On landing his role, learning his lines and how similar his character is to him: I’m used to performing and learning lines, but this was different. Not only was I surrounded by A-list actors but a lot of them I knew of and revered as legends, so it was very necessary to bring my A game.As much as I read that script over and over again until it was time to shoot, nothing stuck. I did all my real learning on set. I get the question a lot like how much of Ikechukwu is in Sola and I’m like Sola is Ikechukwu, not in its entirety but there’s a lot of Ikechukwu in Sola.
On the most interesting reactions he got from his role: I didn’t know you can act. Bad guy, so you’re soft like this. Ah eyaa, I feel sorry for your head, just slapping you anyhow anyhow. You should beat Banky.’ The slapping was real and we did it about eight times.
On gong to see the movie with an open mind and zero expectations: Just go in to have a good time. Know in your mind that you’re going to be entertained and you’re going to have a good time and you’re going to see more in the second one than in the first. Don’t make comparisons. Just take it the way it is.
I don’t want to get into the whole culture, interracial marriage and the Igbos and Yorubas were well represented but where were the Hausas and the Efik and all that. It’s not about that. We are really one nation whether people like it or not and we should be able to celebrate that all the time even if we feel like our own certain tribes were not involved.
Daniella Down
On the challenges she faced during the production of the film: With any large-scale project like this, there are always unforeseen challenges that come up from things not being available location-wise or something technical going wrong. But, in Nollywood, they are very good at fixing problems. Cultural nuances and differences are always going to be there in every film industry but I think the cool thing is that everyone is telling really interesting stories. It’s incredible what we can create if the story is good enough.
On working in Nollywood: Just the other day, I was reading a Dutch newspaper and there was a double-paged spread all about Nollywood. It’s really good that people are noticing. I think you can tell that Nollywood is really starting to take itself seriously and it’s putting a lot more time, energy and money into creating more polished productions overall. There are so many incredible stories to be told from here that are interesting to an international audience.
On Nigerian’s welcoming attitude: I’ve met so many awesome, funny, talented people with great energy. I’ve never felt anything but welcome. You do not normally see or hear about such cross-cultural stories in Hollywood, according to Daniella, stories that she would like to be a part of “that are kind of real, down to earth, funny, gritty, sad, terrifying, and of wonderful things that happened.
Creative Team
Creative Direction: @themadamezeta
Photography: @jerrie_rotimi
Styling: @nkemokorafor
Makeup: @eyesome_beauty
Hair styling: @beautyace7
