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Nigerian comedian, writer, actor and occasional director, Bovi, has revealed that he rejected some acting roles early in his career because he did not want to be typecast.
Bovi, who began his career as an actor and creator of the popular comedy series Extended Family, which premiered in 2007, said he started receiving offers for passive roles after his portrayal of a typical rustic ‘Warri boy’ character in the series.
Speaking on the CreativiTea podcast, Bovi said he turned down such roles because he believed he had more to offer as an actor.
“I knew there was more to me,” he said.
“We all stood out in our different ways, and because my character was playing that typical warri boy, the rustic village one. I started to get offers in Nollywood, but they were all tied to either being like that character, or a gate man, you know, or a passive role, and I turned all of them down.”
“Yeah, because I was like, I know there’s more to me, you know, I grew up watching TV, I grew up understanding how different industries work, Hollywood, Bollywood, so I was like, it’s too early for me to get stereotypical in my approach to my career.”
The 46-year-old Bovi Ugboma, who is from Ndokwa East, Delta State, but frequently linked with Warri—where he was raised—but was born in Benin City, mentioned that since his teenage years, he had already been convinced that he never wanted to be stereotyped and that formed his decision to refuse certain offers that came his way and bodly admited that he still does turn down offers till date.
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“So, to be honest, like I said, that idea of, I don’t want to be typecast this early, is something I had already known when I was a teenager; that happens in industries. Make no mistake, there’s nothing wrong in being typecast, especially if you are doing it as a career path where you want to earn money.
“I want to earn money, I want to make money, but I know there is more to me than to be typecast. So, today I still turn down roles, actually, you know, and I explain why.”
The father of three said he was in his late 20s when he started turning down offers.
However, when asked if he would advise youngins to do that now, he said, “If you know what you want, just stick to it no matter what comes your way because a lot of people would just be like, oh, I’m hungry now. I need to take these roles.”
On the other hand, he believes a person can make money being stereotyped if it’s a chosen career decision, and “it depends on the strength of the individual and where they’re coming from”.
He advised fellow creatives to make themselves attractive to opportunities, likening them to “sugar” that naturally draws “ants.”
