Patrick Doyle: I live a simple life, celebrity status means nothing to me

•Says why experience still matters in an influencer-driven Nollywood

Patrick Rupherford Doyle is a seasoned soul of Nollywood’s stage and screen. From the airwaves of broadcasting to the powerful portrayals of pastors and men of faith, his presence has woven through stories like ‘The Black Book’ and ‘Man of God’. A craftsman of many roles, Doyle’s artistry extends beyond acting into the realms of media and film. In a Nollywood on Radio conversation recently, he opened the doors to his journey, revealing the passion and wisdom that have shaped his enduring legacy and his candid thoughts on the industry’s evolving landscape. ROTIMI IGE brings excerpts.

For over 40 years, you’ve been around. How did you morph into all the roles you’ve held?

In general, if you’re going to put all the things I do under one umbrella, it is communication. Filmmaking is communicating ideas, and broadcasting is communication, so they’re all interrelated. And it’s the same skillset that you use to be a good broadcaster that you use to be a good storyteller, which is a director or filmmaker. So, it’s not such a stretch to see people who can function in the two realms; they’re not even different.

But not all broadcasters end up becoming actors or even film producers or directors?

Yes, I agree. But it’s the same skillset. Maybe they’re just not adventurous, and they didn’t want to stretch themselves. In my case, I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to stretch myself in the direction of acting and filmmaking. It was the opportunities that presented themselves that I took. Some people choose not to. Maybe they just tell themselves that it’s too much of a stretch. But in my case, it wasn’t too much of a stretch because I had relationships with people on the other side. I started as a broadcaster, and I had a lot of friends who were into producing drama on television. Then I used to work in NTA as a continuity announcer, and some of my dearest friends were producing dramas. In the course of interaction, I said, “Give me a role in this your drama production.” That’s how I started. The environment I found myself in made it easy for me to foray into filmmaking and storytelling.

There’s a common perception that as actors age, roles become scarcer, especially lead roles. Many scripts don’t prioritise older characters, and this often sidelines veteran actors. Yet, you’ve remained visible across platforms, from Oloture to YouTube, streaming platforms, and cinema. What’s your secret to staying relevant in an industry that doesn’t naturally embrace older talent?

The older actors used to be younger, and they used to be everywhere. Sometimes, it’s one’s time that is used, so it’s eternal. I’ve had my day in the sun when I used to act in Ripples. Everybody has had their time to shine, so it’s time for new people to shine.

But the good news is that no story is told that will be exclusively just for young people. If it’s a high school film, there has to be a school principal, thank goodness there are parents, so thank goodness one still finds work.

But in my case, I’m blessed that I enjoy the creative environment. For instance, when we’re acting, I see some people much younger than me. They can’t walk into a room without an assistant carrying their bags, and I’m wondering, what’s that about?

I’m very arrogant intellectually, but it doesn’t translate into my interaction with people. I go on a set and I need to do a change of costumes; I’m wearing boxers, and I’m wearing a vest under them. Why should I be taken to a special room to change? Maybe that’s what they see and like. I’m not doing it for them; I’m doing it for my convenience. Why move me?

So, I am speculating that my attitude on sets is what endears me to them. I’m not doing it to impress them, I’m doing it because I don’t see any reason why we should be wasting time saying, “Let him go into the VIP room and change. Are you okay?” and all of that. That’s what I think.

As someone widely regarded as a celebrity, how have you balanced the realities of fame with everyday life over the years? How have you been able to sustain life generally, living as a celebrity, stardom status?

I don’t live like a star. I don’t live like a celebrity. That’s all I’m going to tell you. It doesn’t mean anything to me. The very nature of my antecedents on my paternal side and my maternal side is royalty. I don’t need any validation from anyone.

As I said, I’m very arrogant in my head. I know exactly who I am. So, all the other things that make people get excited don’t excite me, because in my head, I’m too much.

