Popular comic-actor, Charles Inojie is
still wondering how he was tricked into
featuring in that lewd film titled 'Calabar
Girl' directed by Jerry Don Nwachukwu.
The film was produced by Divine
Ezeibekwe and banned immediately
after it was released sometime in May,
this year by the National Film and Video
Censors Board. Charles recounts the
story of how he got involved in the
production. He also talks about the coup
that catapulted him to the top while
working as an Assistant Director under
Lancelot Imasuen among other issues.
Excerpts:
A comic-actor!
Do you know that I am not aware that I
am a comedian? There are places I visit
today and I tell people that I am not a
regular comedian;someone you see and
you start laughing or someone who is
ever ready to act as a clown when the
occasion does not call for it. I see myself
as a very serious person. I see myself as a
good actor.
If I do comedy roles well, it is only
because that is where I have probably,
been most tested and again not a
function of any kind of training I had.
Except that I probably just have it in me.
I believe that my late grandmother had
the strongest sense of humour that I ever
found in anyone and I benefited
generously from her talent. Maybe, I am
one of those you would say are naturally
gifted as humourist.
School of hard knocks
I hate it when I hear people say, I am self
-made. There is no one on earth that is
self made otherwise people like us are not
supposed to be where we are today.
When I picked my bag one morning and
told my father I had secured admission
into the University of Port Harcourt , the
man only laughed at me. We were living
in Ogun State then, and I hail from Edo
State .
*Charles Inojie
He said, 'you did not try to gain
admission into the now Ambrose Alli
University, Ekpoma or University of
Benin so that your financial challenges
could be better courtailed . But now that
you are going to UNIPORT, would help
come your way?'.
In school, it was just me and my closest
neighbour which is poverty. When I woke
up in the morning, the first person that
told me good morning was poverty. But I
think, God gave me a special grace.
Beyond all these travails, there was
always a point I wanted to get to, and
that was to graduate from the university
at the end of the day.
I graduated from the University in 1999,
and in 2000, I was already on set with
Lancelot Imasuen as an Assistant
Director. I was part of the productions he
did in the early 2000, such as Last
Burial, Isakaba, August Meeting and
many others. Therefore, I would say
joining Nollywood was not as difficult as
it has been for most of my colleagues.
This is because I had someone who
provided the platform for me to launch
my acting career.
Beyond that, when I became a full-
fledged director, I had the producers to
contend with, who were always driven by
the passion to expand their profit
margin. I am a gift from God because in
spite of all that I passed through, one
happened to be one of the very few
people who have enjoyed prime
patronage and I thank God for His
mercies.
Relationship with Lancelot Imasuen
That is another story altogether. I was
telling some of my close friends recently
that Lancelot is my friend because a lot
of people believe that we are brothers. I
actually met Lancelot in 1992, at
UNIPORT where we sat for the entrance
examination for the Certificate
Programme in Theatre Arts. He was in
the company of another friend of ours
known as Kennedy Ovbiahon who's now
late.
After sitting for the qualifying
examination, we returned to our different
locations and later had to meet again
when we were offered admission.
Lancelot was as poor as I was, while on
campus. It was only natural for us to
share the same apartment in school. And
since then, we have been good friends.
Joining Nollywood
We have made some humble
contributions to acting. As a matter of
fact, my very first movie as a full- fledged
director was titled Police Recruit, then
Two Bad Boys. I shot back to back for OJ
Productions. I also played one of the lead
roles then. Thereafter, I starred in
Tortoise, another movie produced by OJ
and directed by Adim Williams. I was an
Assistant Director in that film. At the
time, the three lead roles were given to
John Okafor, Okey Bakassi and Victor
Osuagwu.
As a second year student in 1997, I had
done a movie with Adim also directed by
Lancelot Imasuen. It was a comedy
titled, The Year 2000. Adim played the
lead role while I had about 12 scenes.
Adim asked me to play the role but the
producer did not want me. But when the
flick was released, it was a big hit. The
film that gave me my break was when I
played the role of Mr. Dumbra in
Corporate Maid.
