Richard Mofe Damijo has seen the ups and downs of life. From acting to mentoring, the multi platinum sex symbol has become a living legend. He was recently named special adviser to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State. He spoke to Olumide Iyanda, shortly before the appointment.

What is your take on the state of the art in Nigeria?
If we have to discuss that then we need to break it down to several segments. But what comes to mind very quickly is how any government could think of privatizing the National Theatre. It is totally irresponsible for any government to think of doing that to something that is not for profit. It is supposed to be a place of tourism and an aggregation of whatever the country stands for. It is the place that you propagate your culture. That is now the place you are using all kinds of word to sell. The amount of the population in Britain and America that supports the art is less than six percent. The reason why the art is still thriving is because that six percent is highly schooled and there are all forms of government funding. There are people who will leave this country and go there and get all kinds of grant. I don't think that any government that has a clear agenda for the art would even broach the topic of selling the Theatre or doing concession, whatever they call it. Look at me; I'm a product of that place for goodness sake! When we finished youth service in 1984 we went there on a daily basis to hang out. We would migrate and go to the NTA in Victoria Island. You would do a stage place at the Theatre then rush to NTA for rehearsal and come back. That was the place that my generation who worked in Lagos was groomed. While we are on this issue of what to do with the Theatre we might as well privatize all government secretariats and landmarks. We might as well privatize Aso Rock too.

Incidentally you are working on a new film called State of the Heart. Do you mind telling us about it?
This is the first time in 10 years that I will be directing a film. Remember, Out of Bounds was in 1997.

Did you plan that?
No, it was just coincidental. It was when we were shooting that my assistant director told me that 'do you know it's 10 years since Out of Bounds'. It is just uncanny. I have always said to my colleagues that if you are doing something you should do it to the best standard you can find anywhere. There is no need being a jack of all trade. I called the company that produced Out of Bounds Outrage Pictures because it was an outrage against what was happening at the time. I used to tell the Ejiro brothers then that it is possible to do a film where you plan from day one. That way the hitches will not be very many. Even when there are they can be well taken care of. We did Out of Bounds, we did soundtrack that was different from the production and up till now, ten years after, no one has been able to do a separate soundtrack for a movie. It is possible to do movies the way they are done out there. Standards do not have to be sacrificed. The idea of doing this new film came about when the so-called ban was on. I use to say that it would be nice to do a film when I finish Law school, get called to the Bar and settle down a bit. We planned it and in ten days we were done with shooting. We finished shooting around March and we haven't finished the editing. I want to cut it down to two hours. Right now we have about two hours and 16 minutes. The first cut was over three hours, the second was two and half, now we are where we are. We want to premiere the two-hour version then do a longer version for DVD. I am not going to do VCD. I discovered a number of talented young Nigerians on this project. Again, I am going to do a separate soundtrack for the film.

We haven't seen much of you in films since the 'ban.'
I have only done two films since the 'ban' - this one and one for Charles Novia. Talking about the 'ban,' I eventually went for the meeting called to iron things out and one thing was clear and it was regrettable what they did. The step they took was a panic measure. Yes, a few people were guilty of some things the marketers were complaining of but I told them that were the cause of whatever rot that crept into the system. And they agreed. I remember them saying I should come back after the meeting and hold workshops with them. They were the ones paying actors money to leave other producers' sets to come to their own. Actors were jumping queues. They will tell you that they will talk to the other producers to let you leave their set to come and shoot a film for them. I wouldn't do that, even if you promise to talk the other producer. I will finish whatever I am doing and if you are next in line I will come to you. When it became a problem that was when they knew they had bred a monster. They needed to handle their monster but in the process of doing that they roped innocent people in. the issue of maximum wage was discussed and I told them clearly that it was not going to work. There is no way you will tell somebody that this is the most money I will pay you. You can only fix minimum wage, not maximum wage for a work of art that is priceless. This is especially so when there are no support structures like royalties and all of that. I think everybody realised their mistake along the line and all the fences have been mended. I don't think we will have that kind of situation again. We have proper structures now. If a director is misbehaving you go to his guild and let them deal with him. I don't know what the true situation is with Ini Edo but it was the guild that handled her case. I believe that if I misbehave on a set or breach a contractual agreement my guild or the court should be the proper place to go instead of placing a blanket ban on people without any wrong doing on their part.