The type of car that I drive, if you escort me out and you see my car, you will see what I mean. And that’s because all it does for me is carry me from point A to point B. I’m not going to kill myself to buy the latest Range Rover. When they do that, that’s when they become unscrupulous. That’s when they take on jobs that they have no intention of doing, getting a deposit for the job and taking off. And they do all kinds of things. That’s when they will start endorsing criminal enterprises on social media. “They may say, I didn’t know that’s what they were doing.” You knew. But what they offered you was so much because now you wanted to buy this new Louis Vuitton bag, so you took it. But you knew that that person was a criminal.

I don’t need to have a Louis Vuitton bag. I don’t need a Gucci suit. And I’m not the worst-dressed person in Nigeria either.

You said something about when you started, how you started in the industry. There’s a school of thought that believes that there should be some type of teaching for Nollywood as an industry, or a central entry point; everybody just comes in, and you have a social media account.

That horse has left the stable. Now is not the time to even contemplate that type of thing. The things that work now are followership, online followership. It’s not dangerous, because the industry is supposed to entertain people. As long as the viewer is enjoying it.

Right now, the parameters for who gets a role are not just your skill as an actor, but also how you relate to the audience and how the audience perceives you.

If you notice, there are a lot of movies done with people who are not actors. They are influencers. They are graduates of reality shows. And I know some of them are doing extremely well. BamBam, for instance, is a ‘bam’ actor, Tobi Bakre is a great actor. And Saga Deolu is doing pretty well, too.

I’m just saying, you can’t keep those people out because the audience wants them. But thankfully, those of them who make that transition to acting embrace it and embrace the challenge and improve on their craft. So that horse has left.

I remember a time when we used to be resentful, especially in broadcasting, when there was a proliferation of stations. We used to be very resentful of people who didn’t speak BBC English on air. We were very resentful. But the reality was that the audience liked them.

And they started using words, like ‘informate’ for instance. I used to be resentful of Pidgin English stations. But everywhere you go now, they say “informate.” It’s information. Even if it’s Pidgin, you don’t hear “information,” you hear “informate.” But I’m just saying, we used to be very resentful. But it has now become the norm.

So, who am I to complain? If the audience likes it, when I’m talking to my mates, I will share information.

What are the uproaring films that you have worked on recently that your audience can look forward to?

YouTube film comes out every week. But you can see, the blockbuster movies, the made-for-theatrical-release movies, are fewer now than ever before, except for the Yoruba epics.

I was in one Yoruba epic recently, ‘Ogidanbirin’. I was Kabiyesi. And a lot of people were surprised at the level of my spoken Yoruba, and I’m wondering, why? I’m Itsekiri. Yoruba is my language. So I’m going to say, how is that a mystery?

But anyway, ‘Ogidanbirin’ is still in cinemas, and I think it was a great movie. And recently, I just did one called Aduke. I wish it all the best. We just finished recording about two weeks ago. So the gestation period between recording and this takes like about eight to nine months. It’s a lot. But I’m just saying that those films are not frequent anymore, especially with Netflix backpedaling from commissioning our movies, which was a setback.

Is YouTube really picking up the slack?

No. YouTube is a different ballgame because the type of stories on YouTube are very different and they’re low-budget films. They’re limited cast, limited locations, and shot over a short period of time.

Thank God for those ones. Have you seen, some of your blockbuster actors are now pure water, on YouTube?

I’m surprised you don’t have a YouTube channel yourself.

That’s the news! I am working on a slate of movies to launch a YouTube channel. And I’m not tempted to want to even do a theatrical release type of movie because of the risks involved.

And there’s a mafia that takes care in that area. And the fight to break into it is not worth the investment, because none of those movies are done for less than 150 million. Then you have to market it with another 50 million.

Then, when you do all of that, I know that the release dates are usually during the peak holiday periods. And these people have booked those people for the next 10 years. So I bear them no grudge, because it’s a capitalist system. But I know that even if my movie was better than theirs, theirs have been tried and tested. So, leave that for them.

But God bless YouTube. YouTube has democratised everything, the avenue for creative expression.

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