By Damilola Fatunmise
Beautiful and talented actress, Maggie Osuome didn’t hold anything back in this rare interview.
Like never before, she opened up on her career, relationships and future plans among other issues. Please enjoy it.
Tell us how your acting career began.
Professionally, it all started in 2018, April to be precise. So, this is actually five years since I started doing this. I had just concluded my National Youth Service, and being a trained broadcast journalist, I tried getting jobs in broadcasting firms. I actually did well in school and it wasn’t even just theoretical knowledge, I put my education into practice –anchored programmes on our campus radio, interned every single summer at a radio or TV station, and received splendid reviews. So, I expected to get a job but it just wasn’t coming. Then, I had a moment of self-reflection. I asked myself ‘What’s your first love? Why not go back to it?’ Because, really, that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to study Theatre Arts and not Mass Communication, but that’s a story for another day.
After that eureka moment, I started attending auditions and I got my first job in April 2018. It was for a web series that still hasn’t been released. After that, I got a role in another TV series and a role in a stage play. So, in my first year, I did a web series, I did TV, I did theatre, and I did commercials.
Would you say your upbringing has contributed to the actor you’ve become?
There are certain principles that I live by, and a good number of them are things that I learned as a child growing up. I learned the importance of diligence and a good name from my parents, and that dictates every single thing I do. My mom would say ‘whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well’. So, even if you’re just doing simple chores like cooking or dusting, or working on your assignments, whatever it is, she’d expect you to give it your best. And that’s something that stuck. My dad too would always stress the importance of a good name. He would say, ‘no one can arrest me or accuse me of doing something shady’. So, integrity is really important. And because I live by these words, when people hear the name, Maggie Osuome, they know that she’s going to come along well.
At what stage did it become obvious that acting was going to be the thing for you?
Right from my mother’s womb, I knew! But that’s not really true. In primary school, I had teachers ask me to recite this poem or sing this song on the assembly or join the Atilogwu Dance Troupe and all that. So, I knew I had a knack for performing arts from primary school. But when it dawned on me that I was really good at it was my first year in junior secondary school. I joined the drama group, and we had to represent the school in a dance drama competition. I was cast as a warrior, the lead warrior, and I had so much fun. I enjoyed the rehearsals, I enjoyed the songs, I enjoyed the dance, and I enjoyed the routines. I enjoyed everything! I felt so good on stage. I think it was during that period I knew that this was something I’d do for the rest of my life.
All through secondary school, performing art was something I was heavily involved in. But when I had to put in for JAMB, my father encouraged me to study something else. I told him I wanted to study Theatre Arts but he encouraged me to apply for another course; he told me that I could do whatever I wanted after graduation. Long story short, I put in for Mass Communication, graduated and then went back to my first love: Theatre Arts.
What’s the movie or role that gave you the privilege to showcase your talent without you feeling like you were limited in your ability to express yourself to an audience?
It’s so interesting that you asked this question because a good number of the jobs I’ve been a part of have done that for me. But, if I’m to mention the very first one, I’d say Mamma Mia: The Musical. I don’t know if you’ve seen Mamma Mia: The Movie, but this particular adaptation is a travelling play. It’s been staged in over 60 countries worldwide. It’s a story loosely inspired by the hit songs of the popular Swedish band, ABBA. I played Sophie Sheridan in the musical, and I remember telling the director when we were done with the run that I was so grateful for the opportunity, because I felt so alive performing in that particular play.
I was so happy on stage, I felt free and I can say I had the time of my life. I knew that I was impacting people while taking them down memory lane; and the reviews I got after were just so amazing. I remember calling the director, Najite Dede a month after. I was just thanking her for her dedication to the actors, the story, for the opportunity and for guiding us to tell the story. It wasn’t until after that particular musical that I started confidently introducing myself as a performer. Before then, I was a little shy whenever I had to talk about what I did for a living. You know how people will be like ‘Ah, you’re not doing something serious oh. Try and get a real job now’. I was so concerned about that, but after that job, because it involved singing, acting, dancing, breath control, projection, audience interaction – knowing how to capture and captivate an audience, I started looking at myself as a super human. I got so confident. I would go anywhere and when asked, I’d say ‘I’m an actor. I’m a performer!’
Which one makes you feel most alive, being on stage or in front of the camera?
For me, it’s less of the medium and more of the story. Because there are roles that I’ve played in films or TV shows that have given me the same joy that playing Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia gave me. So, yes, it’s more about the story for me. It’s the story’s relevance. Are people going to benefit from it? How does my character’s story change the life of someone out there? How does a character make me feel? Do I feel like it’s an evergreen role that people will watch generations from now, learn from it and try to do better for themselves and society? Those are the kind of things I look out for. So, yeah, it’s more about the story and character than the medium.
Aside acting, what else do you do?
I do voiceovers. I used to edit non-fiction articles, short stories and novels. I haven’t done that in a while though. For now, it’s basically acting and voiceovers. Chances are that you’ve heard my voice on a couple of TV or radio commercials.
What is your philosophy of life?
Take every step with God in mind, and give it your best shot. Yeah, I’m a Christian, so that kind of influences every step I take. I take every step with God in mind because, in the end, He’s the one who gives you wisdom – wisdom to know what roles are great for you or what opportunities you should jump at and which ones aren’t for you. He’s the one who gives you wisdom to go about your relationships with people – personal relationships, working relationships, basically everything. So, I take every single step with God in mind. Will He be pleased with this? Will I misrepresent Him? I also give every single thing my best shot. I got that from my childhood. Whether you give me a supporting or lead role, or even no scene, I’d try my best to deliver.
