A Source met the University of Lagos graduate who won the Best Actress in Yoruba award at the City People Awards held last week in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where she spoke extensively on many issues, including her acting career, love life and family background, among others.
How did it all begin, the acting?
I actually had my background in theatre, because I studied Theater Arts at the University of Lagos; I graduated in 2003, and I worked a while before I joined the industry. But the film that brought me to limelight was Ara, produced by Wemimo Paul in Ibadan.
It was something I really wanted to do; it was something I really have passion for. I just wanted to do it.
As an actress, what do you look at before you accept a role?
Before I work for anybody, first of all I demand for the script. And the reason I always do that is to go through the story. I love a story that I have a passion for; that people can easily watch and gain something from. Then, after demanding for my script and going through it and I have made sure it's a good one, I also want to know the people I am going to work with, because most of the time, if you have a good script and you don't have good people you are working with, it kills the story, and it kills the script, especially the director. It's not as if I don't work with people without experience, but the person has to know what he or she is doing, I just don't want to work with just anybody.
You are not from a Yoruba-speaking state, but you found yourself in Yoruba film industry. How did this happen?
A lot of people have asked me this particular question, and I keep telling them that maybe it's fate, because I never planned to be a Yoruba actress, or to be known in Yoruba sector (of Nollywood). I actually started with the English sector. When I joined the industry, I started with a couple of soaps. I did one or two movies in English, because I did that film I told you about (Ara). I did Eldorado and Images (by Fidelis Duker) and did one with Chico Ejiro (I've forgotten the title but I think it's still airing. It's an old film), then I did a movie with Charles Novia. I did a lot of movies in English. It was after my appearance in Ara that a lot of people started taking note of me that 'who is that girl? She acts very well'. That was how I fully joined the Yoruba industry. I think Ara made me popular.
Was Ara the first Yoruba film you featured in?
Ara was not my first Yoruba film; it was actually the second. But it was Ara that shot me into limelight. I'm happy now in the Yoruba sector.
As a producer, how many films have you produced now?
I think I've produced about four films. The first one was Abimbola. After that I did Afe Aye, then Hajia Jemila. Then I did Osas Omoge Benin, and now I'm working on Loose Girls. This is about four streets girls, outgoing girls; it's is going to be a nice film when it is released. It teaches morals.
Talking about your third film (Osas Omoge Benin), people are saying you copied the storyline of Funke Akindele's Jenifa. Do you have anything to say to that?
People were actually saying that before they watched it; just like when Jenifa came out, a lot of people were saying it was a copy of what Ronke Oshodi Oke did in Gbajumo. Osas is very different from Jenifa; there is no similarity at all. When you see Osas you will see that it is completely different from Jenifa. I don t know where that rumour started from. A lot of people have watched it at the cinema and they now agree that it is completely different from Jenifa.
Can you say Osas Omoge Benin is your best performance so far?
I can't say it's my best, because I don't think I have done my best. The only reason I love Osas is that the character allows me to speak Benin pidgin, which is synonymous with the people from my place. It also allows me to be funny, and that actually is my first comedy movie.
What do you think makes you unique from your other professional colleagues?
I don't know o (general laughter), but I think it's my stature, because a lot of people do tell me I don't look my age; that even after giving birth to two kids, I look younger than my age. You know I'm blessed with a face that looks younger than my age, I mean a baby face. At times when I tell people my age, they will say 'Wow! You don't look it'.
(Cuts in) And how old is Mercy?
I'm in my late 30s actually. I have a lot of upcoming actresses that always come to me to tell me that, and I always get to play their friends in a film without even looking older than they. I think as an actress, I'm blessed with that shape and good look.
What's the secret?
It's God.
Any regrets being an actress?
No, I don't have any regrets.
How does your husband feel whenever he sees you in movies being kissed or fondled?
I don't think he cares, because he knows it's a make-believe sort of thing. There was even a film that I'm supposed to kiss somebody, and when he watched the film he told me that I did not do it well. He said it was not done professionally. The only thing I cannot do is to act nude. I can't act nude.
… Even with a million dollars?
No. I can't do that; our society does not allow that.
Before you got married to your husband, did you have a child?
Yes, I had a kid before I got married to my husband. I had her before I got married.
What do we not know about Mercy Aigbe?
Mercy Aigbe is from Edo State, but I was born in Lagos State. I'm the second among five children (of my parents). I'm Christian from a Christian background, married to a Yoruba man, an hotelier. I have two kids. After my post-primary education, I went to The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State, for my National Diploma before I proceeded to the University of Lagos, where I got a Bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts.
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