Venturing into acting
I am a very shy person. I am not one of
those who would have ended up as an
actor. I am a great lover of literature. The
late Professor Bode Osanyin of the
University of Lagos then had a place in
Ijoko, Ota in Ogun State called Writers
Resort. What the Resort does was to
invite literary enthusiasts, writers, poets,
dramatists and literary critics to a
retreat.
The guest reader for the month would
read his poems or plays and respond to
questions from the gathering. Being
fresh from secondary school then, I and
my friend, Malik Ibitoye, now a
journalist, would make it to the literary
gathering. This particular month, late
environmentalist, Ken Saro Wiwa was
hosted by the resort.
Before then, Bassey and Company, a
popular soap opera was already a rave on
television and Saro Wiwa was already
making waves on the international scene
with his Ogoni struggle. Saro Wiwa was
large and because we have read some of
his plays, the enthusiasm to meet him
was very high. Usually, we went to the
resort that fateful Saturday evening,
arrange the chairs and cleaned the
environment. Late Professor Bode
Osanyin urged us to stage a short play
for Wiwa. Initially, I refused to be part of
the play, preferring to do something
different.
But somehow, I was encouraged to be
part of the short play. Immediately, the
last scene was over, I ran backstage to
hide myself. While I was hiding, they
invited me back on stage. But lo and
behold! Saro Wiwa singled me out and
asked if I had acted before, I replied in
the contrary. He asked what I was doing,
I said I was a Jambite and wanted to
read Law.
He asked if I had secured admission, I
said I was waiting for my JAMB result.
He reasoned that it would take about
eight to 12 months and he advised me to
enroll for Certificate programme that
would last for 10 months. When we left,
Malik and some of my friends
encouraged me to do so. That was how I
secured an admission to do certificate
programme in UNIPORT. While doing
the programme, I discovered I had only
come face to face with my destiny. So, I
did not spare any time to seek admission
for a full time degree programme.
Growing pot belly
In fact that is the more reason we have to
thank God for Osofia's life, if not, people
would still believe that big tummy is part
of the requirement for one to become a
comedian. Osofia has been able to proof
that you don't need to have a big tummy
to be a successful comedian. It was
common problem most of us had to
contend with then but thank Gos Osofia
has proven it has nothing to do with it.
I cannot stab myself in the stomach to
reduce it but I discovered that it is easier
to acquire it than to shed it.
Starring in "Calabar Girl"movie
This is what I cannot even explain. Some
time ago, a senior colleague of mine
invited me to be part of his new
production. For over 15 years, he has not
shot a single movie as things were really
rough for him. He was staging a
comeback and needed my support. I have
known him for several years and as an
undergraduate, storming Lagos those
days to attend auditions, he was one of
the foremost directors in Nollywood
then. There was no way I could have
refused to support his return to the
industry.
That was how I ended up starring in that
movie. To win my sympathy, he
narrated how a marketer once rejected
his film simply because he did not
feature regular faces in the film. I
appeared in few scenes in the movie
which was shot in three days. I have no
idea whatsoever regarding what lewed
scenes he had previously shot.
In fact, I'm yet to understand why he
decided to shoot such movie. I think he
took his desperation too far. I'm
surprised that he used my face to
promote pornography because the very
day I saw the movie jacket, I knew
something was wrong with it. There was
no way I could have been part of the
movie if I knew from the out set that
what he has shot was something close to
an adult film.
Wife's reaction
I thank God that I married my friend. I
try as much as possible to be truthful to
my wife. She saw the movie and got
convinced that my character was not in
any way connected with those dirty
scenes in the movie. In fact, she has
nothing whatsoever to be angry about.
What I learnt from the project
What I have learnt is that next time, I
should be wary about who comes to ask
for my help in disguise. Next time, I
would insist on seeing the previous
script before accepting to be part of any
make-up scenes in a movie.
Meeting my wife
I met my wife the way other people meet
theirs.
Marriage experience
Marriage is wonderful. I was talking to
one of my senior colleagues the other day
and I told him, I now know why he
wanted me to get married. I think I am a
better person now than before. Things
that you would ordinarily react to are
things you now take a second look at.
