BayrayMcwizu is a multiple award-winning Nollywood actress, who came to limelight after winning the 3rd edition of the Amstel Malta Box Office known as AMBO in 2007, a TV reality show. Born Eberechukwu Nwaizu, Bayray made her debut in Izu Ojukwu’ blockbuster, Cindy’s Notes and has since starred in prime Nollywood movies and TV series. In this interview with Newton-Ray Ukwuoma, she talks about her passion and challenges in the make-believe industry. Excerpts:
What have you been up to lately?
I just finished shooting Kada River, an amazing real life movie, and some other projects. I am also working on my own show. That’s all I can say for now.
A TV show?
Yes. It’s a show that has been on my mind for a long time and it is going to be informal and real fun.
Do you have a name for it yet?
Yes, but I am not going to share (laughs). We are still working on it. Once we are done, I will be able to talk in detail. It is definitely going to be something different.
What has made acting rewarding for you?
The fact that I have proven that I can be good at it and that it is my calling. You know, before I became an actress, my mother wanted me to study Law. She didn’t want me to do any acting at all. I started working with her when I was thirteen. But I knew acting was my thing. I was very passionate. I wanted to convince her that acting was my passion. In the beginning, I just wanted to show her that I could do this thing; that I was called to do it. So, I began to go for auditions. I encountered a lot of setbacks until the Cindy’s Notes came along. The movie was my first actual project and was directed by Izu Ojukwu. Before that time, I had participated and won the 3rd edition of Amstel Malta Box Office in 2007.
Would you say Cindy’s Notes successfully convinced your mother?
Yes. She just gave up on me. You know I said I had won the 3rd edition of Amstel Malta Box Office. It was there that she knew I was up to something she couldn’t put her finger on. And for me, it was acting. I so believed I was called to be an actor and that I eager to prove myself. And I have.
How did she take your stage name, Bayray Mcwizu?
My mother is a very understanding person. Once she saw I was made for this path, she gave me all her support. My stage name is a creative version of my real name Ebere Nwaizu. Nothing really changed. So, there was no cause for anything.
You are often described as a fashionista. What would you say about that?
Fashion is another of my thing growing up. My mother used to say when I was a little kid, I’d just take her clothes and tie it round and put on her jewelry. She used to wonder what kind of child I was. The fashion side of me accentuated my acting career. It came with it because I don’t think acting is something I decided would happen, I think it was already predestined before time that it would come to be and whatever skill I manage to pick up along the way would just add to my talent. For me, fashion is life and fashion is everything so it’s natural. But I definitely intend to make money from it too.
How do you approach a movie project?
Oh mine! I put in everything. It is important to me that people see what I do and get influenced or inspired by it. So, with every project, I had to be consistent with my passion, not just do it because of the money. Money is important but somebody is watching me somewhere in the world and what I’m doing is going to change her life or it’s going to inspire her to also live out her talent so it is a huge responsibility to not take any job lightly no matter how small the script is. You have to find and give it life because people are watching.
Which of these roles have been very challenging to interpret?
I would choose the role I acted in The Visit as my most challenging. But I have also been on a set where I played the role of a stammerer and that as well was quite challenging. Sometimes I just feel like crying because it takes a lot of my soul but for the one that everyone has seen, it is The Visit because playing the character of Eugenia gave me backache. People don’t know the amount of work that I had to put for months.
I am not used to sitting up properly and but I had to do that for a long time and unconsciously I put on the character traits and it was tiring to be that stiff, that prim and proper because I’m not used to it. For me to even get into that character, there was a lot of challenges. I’m quite jovial, I can be loud, introverted but on that set, I was consistently prim and proper and that was a lot.
How did you get through it?
My producer referred me to a lot of materials. I did a lot of research with her. I went to finishing school online to check out how ladies that are prim and proper act. I went on the internet to check out movies, I watched Brief from Desperate Housewives. I wanted to see an African side, but I didn’t. So, it took me about a week and 3 days to master it. At a particular time, I had to cry because my head was always hurting but by the time I settled into the character, it was again very hard to let go of it.These days I can’t move without people saying, ‘Oh my God, I saw you on TV and you were awesome’ and I am wondering if only they know the pain I went through to deliver that character.
You talked about how fans have commended your work. Do you also get any negative comments or gestures from them and which is the most memorable?
Yes, but I don’t have them parked in my head. At the beginning of my career, I was offended by them, but I got used to it. In fact, I realised it is all part of this industry. People invade your privacy all the time. Sometimes it is fun. Like seeing a fan change her real name to my name on Instagram while saying, ‘I’m your number one fan’ was heartwarming for me. There have also been occasions where people just see you on the road and they are so excited, they hug you so tight that you literally gasp for air. It is, of course, usually amazing to be able to give someone that intensity of joy.
Everyone has their picks, but how do you unwind?
For me, taking a bottle of red wine helps me to relax. Recently, when I co-produced a short film, I found the writer sipping red wine and she said that is how she relaxes and I’m like, ‘that’s true’. And I tried it and it was fantastic so I’ve found a way to relax. Another way is to pray, I love to pray, meditate, read a very good book and just reflect on how good God’s grace has been because when I look at the challenges I’m usually like: “Really, I’ve come this far and I’m this having these challenges.
What is your opinion about the stresss of acting? Do you think it is underrated?
More often than not, it is. Most of the time, people don’t really understand how stressful it is for actors. They just think it’s just an easy job, especially nowadays that everyone is an actor and they think it’s about wearing fashionable clothes and being on TV. No, watch the westerners and you would see it is one of the hardest jobs ever on planet earth, for you to pick on a character and become someone else and live that person’s life. In the realm of everything, no one wants to know that you are joking; it’s real life so you are taking on the person’s advantages and disadvantages and it gets really tiring, exhausting. So, yes, it is underrated. That is why I say this job is for those who’ve got a calling.
In your opinion, which Nigerian movie do you regret not being a part of?
93Days.I would have loved to be a part of it because it is such a real life story. I am a sucker for real life events. For example, I will like to be a part of an Obafemi Awolowo kind of story, a story that involves indigenous languages. I just finished a film with my friend, producer and writer, Kehinde Olorunyomi, and the film is called Tesho. It is a female version of Magun and my character is an Igbo character married to a Yoruba man. I like movies like that where you can see the realness of the characters, not just drama all the time. People are tired of drama, they want real life events and that can drive Nollywood further forward.
In these days of secret marriages, there is a rumour that you are married. Is that true?
(Laughs) I’m not married o! And I’m not in a hurry anyway. I am currently busy with a number of projects lined up. Of course I’d like to be married someday but as of now, I’m just testing the waters, there is nothing really concrete. If there was, people would have known. I am a very showy person. I don’t think I could deny that I am in love.
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