Almost all of you that came out of that 'ban' have not been as visible on the scene as before.
That is because it gives you time to think. Besides, I kept saying to you guys then if you were listening that I was not banned. I had just done my last stint for Behind Closed Doors with Remmy Jes in Asaba and I was going to Law School. My life practically came to a stop for 11 months because all I was doing was study for my Bar exam. In Law School you are not allowed to do anything else and went I got called to the bar I planned to practise for sometime before I go back to my first love. They even say that in Law School they don't like superstars. I was not going to be running between court and location. Again, everybody affected by that 'ban' took a long reflective look at their career and realised that it should not be business as usual. Producers have been coming to me; in fact they were asking if I was angry for turning down scripts. I told them that I have been known to turn down bad scripts in the past. It is not about the money. I have also told them that I was not going to be rewriting scripts for them. That was part of what I told them at the meeting. I was very offended because I know how much I have contributed to every set I have been on. I rewrite my lines, rewrite lines for everybody; I practically rewrite scripts. Except for a few movies with very good writers I practically do everything and I don't get credit for it. These days when they give me script and say, 'bros, you can change it and do anything you want,' I tell them 'no, go look for the writer.' I give them my comment and tell them to effect the corrections. If the corrections are effected I will do it. I just haven't seen the right script since Charles Novia walked through my doors. We talked about it, I changed a few things, he went back, tinkered with it and it was sorted. Stella (Damasus) feels the same way as I do. I remember I spoke to Genevieve (Nnaji) and she feels the same way. They have been doing stuff since then but you can't just do every film that comes to you anymore. Of course the issue of maximum wage didn't work because some of actors now get more than what they were getting before. You just can't make things static. Olumide, you need to look at the films that have been produced lately and you will see that standards are falling. Apart from technical advancement in a few places most of the practitioners now are people who learn the job on the road and not as detailed as the old hands. That is why any good film stands out so strongly. It's a shame because there is a tendency to make everything Nigerian looks like it has to be second rate and I don't subscribe to that. That is why when State of the Heart comes out it will stand out. Why can't everybody be like Amaka Igwe or Emem Isong when they write scripts? Or like Tade Ogidan when they direct.

Is it a minus that we have not been able to create another Stella, Genevieve and Omotola?
I don't think you even need all those ones. You just need a crop of people who are dedicated to their craft. It's about discipline. There is no need trying to create another Omotola or Genevieve. You cannot have another RMD. You can only have other good actors. We need to create a generation of actors that will come up and step up their game and be as good as RMD, Joke, Ramsey and others. You have producers who are doing favours to their girlfriends. That a girl looks like Genevieve does not mean she can act like Genevieve. What has happened is that if you look at the history of these people there is a common thread that runs through which is dedication and a desire to be better than the last one. Not many of the actors we have now will agree to attend a workshop. I always use the example of Desmond Elliot. I was running a workshop at IPAN and he was one of the students. I looked at him with the rest of the people in the class and said that this one will go places. I would give them an assignment right there and then and he would come back the next day with the best presentation. The ability to act does not come overnight. You have to sit in front of your mirror and work day and night. Ask anybody who knew me in Warri and they will tell you I didn't go to any fancy school. Whatever speech I have today I learnt from television and in front of the mirror. I listened to my teachers the few times I had the ones who bothered to teach me to change my nuances. That is what I train the young ones I am trying to train these days. It is good to come from Warri and have all the pidgin but if you want to also crossover you need to work on your accent. It is possible because I did it. I didn't go to any nursery school. I went to some of the worst schools where English was not one of the most important things to be spoken. So, to go back to your questions, it is not about replacing the ones that are on top of their game it is about raising those with the same kind of dedication, if not better.