Marriage has calmed me down. I am a lot
more mature now and I am happy.
www.trueheart2love.diydating.com
still wondering how he was tricked into
featuring in that lewd film titled 'Calabar
Girl' directed by Jerry Don Nwachukwu.
The film was produced by Divine
Ezeibekwe and banned immediately
after it was released sometime in May,
this year by the National Film and Video
Censors Board. Charles recounts the
story of how he got involved in the
production. He also talks about the coup
that catapulted him to the top while
working as an Assistant Director under
Lancelot Imasuen among other issues.
Excerpts:
A comic-actor!
Do you know that I am not aware that I
am a comedian? There are places I visit
today and I tell people that I am not a
regular comedian;someone you see and
you start laughing or someone who is
ever ready to act as a clown when the
occasion does not call for it. I see myself
as a very serious person. I see myself as a
good actor.
If I do comedy roles well, it is only
because that is where I have probably,
been most tested and again not a
function of any kind of training I had.
Except that I probably just have it in me.
I believe that my late grandmother had
the strongest sense of humour that I ever
found in anyone and I benefited
generously from her talent. Maybe, I am
one of those you would say are naturally
gifted as humourist.
School of hard knocks
I hate it when I hear people say, I am self
-made. There is no one on earth that is
self made otherwise people like us are not
supposed to be where we are today.
When I picked my bag one morning and
told my father I had secured admission
into the University of Port Harcourt , the
man only laughed at me. We were living
in Ogun State then, and I hail from Edo
State .
*Charles Inojie
He said, 'you did not try to gain
admission into the now Ambrose Alli
University, Ekpoma or University of
Benin so that your financial challenges
could be better courtailed . But now that
you are going to UNIPORT, would help
come your way?'.
In school, it was just me and my closest
neighbour which is poverty. When I woke
up in the morning, the first person that
told me good morning was poverty. But I
think, God gave me a special grace.
Beyond all these travails, there was
always a point I wanted to get to, and
that was to graduate from the university
at the end of the day.
I graduated from the University in 1999,
and in 2000, I was already on set with
Lancelot Imasuen as an Assistant
Director. I was part of the productions he
did in the early 2000, such as Last
Burial, Isakaba, August Meeting and
many others. Therefore, I would say
joining Nollywood was not as difficult as
it has been for most of my colleagues.
This is because I had someone who
provided the platform for me to launch
my acting career.
Beyond that, when I became a full-
fledged director, I had the producers to
contend with, who were always driven by
the passion to expand their profit
margin. I am a gift from God because in
spite of all that I passed through, one
happened to be one of the very few
people who have enjoyed prime
patronage and I thank God for His
mercies.
Relationship with Lancelot Imasuen
That is another story altogether. I was
telling some of my close friends recently
that Lancelot is my friend because a lot
of people believe that we are brothers. I
actually met Lancelot in 1992, at
UNIPORT where we sat for the entrance
examination for the Certificate
Programme in Theatre Arts. He was in
the company of another friend of ours
known as Kennedy Ovbiahon who's now
late.
After sitting for the qualifying
examination, we returned to our different
locations and later had to meet again
when we were offered admission.
Lancelot was as poor as I was, while on
campus. It was only natural for us to
share the same apartment in school. And
since then, we have been good friends.
Joining Nollywood
We have made some humble
contributions to acting. As a matter of
fact, my very first movie as a full- fledged
director was titled Police Recruit, then
Two Bad Boys. I shot back to back for OJ
Productions. I also played one of the lead
roles then. Thereafter, I starred in
Tortoise, another movie produced by OJ
and directed by Adim Williams. I was an
Assistant Director in that film. At the
time, the three lead roles were given to
John Okafor, Okey Bakassi and Victor
Osuagwu.
As a second year student in 1997, I had
done a movie with Adim also directed by
Lancelot Imasuen. It was a comedy
titled, The Year 2000. Adim played the
lead role while I had about 12 scenes.
Adim asked me to play the role but the
producer did not want me. But when the
flick was released, it was a big hit. The
film that gave me my break was when I
played the role of Mr. Dumbra in
Corporate Maid.
