Osita Iheme, alias Paw Paw, speaks in an interview about his
career as an actor, marriage and how he misses his close pal, Chinedu
Ikedieze aka Aki.
Celebrating 10 years in Nollywood
I never knew I would get to this height in life. My intention was
just to act and enjoy the career. I had always wanted to be an actor. I
used to watch movies a lot and I would say to myself that one day, I
would be an actor. In fact, my aim was to become an international actor.
Even in my days in church during our block rosary, I used to act a
lot. I was a part of the drama group. I knew this was what I wanted to
do. I always had the dream. I know that God has always had something
special for me and whatever I touch becomes big. When I met my brother
Chinedu, I knew we were going to be big. I knew that the combination of
the two of us would be a blockbuster.
So when the producer of Aki na Ukwa came up with the movie, it became
big. That was where we started. It is 10 years now. In everything I do
in life, I always believe that God is a part of it. God has a way of
doing things. He can turn around any situation. I give glory to God for
putting me in the position I am today. In my own little way, I worked
hard and I have been focused.
Producing movies
My brother Chinedu (Aki) and I have been producers before now. This
is not the first time we are producing a movie. We have produced one
movie before now. To ask us why we suddenly became producers is to
assume that we have just got into movie production. But it is not so. We
have been working on this for some years now.
Work-in-progress
There is a new project we are working on. We intend to use it to
celebrate our 10th anniversary. It is one of the films we want to shoot
to mark the day. We have two scripts lined up as well. One of them
talks about four children in a family living together before their
father dies. The children try to hustle to raise money since their
father is no more. One of them is a musician. Another is an actor and
the others are in different professions. The message is that you can
thrive in every situation you find yourself. Your background should not
be an obstacle to whatever you want to become in life. If you are
determined, you can achieve whatever you set out to achieve.
Winning a national award
I was happy when I was awarded a Member of the Federal Republic. The
award didn’t come as a surprise because many people expected it. I was
happy I finally got it after so much controversy. I knew I was going to
get the award. It was just that the organisers didn’t want to give me
the award the same time they would give it to Aki.
The Federal Government may have decided to give us the award one
after the other. That was what happened. People were spreading rumours
concerning the award. Some said I envied Chinedu when he got his award.
Others said I insulted the son of one of the members of the panel in
charge of the awards.
I was with Chinedu in Abuja when he received his award. We posed for
photographs together. I cannot imagine insulting anybody who had
anything to do with the awards. But in any case, this is show business
and any story can come up. I just had to move ahead even when all the
rumours where flying. Within me, I knew I was going to get the award.
Allegations of being a snob
I can never be arrogant. Although I’m a star, my lifestyle will
always be the same. I am a very humble person. I come from a very humble
background. Fame cannot change my character. I will only use stardom to
add value to my life and become a better person.
As an actor, you don’t need to limit yourself to one particular
character, you need to be versatile. We are not stereotyped. There was a
time we were just getting small children’s roles. We didn’t want it to
look as if that was the only thing we could do. We had to edit and
choose the kind of scripts we wanted. And that was when the adult roles
started coming and we started playing such roles. Although we lack the
advantage of size, what matters is what we have upstairs.
If you put yourself in the character you are acting, you will do it
well. That was how we started playing other roles that are not just for
kids.
Why I’m not intimidated by bigger people
Everybody must not be the same. Everybody does not have the same
height. Some people are tall, while others are short. You can either be
tall or short. We are not of equal height. There is no need for me to be
worried about my size or to feel inferior. I know that my height
doesn’t have anything to do with my brain. I believe that it is not by
size, but what you can do and what you can put on the table. I don’t
allow my size to bother me. In fact, I don’t even believe I am small. To
me, I am normal and I am a big man.
Marriage
Chinedu got married and we no longer live together as we used to. I
miss him. Before, if I was going home, I knew I would see him at home.
We were always doing things together. We discuss, chat and share ideas
together. It is not really like that now since we no longer live
together. I miss him a lot. But I knew we weren’t going to be living
together forever. I knew that we would be married some day and have our
families. I don’t know when I will get married, but I know that when it
is time, everybody will know about it. I cannot tell you this is the
time.
God is preparing the way for me and I am walking through that path.
When I get there, everybody will know. I cannot tell you there is a
particular girl now. There are girls all over the world. It is just for
me to listen to God when He is talking to me and showing me the girl I
should go for. When the time comes, I will pick a girl.
Coping with stardom
Each time I leave the house, I always have it at the back of my mind
that I am a celebrity. I know that people will come to me and do all
sorts of things out of excitement. I try to be involved in such scenario
whenever I find myself in a situation where fans gather around me. I
try to always remember that these fans are the ones that admire my work.
I always try to keep a head straight and carry on with my fans.
My aspiration
I want to help a lot of people in future. I want a situation where
young and talented people can say that Osita Iheme inspired them to be
what they are. I want them to say that I was the one that influenced
their lives positively. I want to help build the younger generation. I
also try to help people in need. I just want people to look back and say
that they are what they are because God used me to touch their lives.
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