Some scenes in our movies are realities we have experienced —Hermes Iyele

Published by

2 years ago

Ex-Big Brother Naija Level Housemate, Hermes Chibueze Iyele, in this interview by ADERONKE ADESANYA, speaks about his upbringing and how it relates to his character in the crime series of ‘Slum king’. Excerpts:

How was the experience of being on set of a great movie like Slum King for you?

It’s been great to say the least. I feel like being on set with these amazing set of actors was a blessing to me as well. The directors and the production team were amazing. Everyone on set was honest about communicating what the expectation was of the character. Of course, it’s not my first time doing this. Being in the Big Brother House was sort of a stage as well and I’ve also gone for a couple of trainings outside of the continent. So, yes, I’m still training and like I said, being a part of this process has been amazing. It has been good. These are the things that I dreamed of while growing up and to be able to do them at this level is quite a blessing, I must say.

How do you think this movie depicts the societal issues?

The movie is set in a slum and for me, considering the kind of community that I grew up in, I had the opportunity to experience this sort of life in real time – the gang, the violence and the rest of it. And as much as people want to generally ascribe violence to people and then label them as violent, there are people who get to experience these human beings outside of the violence. They’ve got family that they care so much about, you see them with their sisters or their children sometimes and you won’t believe that this person can even constitute that level of violence, and to be able to experience that the humanity behind all of that helps us to give credit to how great and how complex this whole humanity thing is. It also gives us the opportunity to portray characters that I personally had the opportunity to experience growing up and it is a blessing, I must say.

How challenging was your role?

It was a bit challenging to be honest, but I’m grateful to God, the director, and everyone on set. Everyone was helpful and at the end of the job on Sundays, we usually get together and we talk about the roles and what the characters are about when we can talk about it. So, we help build a stronger connection to each character and I think that really helped me to get in character well.

I think getting into character was a bit challenging for me because I wasn’t on sets at a stretch. I was on set at different intervals, so whenever it’s my turn to go on set, I have to come back from whatever it is I’m doing and try to get back into character but I think I got a job done well, so it’s nothing to complain about.

You have your own distinct personality. What is a piece of your own personality in the character you played?

Thank you for the compliment. I must start by saying that I like to believe that the reality of every human being is being multi-dimensional. Like I already explained in the beginning, this is something that I personally grew up seeing and loving. The scenes in this movie are realities that I have seen in real time, and apart from seeing these things, I›ve also experienced them. So, in some way, I can say that there are parts of me that I see in the character that I played. That›s who I am. But it doesn’t exactly define my entirety but I was able to do my bit and I›m grateful for that. I feel like it›s the grace of God and a whole lot of work.

And yes, playing the character gave me the opportunity to dig deep and find the relation and expression that I didn›t think I›d ever have to use, and I think that›s one of the things that I›m grateful for in acting. Outside of acting, I try to live my set principles that govern me and I know this is a great opportunity that I do not take for granted.

Being so passionate about the community that you grew up in, did you have a problem with any part of this movie’s scripts? Did you feel that the characters being portrayed were, in some sort of way, different from the reality that you know?

No, not that I can remember. I›ve been saying to the director as well as to the production team that they did a great job at directing and communicating what the expectation for the character was. There wasn›t anything beyond what I did, that I could have done in my scenes. Also, with portraying the characters, I think we did a good job, so, no, I didn’t have any issues of sorts..

What did you do to prepare to get into the character for your role?

For me, it was mainly a lot of research. It wasn’t too difficult because the Director and the production team already did a good job of explaining exactly what is required of me. I feel like they already had an in-depth knowledge of the characters and the whole story, not some of it. And from that, they were able to communicate exactly what needed to be seen from us.

Did you have to do anything physically challenging for your character?

Yes, I had to fight a monster and that was the most challenging thing I had to do on set. And I think we did a pretty good job there.

Was the character really tasking or draining? Did the project shape you? What did you learn from it?

I wouldn’t say “drained” but yes, this is a significant milestone in my journey. I’ve been able to work with a number of talents with experience in this field. It is a blessing and the role that I played has definitely shaped me. I think I did a good enough job to make a statement in the industry and I hope to retain that consistency, going forward.

If called for an audition to take a similar role, will you go down this route again?

Yes. If everything aligns, I don’t see why not. This is definitely something I’d like to continue doing.

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE