“Fans, especially in Lagos see me as their ATM” — Actor Ramsey Nouah
In a recent chat with the Sun Newspaper, Award-winning Nollywood Actor Ramsey Nouah opened up about his “feminine role” in the Nollywood movie, My wife & I, and also talked about fame.
Read Excerpts from the interview below;
How are you, Ramsey?
I’m good. I’m good.
Your role in ‘My Wife And I’ was kind of weird…
It was weird, yeah.
How did you manage to get into that role?
Trust me, it wasn’t fun at all. It was very awkward. Every time I had to play that part, I was always like ‘ha!’ I hated it. But professional ethics demand that you do stuffs that you need to do.
What was the experience like playing the role of a woman and costumed in female attires?
You know, women are passionate about men trying to be like them. I don’t know what it is. It excites them. Everywhere I go, I remember the red carpet, it was the same thing. All the girls are like ‘how do you feel playing a woman?’ It wasn’t fun, honestly.
But was it challenging?
Of course it was challenging. You have to get into the character. You know…doing what your mum usually does or what your wife does or what your sister does and all of that which is much unlike you. There’s something about it.
Would you describe it as the most challenging role you’ve taken?
Oh, no. Not exactly. It’s not mentally demanding. Don’t get me wrong. It’s just that there are some morals than challenge and that’s why when I was doing it, I had a bit of reservation, but of course I still tried to pull it through. This is like comedy; it’s nothing serious, so we could play with it. Besides, it was pretty hard for me to get those gestures and mannerisms but my colleague helped me out with it. So, how do your fans relate to you, in response to the movie?
A few of them felt like ‘Arrgh! Gosh! How would you ridicule Ramsey Nouah so much? How would you bring him down so much like that?’ But to me, it’s not bad, to me it’s a professional thing, yeah, it’s what you must do.
What convinced you to take up the role of a woman in My Wife And I?
It’s because of the challenging part. It’s because I’ve never done it before. I think I did something some years back but that one was like I was an undercover, so I dressed like a woman. Those were years back; early 2000. I dressed like a woman; they tied gele and scarf for me and I was like (mimics a female voice) ‘hey what are you talking about?’ I did all of that but this one is different. There’s a message to this one and the message is very simple -what are the conflicts in marriages and why are marriages always having problems?
You’re over 40 years and you’re still looking good. What is the secret?
I think it is just joy from within. A whole lot of people tend to pack up a lot of bad belle, you know, vexing over this and that. That brings about… so just smile; a beautiful smile everyday could take you a long way.
What has fame done to you?
Fame has had its benefits. Good plays, good moments, umm… and it has its downsides. A lot of people appreciate you, yeah.
It has opened doors and closed doors on your face?
Yeah, it has opened several doors. Like this one we’re doing here, this initiative (ACTDF), it is a door opener for my job.
Has fame closed doors on your face?
No, I wouldn’t say it closed doors on my face. No, not exactly. But, you know, you meet lots of people who tend to appreciate you. Everyone sees you around, all your fans, most especially in Lagos; see you as their ATM machines. All their greetings have to be paid for. For instance, they will greet you ‘Hey, good morning bros, we dey hail o…’ You know you have to drop something, so it’s quite a thorn in the flesh.
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