Ireti Osayemi’s impeccable interpretation of movie roles endears her to a cult-like fan base. The radiant actress in this interview with DGossip247 speaks about her career, family and what makes her viewers’ delight. Excerpts…
You’ve maintained this charm for as long as you’ve been a movie star, what’s your beauty secret?
I have no secret, this is just me, and it’s the grace of God
How about your plump stature, what have you done to avoid adding weight?
I have been trying to work on my weight seriously; this is showbiz, you can’t be just a particular size, you have to look different at a particular time. There are different stages in your career and you have to go with the trend, you need to constantly reinvent.
What’s your current size and what is your target?
I am working toward a size 12, I am size 14 now.
How is life being an actress?
It’s been wonderful, this is the only profession you get to practice every other profession. Being an actress has been wonderful.
Many of your colleagues are going into music, are you considering that as well?
I need to think about that.
You are one of the few Yoruba actresses who have been able to stay away from scandals, what have you done differently?
I try my best to stay out of trouble. I think there are some certain things that you will do and you know within yourself you are not doing the right thing. You can censure yourself before the next man does that for you. You may think you are doing the right thing sometimes but the society may interpret it differently and it becomes a scandal. Sometimes, those things peddled around as scandals might not have really happened. People blow them out of proportion. It is not as if I have any trick, I have just been living my life as quietly as possible.
You’re somewhat inactive on the social media compared to many of your colleagues, is this deliberate?
I have got my hands full in my house, my kids are there. There is no time to go on social media; I love to go online and read then follow the trend, but there is no time to all I would have wished to do. I also hardly ever put my kids’ photos on social media. I try my best to keep my kids out of the rollercoaster nature of the industry; my son doesn’t like it, my daughter does not mind. Once they get old enough they can choose what they want.
You are a beautiful woman, how do you handle your admirers?
I can’t dispute the fact that I do have admirers, it is normal for a woman to have admirers, I try my best to let my them know that I’m taken and they should try someone else.
Some men will tell you that ‘I’m a married man as well, so what is the big deal?’
But you know what you want for yourself and you go for what you want.
How have you been able to manage acting?
I cope well. I think it’s just a function of being well organised.
As a versatile actress, how many languages can you speak?
I speak Yoruba fluently, I speak English fluently and I speak a bit of Igbo, I speak Liberian English fluently , I’m hoping to learn more languages.
If you were to choose your best international actor to work with, who will it be?
A whole lot of them, but I would love to work with Denton Washington more than anyone else.
Of all Nigerian actors, who have you enjoyed working with the most?
We have amazing actors in Nigeria, very good role interpreters. I have worked with quite a number of them and they are all amazing.
What project are you currently working on?
I have a few works I have done and we are w o r k – ing on getting t h e m out; we have ‘Oju Apa’ (The Scar) and some others.
How many roles have you rejected and what kind of roles will you frown at?
I have rejected a lot of scripts. I have to balance the home and work; so when it is clashing, I have to turn some down. I try my best not to turn down scripts, if the script is not what I want, I try to talk to the producer to balance it. You don’t totally say this is a bad job, I don’t believe that there is a bad script, all you need is to put in some things, take some things out and make it perfect.
With a million dollar will you act nude?
No I won’t, I’m an African woman, a proud one at that.
How has your husband reacted to your career choice, especially when he sees you doing romantic roles?
He would say I should not be fake and if I had chosen this profession, I should do it well. He is very supportive.
At what point did you discover you could act?
The truth is that I got into acting by accident. Though I always loved watching people act, I never knew I would one day act until the opportunity came. Since then, it had been a wonderful experience.
We know you’re a professional now. But what was it like at the outset?
I used to be scared of the camera, but I have outgrown that now. As you rightly said, I’m a professional now. I thank God for my fans who have been there for me all these years.
Now, I can say I’m a star, but the fans are the real stars because they are the ones who make us want to put more effort into what we are doing.
How many movies have you featured in so far?
I have lost count. It’s over a decade, as you know. I had featured in over 20 English movies before crossing to the Yoruba movie genre. So far, I’ve featured in over 100 movies and TV soaps.
What do you consider before taking up a script?
I consider the depth of the story, the director and the cast.
