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By Christian Agadibe
Nollywood actress cum producer, Uche Nnanna, has revealed the secrets of her staying power.
In this interview, the Abia State-born screen diva and producer of award winning movie, Nneka, also talked about how marriage and motherhood has slowed her down. Please enjoy it.
How did you feel the day your film won an award?
What I felt that day, even what I still feel up till now, I can’t really explain it. It’s more than excitement; it’s more than amazing. I don’t know the exact word to describe how I felt and how I feel now.
What do you attribute the award to?
Doing something different because the award was for Best Indigenous Movie in Igbo. When it comes to Igbo movies, people hardly do a good job, so I took it upon myself and said I was going to make a good Igbo film. I am Igbo and I speak Igbo fluently.
Can we know what you passed through to make that movie?
It wasn’t easy. But I knew what I wanted from the beginning. When I picked a script, I knew what I wanted. I desired my name on the map of Nollywood. I wanted to use this film for the AMVCA. I said it from the onset and I kept to it. I wanted people that could deliver and I got the best. Floris Sunday, who played Nneka, is a wonderful actress. She nailed the character and it was her mother who was the lead actor in the movie, and I’m happy how it came out at the end of the day. Very soon, we’re going to get Nneka on a bigger platform like Netflix.
What’s the character you played in the movie and what did you like about the character?
My character in the movie was a naughty one. It’s a married woman who happens to have done her traditional wedding, but not the white wedding. My husband and I were from different churches, and the mom was insisting we got married in their own church. You know how it is, so I was calling my husband a mommy’s boy because he refused to go with me. It was really a naughty character.
You are one of the Nollywood stars that got married and still have your staying power, what is the secret?
God and Trust. My partner trusting me is what keeps me going. When you talk about marriage, the key word is trust. If the partners involved don’t have trust in each other, that’s where the problem starts. But when you trust your partner, like I am out here this night and my husband is not here, but he trusts me 100 per cent. He knows where I am; he knows what I’m doing at every giving point. So, it’s all about trust.
What advice do you have for those who are scared of going into marriage because it could take them off their career?
Marriage cannot take you off your career; it can only slow you down. That’s the only thing marriage can do to you because in this life, you can never eat your cake and have it. So, when you get married as a woman, it slows you down because you have to conceive for nine months. And as a mom, you have to breastfeed and you have to be there for the child. It happened to me; marriage slowed me down.
What did you do to bring back the vibe?
What I did to bring back the vibe was I invested in myself. I used my own money to start producing movies. By the time they saw it, they started calling me again to feature in their movies. Today, we are a proud AMVCA winner because of the movie I invested in.
As an actor, was it easy transitioning to a producer?
It wasn’t easy at all. But I coped because I’m the kind of person that doesn’t find it hard to adapt. I switch at every given time I want to switch. That does it for me. However, transitioning from an actress to a producer wasn’t that hard. When you have a good relationship and understanding with people, it won’t really be hard.
What was your first movie as a producer?
It’s Bond of Bondage. The storyline is something that happened while we were growing up, my sister, my other sister, and her friend. So, by the time I wanted to produce, I wanted to get a real story, a story that people can always connect with, something that people would feel because it is a family story. I’m always doing family stories because I’m a family person. I was pregnant and far away in America when I was doing the script with Emeka Amakeze, who happens to be the writer of the story, and he was part of the movie too.
How many movies have you produced?
Altogether, I’ve produced Bond of Bondage, Wedlock, Maria, Wedding Gown, Double Personality, and Nneka
With all these movies, do you think you’re very good at acting or producing?
I’m good at both.
How do you safeguard your marriage?
As far as I’m concerned, it’s God that’s running it for me. I do what I need to do as a woman and a mother, but when it comes to safeguarding the marriage, na God dey run am.
If you caught your husband cheating, what would you do?
I don’t imagine such a thing. It’s not happening. I’m sorry my husband doesn’t cheat; he cannot cheat.
How then do you balance it, especially for your hubby?
It is demanding but I still try to balance it. That’s why you don’t see me in so many movies these days. I do movies when it is convenient for me. At the end of the day, you can’t eat your cake and have it, you can’t be out there in every movie and your home wouldn’t suffer.
What’s the greatest sacrifice you’ve done for your career?
When I produced my movie, The Plot, I didn’t even count that movie. How did I forget The Plot? When I shot The Plot, it was crazy; the challenges were so much that my second son was ill. I’d come back from some locations late at 11pm and would be awake cleaning him up because of some fever till daybreak. Sometimes, I’d have to take him to the hospital by 5am or 6am to get injection, and then I’d come back home and keep him with my elder sister and nanny. And then, I would get back to work. At a point, it was so bad that I wanted to turn off the shoot, but my spiritual father, Father Leo said ‘Uche, you can’t do that. Run to the hospital, I’m here praying for you. If you stay at home, nothing will change. So, go back to work, you have capable hands at home to take care of him’.
What advice would you give to celebrities that are always anxious about their husbands cheating on them?
I’m a marriage counselor; I’m a relationship counselor. In such situations, you allow that person to decide what they want to do. The way I might take it isn’t the way you’ll take it. So, I’ll always tell you to think about it, don’t be in a hurry to make any decision, weigh the two options of leaving your marriage or staying. It’s not about what the society wants you to do; it’s about what is convenient for you.
You still look beautiful, what keeps you going?
Exercise. I don’t joke with exercise. I advise young girls not to wait till they get married and start having children before they’ll start doing exercise. I started exercising over 20 years ago, that’s what has kept me going.
As a beautiful lady, do you still have people that ‘toast’ you?
Yeah, once in a while it comes up. For instance, one guy came to my DM and said ‘hi beautiful lady’. I said ‘sorry, do you know you’re talking to someone’s wife?’ And the guy immediately said ‘oh sorry, I didn’t know’. I said ‘okay, your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more’.
How do you handle some stubborn men?
You block them, nothing else. The other day, someone ran into me at the airport wearing a facemask and wanted to get my number. I said ‘sorry, I’m a married woman’, and the guy withdrew. But there was a crazy one I met one day. I was driving, he was also driving; we were in traffic and he was trying to smile at me, and I smiled back. I thought he’s a fan, but by the time he brought out his phone and said ‘your number’, I now told him I’m a married woman. Do you know what the stupid man said? He said, ‘I’m a married man too’. Can you imagine?
Finally, do you think that sex keeps marriage?
No. Which kind of sex? You no go tire? What keeps marriage like I said earlier is do your part, make sure you’re bringing something to the table. You should be a good adviser, a good planner, and a good spender. Don’t lavish the little your husband is bringing. And apart from that, God is the only one who keeps marriage.
