Why I didn’t invite people to my wedding —Nollywood actress Uche Nnnana
Newly wedded Nollywood actress Uche Nnnana is said to have married her beau Richard secretly. The Two Sisters and Mary The Hunter star clears the air, in this interview with MERCY MICHAEL, among other issues.
2013 is fast running out, how would you rate the year so far as it relates to your job?
How could you ask that kind of question? You should know better (laughs). It is indeed fulfilling. For me, this year has been one of the best ever; it’s the year I got married to my wonderful husband and the year God blessed me with so many good jobs. I started the year with so many good roles and before you know it, the wedding came. I’m so excited.
What are some of the things you still hope to achieve?
I have achieved all I think I want to achieve this year, but that doesn’t mean if any other thing comes up, I won’t grab it. As a human being, I would say I have achieved all that I want to achieve this year but I know God might still have some good things in store for me. My God is a wonderful God.
Do you have plans of becoming a movie producer?
I am thinking towards that direction. But that is if God permits me; because whatever I do is by His grace. God alone can give me the inspiration, the strength to do it because to produce a movie is not an easy task.
How were you able to deal with scandals before your marriage?
I could say I am one of the actresses who have been very lucky. I think I am scandal-free. I have not really faced any scandal.
How does it feel to be married?
I am loving it. I am at peace with it. I feel good being a married woman. Now I realise what a great joy I have been missing all the while I was single. Nothing feels good than knowing that you have someone out there who loves you alone, who is watching your back, who calls you every minute to know what you are doing. Someone who tells you all the romantic things you need to hear and make you happy. By the time you get back from work, he is always there to ask you how it went. I was really missing out when I wasn’t married. Thank God I’m married now. I’m really enjoying it.
What was the attraction to him?
I come from a very strong Christian family and the upbringing I was given is to love God and to serve Him. So when I met my husband, what really attracted me to him was his love for God. The way the world is going these days, you hardly see young people devoting their time to serving God. That was one of things that attracted me to him. Please, every young girl should get married and make sure you get a guy who loves you so much.
How did he propose?
He was so romantic, you know. On that day, I never saw it coming. He said a whole lot of romantic things to me and he went on his knees to give me the ring. I was so excited. I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say.
Why then did you make it a secret wedding?
Yes, nobody saw it coming. I decided to play it very cool. I decided to play it so quiet because my husband is not a noisemaker. Secondly, where I come from, we don’t do traditional wedding. I come from Ihechiowa, in Arochukwu Local Government. What we do is called Nzukoro or Ikwetoku others called it Imego. That was what we did. So it wasn’t a traditional wedding and at the same time, it wasn’t a secret wedding. It was just a quiet wedding. I decided to do it quiet because I want to separate my movie life from my private life. If it was a secret wedding, there wouldn’t have been pictures, but our pictures were all over the place. People should stop using that word, secret. It was a quiet Imego.
When is will your white wedding be?
Like I said, what I did was not a secret wedding. It was a quiet wedding. But I’m sorry to disappoint you; right now I am not going to tell you the date of my white wedding. But it’s coming up soon. I will let everybody know. I want to use this medium to tell my friends and my fans because so many of them accused me of not telling them. I am sorry. It was just a quiet thing I did. I didn’t want to make noise about it, but one or two persons were actually around.
I also noticed the absence of your colleagues at your younger sister’s wedding at the registry. Are you that secretive?
I’m not secretive o. Did you not see my friend Tessy Oragwa at the registry for my sister’s wedding? Sometimes, I don’t like bothering people. Most of my friends who were supposed to come were busy on location.
Your friends in the industry, how did they feel that you kept it away from them?
Somehow it came as a shock to my friends not just in Nollywood. To every other person it was a surprise. It came as shock to them. So many of them were pinging me, trying to find out what was happening. I told them not to worry and they should forgive me. I promise them that very soon we are all going to rock the white wedding. That was what I told all my friends.
Do you still hang out with your friends now that you are married?
My dear hanging out with my friends is not a problem just that after my wedding, I have been very busy. We are all busy people like I told you. We jump from one location to another so it has not been easy but whenever we have time, we hangout. Marriage is not bondage. My marriage is not a prison. My friends are still my friends so whenever we are free, we hangout, have a good time together and come home. That’s just it. Do you believe that some people saw it and till today, they’ve not said a word to me. I just look at it and smile.
Would you quit acting now that you are married?
My dear, I have no plans to call it quits with the industry now that I’m married because my husband supports what I am doing. He loves my job. He doesn’t have a problem with it, so my fans have nothing to worry about. Don’t think you are going to miss me on your screen. I am still here full time, ready to give you all the actions you need to watch. My husband gives me hundred percent support, so I am not quitting acting.
What is your dream role after all these years in Nollywood?
I think every challenging role is a dream role. I wish to get more challenging roles. In Mary the Hunter, I played a cripple and imbecile at the same time and it was really tough but I thank God for His mercies. Those are the kinds of roles I look forward to. No role is a small one. No role is an easy one, but I like those very challenging roles. Two Sisters was another challenging one all together. I want a role that will make me to wake up at night, study my script, rehearse in front of my mirror, tell myself I have to make sure I do this well. I was taught in theatre art that there is no good show without a good rehearsal. So any role that comes my way I make sure I rehearse it very well.
Nollywood is celebrating 20 years; how would you rate the industry?
It’s really a great and a good one. When it started nobody knew it would come this far. Nollywood has changed the image of this country outside. Through Nollywood so many people have come to know more about Nigeria. It’s really a good thing. Nollywood has given employment opportunity to thousands of people. So many youths are surviving because of Nollywood. Nollywood is one of the best things to happen to this country. Even our elderly ones come to Nollywood to act and earn a living. Many who have not been paid their pension are surviving because of Nollywood, so government and corporate bodies should come and invest because Nollywood is doing a great job. And I will use this opportunity to give kudos to our President Ms Ibinabo Fiberesima. She is really doing a wonderful job.
What changes would you love to see in the industry?
Government and corporate bodies should come into Nollywood. It’s not something individuals can do alone. I hope that one day, every state will have a film village where we can go, build our set and shoot anything we want to shoot there. That way you find out that our movie will have better sound. The other time we went to America, we went to Universal Studio to be precise, we saw how they do it there. Universal Studio is built on 399 hectares of land. These is where they build everything they want. They want an African street they build it. They want houses in London they build it. After shooting they will change it. They want to shoot a movie that is telling about New York, they build houses representing New York houses. They do what they want to do and that way everything about the movie comes out good not like Nigeria where we go to people’s houses to shoot.
In recent times, most of your colleagues have delved into other businesses; do you have any plans of doing same and what is that likely to be?
I’m definitely looking in that direction but I will not let the cat off the bag. If anything comes up, definitely I will let you know. For now, I want to keep it under wraps. I like when I keep it quiet and unveil later, that way, people can see it and appreciate it.
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