What have you been doing lately?
I have few movies coming out. God Calling is one of them. I just wrapped up season for the TV series, Hustle. I am also in a shoot with the producers of ‘Banana Island Girls’ and another with Ego Boyo and with my friend, Aba Makama. These movies will be released much later in the year. I have another feature and still in talks with the producer. We will start shooting soon.
What one message summarises the TV series, Hustle, for you?
‘Hustle’ is basically human story; it is about a young man who moves from Jos to Lagos for greener pasture like many people. He comes to Lagos looking for a job. He meets his childhood friend from Jos, who has been in Lagos for about two years before. The movie chronicles the life of this young man as a naïve job seeker in Lagos. For me, the series really just says that what we need to do is to develop our cities evenly so that the migration will reduce and people wouldn’t have to leave point A to point B for white collar jobs as development will be evenly spread in all the states.
You started from performing and directing stage plays at the University of Lagos then to TV series. Tell us about your growth as an actor?
I started from a place where I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I wanted to explore the creative side of myself. I applied to study Creative Arts at the University of Lagos. Before my admission, I went to see this play titled, ‘Oya’, the goddess of the whirlwind. It was written by Lekan Balogun and directed by Steve Jones. It was so enchanting.
How old were you at the time?
I was about nineteen when I saw the play. I was fascinated by the art, by how things were moving around. They made me suspend my belief and I began to think there were real people, I believed they were who they said they were. That was how good the actors and my fascination was at that time. It was a turning point for me. At the University of Lagos, I majored in the Theatre Department. I started doing things professionally, but on a small scale at that level. It grew from there. I started going for auditions until I got my first TV gig.
You had a stint directing even as a student. Tell us about it?
You know me well. While I was a student, our directing lecturers would tell us to take up challenges by directing other students. The first time that happened for me was when some students from the Department of English needed a director for a course play they were to stage. I volunteered to help. I mentored them through that process. After I helped direct the play and it came out and people liked it, I did it again. Before my third, I would get calls from my senior colleague, William Benson, to assist him with directing a class. I helped him out. I started to practice coaching and directing students at that age.
And how has all of these shaped your career today?
It really helped. All the basic principles I now use, I learnt mentoring people.
And can you tell the quality of discipline in theatre that is not in TV?
There is discipline in theatre as there is in TV. The difference, if any, is the size of the media. Discipline is required on all levels. People say that you require less discipline in TV, but that is not true. You need to be on time for TV because if one piece of puzzle for TV is missing due to indiscipline then nothing can happen. It is the same for the stage. So, there is no less discipline required.
What is your principle for acting?
Show up prepared and chase the work, not the glamour.
What are the first things you do when assigned a movie role?
The most important thing I do is not to judge the character I am playing. Whether the character is hated or loved by everybody, I have to tell myself that I cannot afford to judge it. This is very important because if you don’t enter into the mentality of your character,if you don’t try and understand why they do what they do, you cannot make your performance more believable. Once I get a role, I try to relate with the character on its level rationalising and embracing everything about the character.
Do you think Total Theatre could be resurrected in Nollywood?
I think total theatre is helpful for Nollywood because it is us, it is how we are built: we are singing people, we are dancing people. Check India, they do what they do in films and outside.
You got married in 2017. Could you have married an actress?
If I fell in love with an actress; why not? We will probably understand each other more because we operate in the same industry. She would know when I am working, why I am doing what I am doing and all. Nevertheless, I am married to someone who is extremely understanding of me and my kind of work.
A video of you dancing after unveiling your bride went viral after your wedding. In fact, it is a popular meme for skits these days. How does that make you feel?
I can’t much. I guess I am grateful. And a lot of people have asked if the video was real or rehearsed. And I have had to tell them that it was just how I felt when I saw my wife. I would not lie, a lot of things had happened prior to the wedding day and I was particularly excited. I was very happy to be married to her.
You once said the minister wanted you to react?
Yes, he told me that when I unveil my wife that I should react just the way I felt. But what I did was truly from my heart. It wasn’t rehearsed. They didn’t anticipate that kind of reaction. He was shocked.
Tell us about the dating stage. Was it difficult wooing her?
Let me tell you the truth, up to the day of the wedding there was too much drama. When you want to get married sometimes there is usually this drama from your family, from the family of the bride, almost from everywhere, all the pressure. Sometime, you wish the whole ceremony to end so you can go home with your wife. I felt relieved when I unveiled her that day. And my dance kind of reflected it, I guessed.
The post First thing to do when assigned a movie role is… —Actor Seun Ajayi appeared first on Tribune Online.