Jim Iyke
Lately, he has not been gracing many movie sets.
An actor and entrepreneur, Jim Iyke, has for years,
remained a constant figure in the Nigerian
entertainment scene. Sometimes dubbed
Nollywood’s bad boy, there is no denying the fact
that he is a style icon.
To him, style is simply looking good.
“Whether it is trending or not, it is important I go
with the trend. I have a stylist. You always have to
be on-point because someone is watching you. I
like pulling the formal look,” he says.
A sunglass freak and footwear collector, he says he
pays attention to his appearance and is also not
crazy about brand labels. “I am not brand crazy.
The designer labels cost a lot of money but there is
a healthy competition; which is why I find the
fashion market very interesting. I have been to
factories that make goods for Gucci. These are
people working on a smaller scale and these are
the ones I hire to make my clothes and they give
me what I want. However, I always buy what I
know I would look good in.
“I have about 125 pairs of sunglasses. I think I own
about 200 pairs of shoes and sneakers and it is not
something to brag about. I like shoes and I collect
them. I get shoes that are much branded and are
limited edition. For, me it is not just about making a
fashion statement anymore, it is art,” he explains.
Having evolved from that little boy born and bred in
Libreville, Gabon, whose foray into Nollywood began
in 2001, he has gone on to become one of Africa’s
finest role interpreters. The 38-year-old actor
speaks about some of the shifts his acting career
has been experiencing lately:
“When you arrive at the pinnacle of a career pursuit
where else do you go? I surmounted that apex long
in my prime. I was the guy that made 38 films in a
year! I had created the work-machine image and
inevitably also made myself socially redundant. I
couldn’t glean at the moment of my decision till late
what else that world had for me. It was a vicious
circle of constant, monotonous engagement.
“Nothing was challenging anymore. It (Nollywood)
was too easy, too perpetual, having travelled same
circles and faced same obstacles. I also earned
same bracket, produced and invested in the same
suffocating projects. The secret of the constantly
progressive individual is the ability to discern when
to shift focus and reinvent even if it’s temporarily. I
took all I had, the vast contacts I had gathered, and
moved into the world of business and facilitation,”
he reveals.
The only son in a family of eight children, he says,
he is judiciously applying all the lessons learnt
through the years in his next conquest. “The gift of
life lies in being able to embrace change without
fear. Everyday is a school for me. Every lesson is
judiciously applied. I learnt over and again the
meaning of excitement and expectations. It was all I
really always wanted,” he says.
He, has, no doubt, had his fair share of bad press at
the peak of his career, and is no stranger to
controversies. Indeed, he reveals that he was a
victim of a public-relations-machinery-gone-wrong
and did have a hard time trying to erase some of the
‘dirt’ that trailed him during the course of his career.
“Nollywood is an industry that is synonymous with
exaggerations and pen-chants. The advent of
bloggers and social media neo-practitioners, all
vying to make hits and a name for themselves,
irrespective of at whose expense and consequence,
is another factor.
“I have trust issues and still do, but I have learnt to
master the fallout of that precarious creation. I’m
yet to see the relevance it serves me till this day. I
have learnt to see connections in coincidences and
not to take even the most trivial of occurrences for
granted. I’ve come to embrace God’s will in my life
strongly, warmly with no doubt.”
The dark-skinned thespian, who naturally comes
across as thick-skinned and somewhat immune to
criticisms, reveals how he managed to pull through
his struggles with cyber-bullies.
He says, “My fear lied in the fact that people take
these blogs seriously or interpret a red-blooded
argument with another stranger that led to laughs,
rather seriously. They (bloggers) painted a picture
of that person to such a frequency and vividness I
almost began to believe I was that person.
“I am comfortable with the fact that I needn’t worry
about these people anymore and their myopic
views to serve their selfish purposes. I gave too
much power away. I call them mental bullies. My
trust circle is everything to me. It’s the platform
that forms my essence and the smaller they are the
better. It’s everything to me. It awakes desires and
fulfillment in me that is unparalleled.”
No doubt, one area of the actor’s life that has come
under public scrutiny is his relationship with
Ghanaian actress, Nadia Buari. The pair, who refers
to each other as Skittles and Space, shares a bond
and friendship which fans may find difficult to
comprehend. Asked to speak about his lover, he
says, “She (Nadia) is a solid, down-to-earth
woman. I’m a man that translates variables in ways
many people find incomprehensible. We have
embraced who we are and learnt to create our own
world and expectations. We have ups and downs
like every other couple.
“We have our strength and weakness as well. At the
end of the day, rumours of break ups and make-
ups ought to abound. It really doesn’t matter. A
relationship is a continuous work. Those that give
up were perhaps not committed enough. Those that
go in for the long haul suck up and square up to the
variables life throws at them. The people that judge
harshly are obviously the ones that live far from
their desired lives. We just live the best way we
know how and leave the rest to the author and
finisher of all things.”
Currently charting a new frontier in water business,
he speaks about his current projects. “I recently
just assumed the post of vice president, Ada
Commercial Incorporated. We are in the middle of
an acquisition that is mind-blowing. It is principled
by my business mentor and sometimes boss,
Ambassador Wendell Mackintosh of Liberia. My
friend, Dr Yaw, and I are about to start a water
industry branded in my name. I’m also in the throes
of registering a foundation called Gladys’ Foundation
in honour of my late mom. There are so many
things on the table. I just wake up everyday with a
singular force and zeal to do the unprecedented.”
The Anambra state-born-actor, who had a brief
stint in music in 2009, has his eyes set on
conquering Hollywood in the near future. “I did a
movie late last year alongside Hollywood actors,
Brian White and Gracie Beauvis. It’s titled ‘And
there comes love.’
“They are a new cadre of Nigerian actors and film-
maker that believe in endless possibilities. Lupita
proved it. Many others will follow. As long as I visit
that land constantly and I am open minded and
unafraid of my potential and talent. It will happen; I
will break into Hollywood as surely as there is night
and day. But I also travel overseas constantly
because of business demands,” he notes.
His hobbies? “I like swimming, karaoke, beach
outing but I am not much of a clubber or party-goer.
I like nature exploration too,” he says.
posted from Bloggeroid
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