Your job must have been easy seeing that you have people like Joke Jacobs, Stella Damasus, Kate Henshaw-Nuttal, Bimbo Akintola and Segun Arinze in State of the Heart.
It makes it easy and apart from that these are people that are reliable and can do certain things in a movie. You will be surprised to know that the original story was written by Tony Okoroji's daughter. She sat in my office, told me the story and I liked it. She gave me the raw script and we developed it. I showed it to some other newcomers in the industry who worked on it before I did the final screenplay. I like to groom people that are dedicated. There are some people I am hoping that if I spend two or three months with them they will come out and be on top of their game.

What are your immediate plans for the film when it is ready?
We want to premiere it. We are talking to a few sponsors. We are going to go to Ghana, Canada and a few other places as well. Then I will give it to a good marketer that can push it as much as it deserves.

You said you went to some of the worst schools in Warri but some people thought you came minted.
No. I still say things like 'shursh' and 'chirt' like every Warri boy. I used to have this NCE teacher who just took an interest in me when I was in secondary school. I wrote about him when Cadbury did something about teachers. He helped me with my pronunciation and all that but after he left I remember one incident that was the changing point in my spoken language. I had just entered St Patrick's College, Asaba, joined the drama club and they were doing a play called Dinner for Promotion. Because I came late the drama had already been cast. Two days to the show something happened to the lead character and they were going to cancel the show. I went to the president and told him not to cancel the show that I can do it. He said it was impossible but I told him I would do it in two days. Of course I did it and at the end of the production the students carried me and were dancing round the hall saying a new star was born. It was an all-boys school but we used girls from another school to complement us. I remember very clearly that some girl in the cast said I pronounced something wrongly. They were laughing at my pronunciation and I heard. While my mates were carrying me high I swore right there and then that I was going to improve my pronunciation. By the time I got to the University of Benin I made sure that all my front of mirror exercise include pronunciation. I did that until I came to Lagos after my youth service. My sister always called me mad. I did my pronunciation while brushing my teeth. An aunt that came to visit once asked my sister to go check if I was all right because I was screaming in front of the mirror in the room.

So, it wasn't a privilege background after all
I grew up on Welfare Road in Warri and anybody that knows that place will tell you it is not a privilege background after all. I am from a family of 19. I'm my mother's only child. My background cannot be said to be privilege in anyway. My mother brought me up to be very positive. Her philosophy is if I cannot buy it for you then you don't need it. Money has never been a source of inspiration to me. It is my art that has always inspired me. That was why I was able to work with the Jide Ogungbades of this world. The kind of grooming we had under him and Ben Tomoloju and co, during Ajo Productions is priceless. These modern actors cannot put in one hour of what we did. The first time I was cast by Danladi Bako in the TV soap, Sparks, I was given a guest appearance. I went for the recording but he didn't show up on time and I walked away. That was the kind of training I had. When he saw me the nest time he said I messed up his recording but I told him he messed up his own recording because I waited and after two hours I left.

It appears as if your friends in the media no longer write negative stories about you.
I guess they have realised that there is no use writing negative stuff. Life is too short to spend worrying about what people think about you.

But they may have something to say about your collaboration with Stella in State of the Heart.
Stella is my friend and colleague and it does not make any sense turning my back on her simply because of what people have said or written in the past.

I'll give anything to act next to Halle Berry. What about you?
For White actors it would be Al Pacino or Robert De Niro. For Black it is Denzel Washington for obvious reasons. He is very intense and loves drama. And I love actors that love drama. I love action heroes, but just to watch. I can do action but I prefer to do dramatic stuff because it calls more for the human emotion. For the younger ones there will be Brad Pitt and George Clooney. These are actors with the human side that is so large. For the women I love Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie. I think Jolie brings a lot of sensuality into her role. I love Halle Berry and believe she can do more than she is given credit for.

Is there one thing left for you to do?
I think my life is work in progress. I don't think I have even scratched half of what I want to do. My desire has always been to have young men gather around me and have them run with their dreams.

Olumide Iyanda