I Could Get Corny Sometimes – Nollywood Star, Iretiola Doyle

Multi-talented Nollywood actress, Iretiola Doyle has undoubtedly made her mark in the Nigerian movie industry. One of the reasons she has been selected to be part of the #IAM brand, a local talent campaign created by DStv to place it at the forefront of delivering original local stories, using the most talented performers on the continent. Recently, Iretiola had a chat with some journalists where she spoke on the campaign, her stellar performance in the movie, Wedding Party and other sundry issues. FUNSHO AROGUNDADE was there

We saw Iretiola Doyle in a rather unusual look for the DStv ‘I Am’ campaign. How was that experience like?

It was absolutely amazing. Initially, I got the script while here in Nigeria and like I often tell people the distance between the script and the screen is a wide as any ocean you can think of. Did I expect what I met? No! because reading the words right off the script, they seemed straight forward enough but then I got to set and saw the costumes and saw the scale and I knew this was going to be a fairy-tale. It was hard work, pretty intense, it was one day of work, one day of rest and then you were shooting again. My character had a lot of work to do because that axe was real. It was intense but it was interesting and well thought out.

What does the ‘I Am’ campaign mean to you?

The DStv I AM campaign in a nutshell is if you could ever capture what it means to be a creator, an actor in 60 secs that would be it. It visualises the concept of being able to be anything, think anything, conceive anything. I am given the wherewithal to create.

As a veteran in the industry, how much progress do you think we have made when it comes to telling authentic African stories?

Telling the story is first and foremost the writer’s duty, I am an actor, I am a gun for hire, I re-enact characters that are given to me. If you ask me how well we have done as in industry in telling our own stories in the last several years, I’ll like to say we have done a lot, things have improved a lot. Everybody is proudly Nigerian; everybody is trying to tell the Nigerian story. There are many definitions of the Nigerian narrative as there are people seated, people tend to want to stamp their personal perspectives on things and that’s fine but we are very cosmopolitan, there is no situation happening anywhere else in the world that you would not find here.

Inclusivity has been one of MultiChoice’s goals when it comes to their content, how successful do you think they have been with this?

On a scale of 100, I would say 150 and I can confidently back that up. Usually when I speak they say it’s because I work with M-NET, NO! I had a 15-year career before I started working with M-Net. They have done a fantastic job; they have done things that even our people who are responsible for such things haven’t done. MultiChoice is a company, a business concern but when you have a company that comes into a nation, creates a platform for people to express themselves and by so doing create jobs for hundreds and thousands of people because if you understand the business of Television and movie production, you know that it takes a small village to produce anything. Not only that, they have go on to establish channels that are language specific, they have taken on assignments and duties that are not theirs to bear. MultiChoice, I dare say is one of the main reasons why the monopoly in Nollywood is broken. They do not care who you are, they do not care where you come from, all they want to know is if you have talent and if you are capable of delivering on the job, anybody that says anything to the contrary is just trying to be dis-ingenious. I think they have done a fantastic job!

Many people see you as a serious and no nonsense actress, what’s one thing that would surprise them about you?

There was a character in Fuji House of commotion, called Sis Kuli Caro, who remembers that? I run the gamut, I can play hard, I can play soft, I can play corny, I can be serious, elegant, I can be razz! I am an actor!

Generally, what would you say of those who see you as a snub especially that you aren’t media friendly?

I actually respect the media in general. I respect what they stand for. I respect the role they play. Are some of you a burden? Yes. Are some of them unethical? Yes. Do some of them refuse to recognise and respect boundaries? Yes. However, that is not the yardstick with which I deal with them generally. I will deal with every individual as an individual.

Talking about boundaries, would you be specific?

I wouldn’t say there is a particular one that bothered me. But have there been inappropriate issues over my 21-year career period? Yes.  Have there been times when you have stated clearly, that you will not respond to questions in this and that area and that have been breached in the course of the interview? Yes. Have there been people who have been downright rude and intrusive because they are hiding behind the microphone? Yes. First and foremost, I understand that it is the power for the course. The fact that I am in this business and very visible means that I will have to deal with the press. So, it is something I have got to deal with. Even when I am offended, I take a punch and walk out gracefully.

Have you featured in a movie that you wish you could go back and do all over?

None that I would go back and do over but do I mark my papers? Intensly! Everytime I watch a project of mine, that’s what I am doing, I am marking my papers. If you are honest, you will always see something or some things that you would have wanted to do differently sometimes even better because you are in the moment and you are working and responding to stimuli, the energy you are getting from your cast mates and you watch the play back, you point out things you could have done differently and better. So yes I mark my papers, any actor worth their weight in gold should.

You starred in the blockbuster hit, Wedding Party 1 and 2, and the movie, especially the sequel is now being distributed on several online platforms in the United States, what does that say about the future of the industry?

First, I am very proud about the success of Wedding Party. This is beyond the fact that Wedding Party 2 will be the first Nigerian film to get such distribution opportunity. Those types of accolades are superficial and good for a moment. But I am proud that the industry is evolving. Distribution is evolving. There are more channels for a producer to make more money and greater profit off their jobs which in turn gives me, as an actress, a greater negotiation power. I can now prove to producers that if we collaborate and make great projects, they can continue to make money off their projects for a long time and if you continue to make money off a project that has my name and my face and talent, it gives me the leeway to negotiate for a better post profit deal.

What would you see as a take away from your role in Wedding Party that continues to influence your other roles?

I won’t say learning; it just reinforced what I have known for a while: continue to do great work. Like some people always say, continue wearing your best shirt, sooner or later, the right person will notice you.

Has there been any criticism about your role in Wedding Party 2 that you want to correct now?

Absolutely none. It is just a work of art. If 10 people view a work of art, they will come back with 10 different points of view and it is okay in my line of work.  I just give you my word that I will continue to do great work.

You are renowned as one actor, who crisscrosses both stage and screen, if you are to settle for one, which will you prefer?

I will definitely settle for stage. I’ll prefer stage because it keeps you on your toes. You can’t take the theatre for granted. There is no “Cut, take 2”. You have to deliver on the spot. And there is a certain energy rush that I get from the exchanges between the actor and a live audience that given the choice, it will be stage all the time. But unfortunately, the attention is not as heavy as television and film.

Would you agree that those actors who transit from stage to screen have a better grip of role interpretations and delivery?

I will say this much, people who come from a theatre background are cut from a different cloth, and you can tell by the way they behave. It tells in their ways of delivery on the craft and level of discipline. There are certain things you cannot get away with in theatre. Theatre makes you a ready team player, a virtue you have to acquire consciously in television and film. You cannot be a successful theatre artiste if your ego is larger than life.  You have to trust your colleagues because you are going to get undressed in front of each other. It is a leveller and you go into the project knowing that you have each other’s backs. There is no rivalry because if one person looks bad, the entire production looks bad. So, it equips you with a certain mindset.

Many have been expecting the return of your lifestyle talk show, Oge. What’s holding it back?

It will soon be back. In fact, it is done. We are doing final correction. The only reason I wouldn’t give you a date is because once we are done with final corrections, the work will go back to the person who has bought it and it is up to them to decide when they are going to air it, but it has been produced. The first 20 episodes are done. All the promotional works are ready. I am just waiting for them to allocate me a time and a date.

In five years’ time, what word do you want to come to people’s mind when they think of Iretiola Doyle?

Excellence!