Homeless & Lived Under Lagos Bridge"
Nollywood's fine boy Ramsey Nouah in this tell-it-all
interview revealed never before told story of his life.
In this exclusive chat with Christian Agabide, the
popular lover boy recalls the unforgettable,
tormenting experiences of his life when he was
humbled by poverty.
Ramsey Nouah remembered the day he slept under
Lagos bridge on an empty stomach.
The story of his life is quite touching.
Read Interview Excerpts Below:
Is there anything that can make you cry or
shed tears after all you passed through?
Yeah, those moments; those terrible moments when
we had nothing and we were living off people. People
were just helping us out. There were times we didn't
have food to eat three or four days. You haven't eaten
and your stomach is rumbling but you don't have any
place to go. There was a time I lived on the street, in
shops. There was a time I slept under the bridge. It
was unfortunate that there were no records so that
we can have memories we could play back now. To
me, I am so extremely grateful that I went through it.
At that time I hated everybody around me. In fact, I
used to question why God was doing this to me. But I
think God knew that I needed this for my future.
You are no longer constant in movies. What is
happening to you?
I am still on the screen; I pray for better industry
than what we have. We don't have a proper structure
and it is affecting us. It is affecting so many of us
because we don't have a secured future. For
instance, some veteran actors passed on and people
had to gather just to try and give them a befitting
burial. That shouldn't be the case. We have an
industry that just paid you one off. It is not in any
way protective of the interest of the practitioners, it
is not really helping us. I believe strongly that we
need to do a more integrated production, quality
production that will last, like when we started at the
beginning. All the stories are not encouraging and
technicality we are not growing, all these help to slow
down the growth of the industry. And without growth
there are can never be a future, without dynamics
you can't see the frontier. Basically, that's what we
are suffering right now and there must be changes.
The concern of most people shooting now is about
making their money back. They don't have passion or
love for the industry like we do. So, that's the reason
why I am not acting. I love doing a good job,
something that will benefit the industry, a movie that
whenever you pick it up, if it is five or 20 years you
can still watch and be happy. I want a situation
whereby I will do a job and my great grandchildren
will know me by my work. 'Oh my great grandfather
did this, yes he is the one'. That is what I want to do
to leave a mark, a legacy, no just a passing face.
A lot of your colleagues have gone into
producing their own movies. Is that the reason
you don't want to join the trend?
I am working towards producing mine at the
moment, but the reason why it is taking me this long
is because I wanted to get it right. I don't just want to
come out with something little or something that
wouldn't be of standard. I am one of the pioneers
saying that we should have a better industry.
Definitely, I should come out with something really
nice. And that's why it is taking me so long but I will
be coming out with something this year.
You are a recipient of many awards here in
Nigeria and Africa. What can you attribute that
to and how does it make you feel?
It makes feel like an achiever. I really feel good about
it. It is like you are appraising me for my work and
my input, and that is not a legacy for me. I love the
fact that people love my work and they appreciate it
and rewarding me for my work. It is the same thing
for any person whatever profession it may be; doctor,
pilot, journalist and even market woman, as long as
you are passionate about your industry and people
can see it and they believe that you have given so
much and deserve an award. So, if a person deserves
it then they should give it to such person. I love
being appreciated, but I will love it more when I do
leave a legacy behind.
How do you define success?
(Smiling) A whole lot of people define success as
being rich and having it all. I define success as peace
of mind. To me, I am successful; I do not owe
anybody and I have a clean heart and clean spirit. I
am a happy man from the inside; that makes me
very successful.
What is your greatest achievement as an actor?
It is yet to come, my brother. I cannot yet boast of
greatest achievement in the industry. It is not by my
work, input as an actor, no! Like I said, it will be by
my legacy.
Most actors refer to you as their role model. Who is a
good actor?
I don't know how to put this without going by
definition. If I can go by what I know, I think like I said
you have to be passion driven; that is you are not
acting because of the money, you are not acting
because of fame. You are just acting because you
love the work. I think that will totally see you
through. Also, I don't know how I can actually say it;
people will actually want to debate it. Whether good
acting is God given, natural talent or is acquired. I do
not know how to define that now but because I know
definitely that it can swing both ways. You could
have a natural talent or God given talent as an actor
and you could still acquire it and still be extremely
good. To me, they swing in both directions. I can't
say you must be a natural or born actor to be a
fantastic or brilliant actor. I know some other very
good actors who weren't born with it, but they are
also extremely good because they love what they are
doing. Like I said, it is the passion, whether it is
natural or acquired once your passion drives you, you
will achieve it.
Most actors try to act like you. Did you go for any
formal training when you were coming up?
No, I didn't. I didn't go for any formal training to be
an actor. It was more like an inborn. There are so
many things I know to deliver certain lines, certain
behaviour. I believe strongly that if you have a
character who is going through certain pains,
emotions, joy, success or whatever, there has to be a
way to actually bring out that character to the best of
your ability, which of course will be to drill yourself in
that character at that moment and feel it deeply. For
instance, if a person is emotionally broken, how do I
deliver an emotionally broken character? I will
personalize it; then I will ask different kinds of people
who have broken down emotionally which one do I
take? Which one do you think would be a market
success if I apply it? That's what I do.
Who were the people that influenced your career at
the beginning?
