I’ve been shaving my head since I was in primary one –Ik Ogbonna
Popular Nollywood actor, Ik Ogbonna, tells Ademola Olonilua about his style
You started out as a model; at what point did you decide to become an actor?
I am still a model but I have always
loved acting and anything that has to do with entertainment. I always
push myself to the limit and try to be the best at what I do. I started
acting some years back when Rukky Sanda asked that I feature in her
movie. After the movie, I began to get several calls to be a part of
other movies. It has just been God’s grace all through. My acting was
not too good at that time but I took it as a burden upon myself to be a
better actor.
When I started out, some people called
me and told me where I was lacking and I made sure I improved on myself.
I thank God for that move and I am glad today because I have been
nominated at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice award. I am happy that I
have been able to win the award for the best actor at the Abuja
International Film Festival. Awards are coming up every now and then and
I am in every category.
We learnt that you started modelling since you were in the university…
I often say that I have been a model
since I was in my mother’s womb. My mother tells me that the first thing
I ever said was ‘tuck it in’. I have always wanted to look great and
while I was in the University of Jos, I came out as one of the top 20
most handsome guys on campus. At some point, I became Mr. UniJos and I
graced the covers of several magazines on campus. The love I got from
people made me feel that it was something I wanted to pursue as a
career. I came to Lagos in 2006 and ever since then, it has been an
endless chase to get to the point that I really want to get to.
Has being a fine boy ever worked to your disadvantage?
I would not say it has worked to my
disadvantage because I believe that everything that happens to you in
life is for a reason. I count everything as a learning process; things
cannot be smooth all the time. Life is a story and as you tell it, there
would certainly be elements of good and bad things, so I cannot really
say that I have had any bad encounter as a result of my looks. There are
a few trivial things that I can say happened to me for being a pretty
boy. For instance, I could go to visit someone and people in the place
would not be comfortable with having me around probably due to
inferiority complex or insecurity issues but at the same time you just
have to live your life and be yourself.
Have you always been comfortable with being a bald man?
Even before I became totally bald,
which in my case is hereditary, I have been giving myself skin cut since
I was in Primary One. I like to have a distinctive look and be
different from other people. Anytime people want to describe me, they
say things like, ‘that light-skinned guy with a skin cut.’ I have found
out that I like myself better with this particular look and it has been
with me for decades. I am very comfortable with it.
You also hardly keep facial hair…
Unfortunately, I have never been lucky
enough to have that and back when I was in secondary school, my mates
would laugh at me and call me a small boy because I did not have facial
hair. But as we got to the university, they began to battle with bumps
and were saddled with the problem of clearing them with different
aftershave lotions and creams but I never faced that problem. I don’t
grow facial hair and the best I have is the moustache and the little goatee under my chin.
Has your wife ever complained or teased you about your baldness?
My wife loves and appreciates me the way
I am. Every time she says she loves me as a total package; she loves
every single thing about me. It is a wonderful thing to have a woman
that appreciates you for everything you stand for. She does not wish I
have hair on my head at all and she loves the bald head. She likes the
fact that I am a funny guy and also a go-getter. She is not complaining
about anything that has to do with me and the same goes with me. I love
everything about her. I have no complaints when it comes to her.
How often do you visit the gym?
Honestly speaking, I have not gone to
the gym for about 18 months and that is why I have not posted any
topless picture on my Instagram page. I would say that I have a good
body and I know what my body should look like. I am planning to hit the
gym back but it is always difficult starting the process all over again.
So what precautions do you take not to lose shape?
I would not lie; I have been very lazy
since my work became more demanding. I have not had the time to do
anything. I go to work sometimes by 5am and I work till 4am. I barely
sleep and I have had to get a driver to drive my car sometimes so that I
can sleep while going to a movie set. There is hardly any time for me
to work-out these days; it is something that I would have to work on
because if you work-out in your young age, it would help you as you grow
older. But I have good genes, I can eat the whole world and I would
still remain slim. I just think God blessed me with the way I look.
There are some things I do not battle with like I am naturally light
skinned; I don’t need to use bleaching cream. Even when I stay under the
sun and try to tone my skin sometimes, I still get my complexion back. I
just see all these as things God blessed me with and I am really
grateful to him for that.
Why do you love tattoos so much?
I love fine arts and painting a lot and
as a kid, I won a Milo competition for fine arts. Back while I was in
school, I used to sketch pictures of my girlfriends and give them as
birthday gifts. It is not something that I had to learn but a gift God
gave me. I have not held a pencil and a cardboard in a long time but any
time I find myself with a pencil, I realise that I start drawing. I
really love arts and whenever I go shopping for things for my house, I
spend time buying artifacts. My wife buys other things in the house but I
spend time buying arts and it is because of the love that I have for
arts. I felt that tattoos were the only way to express my love for arts.
I found myself drawing tattoos on my skin but at some point I had to
stop it because of my career. If it was Hollywood they have ways of
covering your tattoos but this is Nollywood and sometimes we don’t work
on a big budget. You would not want a situation whereby you would lose a
job because of tattoos, so I had to stop. If not, by now I probably
would have covered my whole body with tattoos.
Has fatherhood changed your style in any way?
I just think that age and time would
make you realise that there are some certain things you should not be
doing anymore. I am a very experimental dresser and I like to take risk
when it comes to my style. I would not say that it is has anything to do
with fatherhood. My son and I are best of friends and I am going to
bring him up in the best way I can as a father and a friend. It is just
that when you get married, you would develop a different sense of
maturity and you probably would not be getting home late because you
have people waiting for you.
You would probably have to increase your
fees because you have more mouths to feed. It affects every single
thing about you. Even your outings would change because you cannot take
your child to where people are drinking and smoking. Naturally I would
want to hang out at a club with my wife but now I would think of an open
air space because of the kids. I now attend children’s birthday parties
because I would want my child to socialise. When going for children’s
parties, I will not wear torn jeans; I would have to dress for the
occasion, you have to look as mature as you can because the people you
would meet there are responsible people. Personally, I dress for the
occasion and I don’t think anything has affected my style.
What is your fashion fetish?
I love perfumes a lot. There is this day
I was at the airport and I saw a well-dressed guy but he had body odour
and I felt very disappointed on his behalf. You always have to smell
good. You can wear something very simple but smell good and that would
make you win over people’s impression of you. I spend money on my
perfume a lot so that when I go out, people love the way I smell even
before they begin to assess my looks. I spend more money on my perfume
than any other thing.
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