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Saturday, January 4, 2014

How OC Ukeje emerged Entertainment Express Man of the Year 2013

Ukeje
 If the maiden edition of Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) which held in March 9, 2013, at the 5,000 capacity hall of Eko Hotel was a yardstick to measure actors’ successes, then Okechukwu Ukeje, fondly called O.C., is an extraordinary talent who excelled with distinction.
At that prestigious award ceremony, Ukeje did not only emerge as the Best Actor of the Year, his uncanny knack for roles interpretation was also exceedingly celebrated by both the organizers and keen observers of the Nigerian movie industry globally known as Nollywood.
That was not his only achievement in the year under review. He also carted away many other movie related awards including ‘Best Actor in a Lead Role’ at the Best of Nollywood (BON) awards which held on Thursday, December 5, in Asaba, Delta State.
Others include ‘Best Actor Award’ at the Nollywood Movies Awards which held on Saturday, October 12, where he was rewarded with a brand new Nissan car; AMAA; and the coveted prize for Entertainment and Talents at the Future Awards which held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, among many others.  
“Winning the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards was a humbling experience. I had really powerful people to contend with in my category; people that are really good at what they do. This is Africa and I know I just have a few movies in circulation; it is just really wonderful to know that the viewers know I am good enough,” he joyfully said shortly after the AMVCA.
With a unique combination of good looks, an acting prowess and a great voice, Ukeje has set himself apart as an effervescent actor to reckon with. He stands tall with his phenomenal rise, large fan base, cult-like followership, and off course, the anticipated recognitions from industry stakeholders. No wonder he is the first actor to be named person of the year by Nigeria’s most authoritative voice on entertainment news- Entertainment Express.
Though he had always been involved in stage plays and was a member of the acting group christened Rhythm of the Blackman, his emergence into the Nigerian movie scene could be traced to the year 2006, when he won the Amstel Malta Box Office (AMBO) Reality TV Show, after which he starred in his first movie entitled White Waters. His role in White Waters startlingly earned him the Best Upcoming Actor at the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), 2008.
After being part of AMBO, how did the Abia State-born act prove to movie producers and directors that he could fit well into the Nigerian movie industry? “I have to be honest, it was really, really tough. Reality TV shows are good concepts here in Nigeria but I think the part the organizers have to work on is how to incorporate whoever wins into the industry at large. We just win and we think that yes, the world is going to bow at our feet, but then we realize that it really doesn’t work like that.
“But since then it has been interesting, difficult and a serious roller coaster. When you sit at home for a contract that doesn’t allow you do anything for one year and then you finish on that contract and your eyes open to the real world on how Nollywood doesn’t automatically accept you and you have to try and prove yourself, then you begin to see the reality of it. But now, I’m beginning to enjoy bits and pieces of it, so it’s getting better now,” he hinted in an interview.
Like the Bible says, you cannot hide a light under a bushel. Ukeje’s illumination in the acting space stood him out, making him one of the shakers of the movie industry in 2013. He remained one of the number one choices in many hit flicks; from Asaba to Lagos, Enugu to Abuja, his face graced posters and movie jackets and was adjudged by many as the hottest new face in Nollywood.  
By the standard of the many awards he carted home, especially the AMVCA, Ukeje is acknowledged as Africa’s King of the screen. Indeed, apart from his amazing roles interpretation skill, his star factor got a boost by the many awards he won.
Did this ‘prodigy’ stumble into acting? He speaks: “
I started off with the fellowship I belonged while on campus. After we staged a play at the Muson Centre, a bigger organization called ‘Rhythm of the Black Man’ saw what I was doing and they asked if I wanted to play a small role for one African-American play they were working on. So I joined the group and we did stage plays all around Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt for four years.
“Then I was studying Marine Sciences at the University of Lagos and I was also trying to keep my grades up as well because for me it was important for people not to think I was not doing well in school. My first acting gig was a stage play in 2001 and I did stage plays from 2001 to 2005 before AMBO came up.
“The truth is that it was in my third year in the University that I began desiring to act professionally. This was in 2003. I knew that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. Things were really picking up and it was just easy for me to act and do it effortlessly.
Big thing, they say, starts small. He might not have starred in over 50 movies, but the few he has done are outstanding.  Half Of A Yellow Sun, Two Brides And A Baby, Hood Rush, Alan Poza, Comrade, Confusion Na Wa, The Awakening, Black November ,and  Gone Too Far are some of his movies. “I have starred in about 13 movies. It keeps getting better every day,” he disclosed in a telephone chat with Entertainment Express.  
The phenomenal rise of Ukeje indicates that a movie star is not made by the quantity of movies to his credit, but by quality of the movies.
Charmed by the actor’s acting skill, critic and movie producer, Charles Novia in his list of the best five actors for 2013 wrote: “No apologies to anyone. My number one actor for 2013 would be OC Ukeje. In arriving at this conclusion, I had the uncomfortable task of distancing his acting in my movie ‘Alan Poza’ from the list of other movies he was assessed with…He has an unusual intensity as an actor and a peculiar propensity to project his characterisation which would leave many with gaping mouths.
 “One cannot ignore that in 2013 alone, Ukeje won the ‘Best Actor’ diadem four times at the AMVCA, NEA, BON and NMA awards. He has also been nominated for ‘Best Actor’ for eight times in a single year. That is enough to make heads turn and so they should. This is a feat even the older acts in Nollywood cannot boast of.”
Just as honey attracts bees, fame also attracts women! In this vein, Ukeje is not an exception. He unreservedly confessed in an interview that female fans are all over him- a good number of them want something intimate from him. Some even go as far as throwing their phone numbers into the good-looking actor’s car.
“There are occasions when I am driving and someone would throw something into my car. Reflex makes me dock but when I check what it is, it is a lady’s phone number,” he confessed in a chat.
Indeed, this is not only an honour to the young, energetic and inspiring entertainer, but also to so many aspiring and up and coming actors, who are breaking barriers and making progress in the highly competitive motion picture industry. Like a whirlwind, Ukeje’s impact was truly felt in 2013; hence he truly deserves being Entertainment Express Man of the Year.
By JAMES EMMANUEL

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