Venturing into acting
I am a very shy person. I am not one of
those who would have ended up as an
actor. I am a great lover of literature. The
late Professor Bode Osanyin of the
University of Lagos then had a place in
Ijoko, Ota in Ogun State called Writers
Resort. What the Resort does was to
invite literary enthusiasts, writers, poets,
dramatists and literary critics to a
retreat.
The guest reader for the month would
read his poems or plays and respond to
questions from the gathering. Being
fresh from secondary school then, I and
my friend, Malik Ibitoye, now a
journalist, would make it to the literary
gathering. This particular month, late
environmentalist, Ken Saro Wiwa was
hosted by the resort.
Before then, Bassey and Company, a
popular soap opera was already a rave on
television and Saro Wiwa was already
making waves on the international scene
with his Ogoni struggle. Saro Wiwa was
large and because we have read some of
his plays, the enthusiasm to meet him
was very high. Usually, we went to the
resort that fateful Saturday evening,
arrange the chairs and cleaned the
environment. Late Professor Bode
Osanyin urged us to stage a short play
for Wiwa. Initially, I refused to be part of
the play, preferring to do something
different.
But somehow, I was encouraged to be
part of the short play. Immediately, the
last scene was over, I ran backstage to
hide myself. While I was hiding, they
invited me back on stage. But lo and
behold! Saro Wiwa singled me out and
asked if I had acted before, I replied in
the contrary. He asked what I was doing,
I said I was a Jambite and wanted to
read Law.
He asked if I had secured admission, I
said I was waiting for my JAMB result.
He reasoned that it would take about
eight to 12 months and he advised me to
enroll for Certificate programme that
would last for 10 months. When we left,
Malik and some of my friends
encouraged me to do so. That was how I
secured an admission to do certificate
programme in UNIPORT. While doing
the programme, I discovered I had only
come face to face with my destiny. So, I
did not spare any time to seek admission
for a full time degree programme.
Growing pot belly
In fact that is the more reason we have to
thank God for Osofia's life, if not, people
would still believe that big tummy is part
of the requirement for one to become a
comedian. Osofia has been able to proof
that you don't need to have a big tummy
to be a successful comedian. It was
common problem most of us had to
contend with then but thank Gos Osofia
has proven it has nothing to do with it.
I cannot stab myself in the stomach to
reduce it but I discovered that it is easier
to acquire it than to shed it.
Starring in "Calabar Girl"movie
This is what I cannot even explain. Some
time ago, a senior colleague of mine
invited me to be part of his new
production. For over 15 years, he has not
shot a single movie as things were really
rough for him. He was staging a
comeback and needed my support. I have
known him for several years and as an
undergraduate, storming Lagos those
days to attend auditions, he was one of
the foremost directors in Nollywood
then. There was no way I could have
refused to support his return to the
industry.
That was how I ended up starring in that
movie. To win my sympathy, he
narrated how a marketer once rejected
his film simply because he did not
feature regular faces in the film. I
appeared in few scenes in the movie
which was shot in three days. I have no
idea whatsoever regarding what lewed
scenes he had previously shot.
In fact, I'm yet to understand why he
decided to shoot such movie. I think he
took his desperation too far. I'm
surprised that he used my face to
promote pornography because the very
day I saw the movie jacket, I knew
something was wrong with it. There was
no way I could have been part of the
movie if I knew from the out set that
what he has shot was something close to
an adult film.
Wife's reaction
I thank God that I married my friend. I
try as much as possible to be truthful to
my wife. She saw the movie and got
convinced that my character was not in
any way connected with those dirty
scenes in the movie. In fact, she has
nothing whatsoever to be angry about.
What I learnt from the project
What I have learnt is that next time, I
should be wary about who comes to ask
for my help in disguise. Next time, I
would insist on seeing the previous
script before accepting to be part of any
make-up scenes in a movie.
Meeting my wife
I met my wife the way other people meet
theirs.
Marriage experience
Marriage is wonderful. I was talking to
one of my senior colleagues the other day
and I told him, I now know why he
wanted me to get married. I think I am a
better person now than before. Things
that you would ordinarily react to are
things you now take a second look at.
Marriage has calmed me down. I am a lot
more mature now and I am happy.
www.trueheart2love.diydating.com
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