One of Nollywood’s most sought after actor, Ramsey Nouah in a very recent interview discloses the story of his journey to stardom, the industry, how the media almost ended his marriage and why he stopped attending public functions with his family.
See excerpts below:
How did you begin your journey into the movie industry?
‘My journey into the movie industry actually started when I was trying to sit for my GCE examination. I didn’t have money to purchase my GCE form, and there were no jobs then. It was hard to secure menial jobs and I couldn’t bring myself to do such jobs. Later, a friend of mine advised me to try my hand at acting. But I didn’t welcome the advice because I prefer to act in Hollywood. It was funny.
Later I went for a couple of auditions and precisely in 1990, I went for a soap opera audition called Fortunes and was engaged. Later it had problem with the title and so it was changed to ‘Mega Fortune.’ I was one of the key actors in that soap and it was better than Telemundo.
After starring in that soap, I did a couple of movies that didn’t see the light of day. I was supposed to have featured in the famous “Glamour Girls” but the producer was too stingy.’
Why did you call being a celebrity a cross?
‘Well it is a bigger cross than you can think about because you have to be concerned about your looks. You must make sure that everything is on point. Dress properly to suite every event. You have to build on your looks and image so that people will admire you. It makes you classy and a role model. Your behaviour or attitude is another selling point. If you maintain good looks and image, big multinationals will be after you.
If your track record is bad then there’s no space for you. People look at us and want to be like us not understanding that we wish we had a more normal or simple life style. Ramsey will dare not be seen fighting on the streets. I better turn the other cheek to be slapped a second time than retaliate. Although there are benefits for instance, the pay is good, you got to be admired but then, its a cross.’
As a celebrity, who are the set of people who avoid most?
‘It is the Press! I might just say hello to a girl and the next thing is, Ramsey Nouh is toasting one girl. The media almost destroyed my marriage. But thank God they failed and my marriage is 14 years now blessed with four children. I told my wife to keep away from the press, let me handleBy Prisca Sam-Duru them. If they don’t see you, there will be nothing to say about you. Because of that, I have stopped appearing at public functions with my family.’
How have you been able to deal with the press?
‘The best way to deal with the press is to ignore them. Whenever they start telling lies about you, just ignore them. The greatest mistake you’ll make is to respond to scandals. When you ignore them, the stories die off with time.’
By Prisca Sam-Duru