It is challenging being a Ghanaian actor in Nigeria -David McKenzie, actor

‘I tried speaking Igbo, but it was a disaster’

David McKenzie a Ghanaian has lived in Nigeria for more than three decades. He  has featured in several movies, documentaries and television commercials in Nigeria. This  actor cum model says he loves Nigeria and Nigerians with a passion. Hence he speaks both Hausa and Yoruba languages fluently. In this interview with ADAEZE AMOS he talked about his lifestyle as an actor and his genesis into the acting world.

You are a Ghanaian, right?

Yes, I’m a Ghanaian, I was born in Ghana but I have been in Nigeria  too long. You won’t believe it I have been in this country for over three decades. Guess what?  I love Nigeria, there is no two ways about it. And when you talk about  Nollywood, it  is a Nigerian creation but it transcends beyond the shores of Nigeria. It has now become a Pan African phenomenal brand. It is an African thing that every African should be proud of. I’m real proud to be here and I’m real proud of Nigerians.

Is there any of Nigerian languages you can speak?

Honestly I speak Hausa language very fluently. I also speak Yoruba language. But Igbo language I don’t know how to speak it. There was a time I tried speaking Igbo, but it was an embarrassing disaster. So, I couldn’t get to learn it.

When did you start acting?

I started in 1983. I was in an office, Space Air production office which then was a motion picture company. The director of the company Aremu Yahaya was a movie director and he had this outfit, with lots of equipments. I’m talking about celluloid. He had an editing studio at Maloney street, that was where I was. He actually had a lot of companies. I did construction, I did basic building technology and I specialized in painting and decorating. 

So, I got employed in one of his companies and when the man came to the site and we interacted. He said come work for me in his office and I did and I later rose to the position of a manager. We had about 50 Israeli engineers. Then we were into construction and dredging. We did part of the dredging for the Third Mainland Bridge before it was taken over by Julius Berger. So, I went to his office and I got excited  watching the editing done. I went to the editing section and saw the pictures moving and I became fascinated. That was when I really got involved in the motion picture business but I wasn’t in front of the camera until a movie titled Agege Street was shot.

Agege Street  a was Ghana/Nigerian movie that was shot back in Ghana. When you bring that title here, it makes no sense but the story is about the revenging spirit of Zangota. Back in Ghana it was Agege Street and it was phenomenal and a lot of people watched it. That was a story that talked about the travails of somebody who came to Nigeria. It was a beautiful story line. And it was shot in 1996, so you can imagine a transition-1983 to 1996 before I stood in front of the camera. I worked behind the camera for a long time.

What are some of the challenges of being a Ghanaian actor in Nigeria?

It is indeed challenging  being a Ghanaian actor in Nigeria.  You have to be ready and being ready means you have to always look good. You have to bear the personality of who you are in mind, you need to have the carriage, you need to have the ability to interpret roles given to you and above all the confidence. Again, if you are working with a wonderful and calm director, oh you are home and dry. But some of the directors because of the time schedule, work with materials that are already available. So, if you are not an already made material, you need to go find a way to get to that level before you can get roles you desire. Thank God for this enterprise because it’s bringing  up people who have the well-withal, but they are not aware of it. Since they are catching people young, and grooming them and then later push them into the Actors Guild of Nigeria proper or into the Nollywood proper. It is a magnificent idea.

What is your most tasking role?

All roles are tasking but it depends on the situation you find yourself at that point in time and your adaptability.  As an actor, you need to be  flexible.  If you are rigid and you bottle yourself up in one particular role, you are in trouble.  One moment you are a professor, the next moment you are a beggar on the street, the next one you are a mad man, the next one you are a rich man. That is what an actor is. So, I wouldn’t call any role tasking, it depends on how you adapt. But sometimes you are called to play a strange role, something you have not done before. For instance, we were shoot a movie at a time and I found myself in a Babalawo shrine.

Yes, witch doctor shrine. It was not a set that was built or a make-belief shrine. It was a genuine shrine. I was really scared honestly to act inside a shrine because I have not been in a shrine before in my whole life until that day. Ada believe me, that gave me a scare of my life. The other people, I don’t want to mention names who were supposed to play with me rejected the role because of the shrine and said God forbid! Not them. So, the director had to change the scene. The interaction was done not inside the shrine but outside the shrine. But I had to start off from the shrine-the incantations and stuff like that before coming out to see them. Oh my sister it was scary but thank God Jehovah is up there. I did all these barefooted and everybody said that I was crazy to have done it. But it is because sometimes, you are given a role you don’t want to walk away from especially when you are in a good relationship with the director. And I didn’t expect it, it was a sudden thing. The real place that they were supposed to have built I think had a problem. And because of the weather, we just had to make do with an already existing shrine. This is one thing I don’t want to talk about.

Did it affect your dream life?

No, I would not  say I’m a spiritual person but these days in order to survive you need to be spiritual. Not one leg in,  and the other leg out. I’m in a Jehovah’s camp, I’m an army of the Lord. I’m a solider in the army of the Lord, yeah that’s me.

How do you cope with stardom?

Believe me, my sense of dressing is what I use to disguise myself. Nobody recognises me until I dress very well.  I sometimes  put on a tee shirt and a fez cap and I put it real down and people don’t recognise me except a few people who have the eagle eye. And they come to me to inquire if truly it is me. Sometimes I have to say yes, sometimes I say no, because if you say yes, they mock you. Especially if you find yourself in a bus for instance, they expect that the role you play as a rich man, you should be driving a limousine and all that. Then, they find you sitting in a bus, wearing a tee shirt on a jean and they are like if he is the one, why must he be sitting in the bus. I mean it really brings you down when you hear remarks like that but a lot of people say they appreciate what you are doing and that is what keeps us going.

What  are some common lapses of actors in movie sets?

That is one thing I don’t look at. I don’t criticise. It is not in my position to criticise people. I try not to criticise because it is not easy being in the front of the camera trying to remember your lines if you have a lot of lines to do and then trying to remember the direction given to you by the director. And a whole lot of thing come in to play at that moment in time. It is not easy, especially when most of us don’t get the opportunity to rehearse again and again. Most of the jobs that I have done were jobs that I was called upon at the very last minute to come maybe somebody was not available and then they need somebody who could take a lot of lines at the same time and then measure up with the standard. That is a lucky break I have had most of the time.

When you are less busy what do you do?

I really believe in taking a long walk in a lonely place, that is when I commune with God.