to realize that the industry is quite competitive and you need more jobs to stay Important and relevant, and to achieve goals that you have set for yourself in this industry. 

Did I see myself becoming popular? Of course I had faith in myself, I believed in myself, but I knew that I had to buy in a lot of work to bring that to actualization. I won’t even say I am popular yet, I would say that I am a work in progress. We would see how that pans out.

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What do you think you did right to get to where you are today?

 Honestly I don’t even know what I did right. I think I was just persistent and I let my passion drive me, and also I put God first. I believe that as a human, whatever you do, you need to always put it into God’s hands, and that is something that I have always done from the onset of my career till now. My passion for this job is huge and it is something I don’t play with. It is something that has been in me, I have loved the career since I came, so it is something that I love. I am not doing it simply because I want to get popular, but because it is something I derive total satisfaction and pleasure in.

Do you still keep your old friends?

 Of course, I have a couple of old friends that I still get along with. I am not really a ‘friend-friend’ kind of person, even though I’m a friend to everybody. But I’m not really the kind of person that keeps a lot of friends. People might think otherwise because they know that I love a lot of people. I do love a lot of people, but when it comes to my circle, my circle is small and I am very territorial. I don’t just let anyone in my territory.

 Some celebrities are popular but not rich, where do you belong?

 I don’t even know where I belong. I want to believe that I belong in the group that you haven’t mentioned here. I am a work in progress. I am not rich, I can’t say I am popular. I am just a face that a couple of people know. 

 This isn’t being modest. I have not gotten to stage where I feel like I can say that I have arrived. I am not in any of these groups which you have mentioned.

What has fame deprived you of?

 Fame has deprived me of absolutely nothing. Because I still stop at my best roadside bukka and eat what I want to eat, drink what I want to drink, without anybody having to look at me in anyway, because I have not ever looked at myself as someone that is high classed or anything. If it’s this food I want to eat, I go there and eat, if it’s that place I want to go, I go there. I don’t think fame has deprived me of anything. 

Maybe just my privacy, because sometimes you want to walk into some places quietly without getting noticed, but a lot of times I get approached by people who want to take pictures even when you’re not in the mood to take pictures, but you know you just have to smile for the cameras, because there’s something who just love you, and it could really make their day. Fame has probably deprived me of that because sometimes I just want to be by myself. But as long as you’re outside its so hard to do that. I think that’s it. 

12. How do you think the society perceive you as an artiste?

I cannot tell, but I’ve met a lot of people who have asked why I don’t like to kiss in your movies. Even till now, I’ve gotten messages from people who ask: “why am I so reserved? You don’t like to kiss, Youu don’t like the parts where you expose your body, why is that? We think you are too modest. Well sometimes, if you are brought up in a certain way, it is hard for you to portray yourself as what you’re not, even though in the career I’m doing, I play pretence for a living, when it comes to modesty, it is something I don’t pretend about. 

Naturally, I am a modest person. I am not the kind of person who would love to expose her cleavage, who would love to expose her butts or any part of her body that is supposed to be covered. I would say I am uptight when it comes to that area. I think that is how people would perceive me as. It is not a bad perception.