You were recently announced among the cast of MTV Shuga Naija season 5. How was the audition process for MTV Shuga Naija for you?
I think it all began in August or September 2022. I remember receiving an email asking me to record a self-tape, and I did. At the time, they were little sneaky about it. The title of the production wasn’t Shuga. It was Carry Go or something like that. I remember at the time some of my colleagues were like, ‘I sent my tape for that Shuga audition’. I was like, ‘Ah, you guys are so lucky; I didn’t receive anything. You guys are so lucky!’ I didn’t know that the Carry Go I auditioned for was actually Shuga. I think like a month down the line or so, I got invited for a closed reading. It wasn’t until I got to that table where all the other actors were present that I realised that Carry Go was actually Shuga Naija.
But then, I did that and I think a couple of weeks after, I was in my house having dinner, and then I got a call from a number that I couldn’t recognise. I picked it and it was Ted Abudu. I was so shocked. I was just trying to keep calm. Then she said, ‘We are pleased to offer you the role of Haalel…’ I got up immediately because I was so excited; I couldn’t believe it. Thinking about it now, it was such a wonderful moment.
What was your experience being a cast member on the MTV Shuga Naija?
Oh, it was blissful, and I’m not exaggerating. I can confidently say it’s one of the best sets I’ve been on since I started my acting career, especially in terms of coordination. There was mutual respect and consideration and I think it was a function of the leadership. Isioma Osaje and Ted Abudu led a really good ship, and they got like-minded people together:
What advice would you give young ladies who are probably in the same situation that Haalel was in the series?
Playing Haalel on MTV Shuga Naija brought home the realities of a good number of young women, and even married women in Nigeria and sub-saharan Africa. I’ve heard stories of people I know personally who have been sexually and physically abused in their homes, but playing that character made it like my own experience because I had to do research, I had to get into it. So, I know it’s difficult. If you find yourself in a physically, emotionally or verbally abusive relationship, it’s really difficult to leave, especially when you love the person and you’re hopeful that they can change. However, if you don’t leave, you tend to lose your confidence. You tend to lose more and more of yourself, you lose your identity, and you start looking small, not just to every other person, but to yourself.
No one should live without confidence. So, I’d really advise that if your partner – emphasis on partner, because both genders can be victims – if your partner is doing something that you’re not confident sharing with other people or you’re not proud to tell your family or your friends, and that’s if you still have any because these relationships tend to isolate you from other people – then chances are you are being abused. It doesn’t just have to be physical; it can be emotional, verbal and psychological. If you’re being abused, you need to leave. You’re not to blame, and you can’t stay put just because the person has ‘helped you’ or the person has been nice to you in the past. If your life is threatened, if your identity is threatened, you need to protect yourself. You have to remember that you can’t change the person if the person doesn’t want to change. Loving the person, pouring 100% of love into the person isn’t going to change the person. So, even if it means you being alone, go where you’re cherished.
Now to more social subjects, what turns you off?
My turns-off are dishonesty and pride. If you’re being dishonest with me on any single thing, chances are you already lost me. Except I am led in a different direction, chances are you’ve already lost my trust. We might still be friends, we might still interact, but you’ve lost a great chunk of whatever it is we had. So, yes, I’m a sucker for truth and honesty even in the littlest things. When I don’t get that, it’s really disappointing and upsetting. Another thing is pride. Pride that makes you un-teachable, pride that makes you feel superior to every other person, so much so you dismiss their opinions, their feelings, I don’t like pride.
What are your turns-on?
Honesty and humility! But on a more serious note, being thoughtful because, it all boils down to whether or not you’re a selfish person. I’m not even talking about just romantic relationships, but also platonic friendships. You really can’t just go about being selfish, seeking your own good, not thinking about the other person in the mix and what’s good for them. So, yeah, being thoughtful, compassionate, humble and honest. Those things add the seasoning in life!
What’s your kind of man?
Most importantly, it’s a man who has an intimate relationship with God, because everything flows from that. If you have an intimate relationship with God and you seek to please him, you would respect me, you would look out for my best interests, you would be thoughtful and compassionate. I like funny people because I like to think I’m funny. I like people with a good sense of humour. And definitely, I like a man that looks good to me – emphasis on ‘to me’.
Is Maggie in a serious relationship or open to one?
Maggie is in a serious relationship with herself, her career and God.
What has been your most challenging role so far and how were you able to pull it off?
There are two roles that come to mind. The first being the role I played in the Africa Magic series, Riona. I played Tsema and it was physically tasking because it was an epic drama. That and Haalel in MTV Shuga Naija, because if you remember, I mentioned earlier about the places I had to go to emotionally, the things I had to expose myself to, to play that character truthfully. Acting is serious work. It requires vulnerability; it requires you opening yourself to emotions that you normally wouldn’t feel on a normal day. I had to do that a lot with Haalel; she took me to places I wouldn’t normally want to go to. I had to confront a good number of things. I had to draw on the experiences of people that I know personally, and that was really tasking. So, for both roles, I would say I was able to pull them off because I’m very big on preparation and I’m open to learning. Before I take on a role, I really prepare.
Where does Maggie see herself in the next five years?
By God’s grace, on international stages in international projects, telling stories that are important to me, stories that represent people from all walks of life and impact generations. Also, making documentaries that teach and influence communities positively.