It is really hard to say because the time we started,
film wasn't palpable. It was more of foreign movies
like Schwarzenegger, Rambo, and all sorts of action
movies. I didn't really have access to television
because I didn't have television at home. I didn't
have access to movies. I mean you go to see movies
like 'Sound of Music' at your friend's house. I couldn't
say I have role models from Indian movies; no there
wasn't anything like. When I started, I remember my
love for Al Pacino and I used him as a yardstick in
acting. If you want to show that you are a good actor,
you shouldn't be stereotype. You should be versatile;
you should possess the ability to play different roles.
I use the Al Pacino`s role in Scarface, Godfather and
Sense of a Woman to show people how versatile he
can be. In Scarface, he has a strict gangster attitude.
In Godfather, he has a mafia attitude. In Sense of a
Woman it was also different. So, three different
characters and they are all distinct. It was like he has
the same gesture here and he has the same
mannerism there or he has the same line here or
there. That's the way you can actually know someone
who is a fantastic actor. He is one of my role models.
How do you wear those characters and display
different behaviours. What is your source of
inspiration?
It is from the society. You look around you and see a
lot of people. People wearing different kinds of faces,
you realize you are going to interact with these
people; everybody has a way of thinking, a way of
life. They are all not the same. You can actually be
adaptive of all these people. For instance, if you are
meant to act like a madman, it will be very
professional to actually go around and find the one
you think would suit the character you are meant to
play in a movie. And you follow the person and study
him for a little while so you can adopt the character
and you can perfect the character while you are
delivering.
A lot of people think you're a snub, arrogant and
Casanova. Who exactly is Ramsey Noah?
I am a regular easy-going kind of guy. I am not a
snub and I am not arrogant. Most times a lot of
people had criticized me, but as an actor that is the
cross I need to carry. And it is easy for you to say
because you are not wearing my shoe. Nigerians are
very quick in judging because they are good in
throwing words before thinking about them. But the
truth of the matter is that we are normal human
beings like you. I am not Jesus and I am not here to
save the world. I am just an actor. Some people are
making my life miserable. At some point when you
think that I am arrogant or proud, it might be due to
circumstances. I might be having a bad day. That I
am an actor does not mean I have it all good and
smooth. For all you know, my daughter or my son
might be sick in the hospital and you probably came
at the wrong time. This could make people think that
you are arrogant.
What is your most embarrassing moment?
I can't actually pencil down any, but I have quite a
few. I have had a woman stone me with pure water
sachet because she felt that I was mean to some girls
in a movie. A woman was sucking an orange and she
threw it at me because she didn't like my behaviour
in the movies.
Would you say that was the craziest thing a fan has
done to you?
I wouldn't say that, I don't want to go explicit.
(Laughing)
How do you handle your female fans?
It is just being nice and diplomatic. You can't be
nasty to them, you can't be mean to them; they are
only doing what they are supposed to do because
they are showing love.
Do you have any project you are working on right
now?
Yes, I just did a fantastic movie with AY. It is like a
comedy, totally different from the lover boy thing,
but I still have a little of lover boy stuff in it anyway.
It is a whole lot of comedy and shot in the United
States. We are going to complete the rest in Nigeria.
That's the work I have pending and there are a few to
come.
Tell us about your growing up?
My growing up was like tasting the two sides of a
coin. When I said tasting the two sides of a coin; I
mean tasting being a rich man and a poor man. I
grew up with my mother, and with a silver spoon, I
had it all. When I began to realize that I had good
things to show off, everything disappeared. We
started from grace to grass; that has helped me a lot
because it totally balanced the equation of life. It
gives me confidence in all spheres. For instance, I can
hang out with the enlightened or the rich. I can
mingle with them very easily without any
complication or complex whatsoever. Also, if it is the
low class or poor people, I can mingle very easily with
them. I can eat a fantastic dinner in a huge,
expensive restaurant and I can go eat amala at a
buka and I would not feel anything. I don't care being
a popular actor or a role model. I am a role model to
everybody.
Are you saying that fame has not denied you
anything in life?
It has denied me a few, but it has not denied me
being as natural as I want to be. I won't let that
happen. It has happened to some of my colleagues.
Fame has taken them away from what they wanted
to do or be. There was a time I went to a bank to pay
my NEPA bill and I was wearing a short and T-shirt,
because it was on Monday morning somebody came
down and said 'Ramsey Noah, you are a role model,
you shouldn't have been wearing this'. I didn't take it
likely with him.
For you, what was the worst scenario when life was
so cruel?
Those were the times when things got really bad for
my mother and I and we had nothing. It was so bad
that we didn't have a home or shelter to live in. We
had to stay in a store, a small store that could take
only one mat. My mother and I squeezed ourselves in
that mat. We didn't even have a cup to drink water
not to talk of a stove to cook. And my mother had to
borrow, beg and stuff like that. These were moments
when I was young I didn't realize the gravity of
poverty we were in, I couldn't tell. But it was a good
orientation for me. It was moments that I thank God
for making me past through, because that has
sustained and helped me even as an actor. The
ability to deliver all the roles they give me because I
have tasted both sides of the coin.
With all these experiences, what has life
taught you?
Life has taught me never to look down on anybody
because the person you disregard might just be your
saviour tomorrow. I realized that all my mother's
property was washed away by rain. We couldn't sleep
all through the night because of the flood. It was
really terrible. Like I said, it is a life lesson.
[Interview by Christian Agadibe, Sunday Sun]
Sent From David Aniemeka
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