I chased producer with cutlass over gay role -Jim Iyke

Veteran Nollywood actor, Jim Iyke, has revealed the lengths he would go to avoid playing certain roles, saying he once chased a movie producer with a cutlass after the filmmaker tried to convince him to portray a gay character. Iyke, who has spent more than two decades in the Nigerian entertainment industry, made the revelation during a recent podcast interview, where he opened up about the kind of roles he would never accept, regardless of the financial reward.

According to the actor, playing a gay character or wearing a skirt for a movie is a line he is unwilling to cross.

“I can never play a gay role. I can’t wear a skirt for anybody. I know there’s a whole community out there, I salute them, but I am too much of a male to get it twisted,” he said.

The actor then recounted his bizarre encounter with a producer who allegedly approached him with a script centred on homosexuality.

“The last producer that tried to convince me to play a gay role, I chased him away with a cutlass,” Iyke narrated.

Explaining what happened, he said the producer initially sent him the script, but he rejected the idea after learning about the character he was expected to play.

“He sent me a script that had to do with homosexuality. I tracked him down with a machete. He saw me and took off. I told him to keep running,” he recounted.

Iyke stressed that his objection was not necessarily the storyline itself, but how the characters were expected to be portrayed.

“The script was not really that deep, but the fact that I was going to wear a skirt and a woman would wear a suit, I rejected it,” he explained. Known for his versatility and willingness to tackle demanding roles, Iyke has featured in numerous Nollywood productions over the years and has also ventured into film production and entrepreneurship.