93 days actress Bimbo Akintola, in this interview with TUNDE AJAJA, talks about her growing up, career and her single status.
How did your acting career begin?
My mum told me I had always been
dramatic, since I was very young. So maybe it began from that time. She
said one way or the other, I was always involved in acting. When I was
in secondary school, I was also into dancing and at a point, I joined
the choir, even though I didn’t stay long. I don’t think any profession
would have appealed to me apart from acting. Even the other things I do,
like singing, writing poems, etc., are hobbies. Acting is one thing I’m
extremely passionate about. When I chose Theatre Arts as the course I
wanted to study in University of Ibadan, my dad didn’t understand it for
a while. He just felt you can’t make money from doing stuffs like that.
He felt why not go and study something else so I could have a degree I
could fall back on. I was a stubborn child, so I said no, I must study
Theatre Arts and I did. He finally agreed with me.
What fond memories of growing up do you still have?
Growing up was fun. My mum got married
at about 17, and at 18 she had her first child. As a young mother, she
was a disciplinarian but loving. My dad was a Customs officer and he was
posted to different places, so he only came home on weekends or
fortnightly. Then, in the evening, we would sit outside in the balcony
and my mum would tell us stories and teach us songs. And anytime she was
cooking, everybody; male or female, would have to be in the kitchen
with her. While cooking she would be singing and we had to join her as
well. I was a tomboy and I liked to climb trees and jump fences. As a
result, I always had bruises on my chin. My mum just couldn’t understand
it so I was chastised every day. Over time, she couldn’t stop me from
climbing trees, because I was a real tomboy. After a while, she got used
to it.
You’ve been going to the gym a lot in recent times. What informed that move?
I go to the gym and do exercises because
it helps our overall health and helps us to look younger. But it’s
about health. Now they say the life expectancy in Nigeria is 50-plus.
People die in their 40s and 50s and it’s something to be worried about.
If that is not a call to every Nigerian to live healthy, I don’t know
what else can be. So, for me, it’s all about health and not just about
losing weight, looking good or younger. If you just want to look good,
you can do surgery, but for me, it’s health, being healthy and living a
healthy life. It’s important.
Talking about living healthy; some people say you smoke. Are you considering dropping the habit, if truly you do?
If you are asking if I smoke, I don’t.
It would interest you that people who say I smoke have never seen me
smoking before, yet they say it with assurance. I don’t mind people
talking about whether someone is smoking or not, but they must have
evidence. You must have evidence to say certain things about people. If
you ask me if I drink, I barely drink now. Smoking and some other habits
people engage in are not good for the health. And I’m of the view that
people who smoke should quit.
Some reports online even rank you as one of the top actresses who can’t do without smoking. Does it bother you sometimes?
I’m not bothered. Anybody can write
whatever they like. And this has been happening for the last 20 years. I
have read many stories about myself online that I don’t even know the
person they are talking about. I’m not bothered because I know who I am;
my parents know who I am; my family and friends know who I am and when
people who don’t know me meet me and have a conversation with me, they
change their mind. So, I’m okay with that. There was a time I was
outside the country and some persons wrote that I was in Ogba doing
something funny. I laughed deeply. And that was about 15 years ago. The
truth of the matter is that people want to read weird, funny stories and
unfortunately, there is a huge base for stories like that everywhere in
the world. So, that is why stories like that would never end. So, I’m
not bothered.
A lot has been said about
your love life and some have said you should be married by now. Would
you say the society is mounting pressure on you as regards marriage?
I guess these questions arise because of
the country we live in and the kind of people we are. It’s also
something I think we need to look at critically, because it seems we are
creating more trouble for people, as marriages are now crashing within
six months or even less. This is partly because the society puts a lot
of pressure on people to get married. Shouldn’t we take a step backward
and ask ourselves what we are doing wrong. It’s not about how soon, but
how well? I think it’s time we realised that marriage is such a serious
thing. Shouldn’t we allow people make their choices by themselves,
without pressure? Parents should stop putting pressure on their
children. Many women are divorced now and in some cases, there is
serious fight and both of them would be fighting over the custody of the
child. We need to start changing the way we look at marriage. It’s
important we get married but marry at your own time.
You once said you love kids,
and with the way people are embracing the option of child out of
wedlock, popularly called baby mama, is it something you could do?
Of course, I can. Definitely I can do it
because I don’t see anything wrong with it. Things are changing in the
world at large. If you look around, you would find a lot of women are
having babies and taking care of themselves. It’s everywhere. There are
women who are not actors but are single mothers, and for a lot of people
I think it’s about their biological clock. Instead of waiting for manna
from heaven and you know there is no manna, and you feel the need to
have children, then do it.
But the Yoruba culture makes it look like a woman is incomplete without a man. Does that not bother you?
We have to change our thinking, due to
the time. You can’t be rooted in the past when the present and future
are a totally different place. If you look at what is going on now,
there are women looking for husband but can’t find. So would you now say
because of that they shouldn’t have children? That’s unnecessary and
it’s like making them suffer twice. I think for anybody that wants to
have children, as long as you know you are capable of taking care of
them financially and emotionally, why not.
As a good-looking woman, how often do men approach you?
(Laughs…) Every day that I go out. It’s a
normal thing every day; from younger men, to people of same age and of
course older men. It’s a regular thing. If it is not happening, you have
to worry about yourself. Because of what we do, people want to date
actors.
Can you date an actor?
I’ve been in the entertainment industry
for over 20 years, so there is nobody I want to date in the industry,
except such persons have not come into the industry yet. I know
everybody and there is nobody I’m interested in dating. That is the
truth. Most of them are like my brothers, and maybe it’s because of the
work, because when I’m working, those things don’t even occur to me, so
by the time work is over, I already see you as a brother or colleague.
For me, I have never been interested in any actor. Never!
If you work closely with
someone for a length of time, are you saying you have never had feelings
for any actor in the line of duty?
Never! It has never happened to me,
personally. I don’t look at anyone except from the angle of the
character the person is representing. I could talk with the person
before or after, but at that point, you are probably entering the
brother or friend zone. I’ve worked with the finest men in the industry
and I have not felt anything like that before. I worked with RMD, and
that was even when I had just started acting. I worked with Ramsey
Nouah, Desmond Elliot, Emeka Ike, Kanayo Kanayo, Fred Amata, etc. they
are all like my friends and brothers. Even the directors, like Jimi
Odumosu, Lancelot Imasuen are like my brothers. So, for me, I have never
had an attraction for an actor.
Some reports say you are in a relationship. Is it true?
I’m an actor and because of that people are curious about my life, but I like to keep certain things to myself.
When you are not on set, how do you relax?
I go out with my friends once in a
while. Or when I’m not working, I’m at home. I like staying at home, or I
take my niece and nephew out to cinema. Then, I cook a lot; I love to
cook and I cook every day. So, I don’t eat out. Cooking is amazing, and
there is nothing I don’t cook, including Nigerian, Indian, Italian,
Chinese dishes, etc.
What is your favourite meal?
I don’t have favourite meal anymore. I
just like good food that was properly cooked. For me, cooking is not
about the favourite, it’s about the quality, the mixing of different
ingredients to achieve a particular taste. I’m a real proper foodie and
cooking makes me extremely happy.
The Nigerian Association of
Christian Journalists has nominated you as one of the recipients of its
Integrity Award. How did you receive the news?
It was a huge surprise; I wasn’t
expecting it at all. For a lot of us who are in arts, we do what we do,
hoping that we are touching lives. So, being given an award like that is
just like people saying they see what you are doing and you are doing a
great job. And once in a while, you need that, like a pat on the back,
saying well done.
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