Enyinna Nwigwe talks shooting gay scene with actor Daniel K Daniel
The ‘Surulere’ Actor held nothing back as he discussed the reasons he accepted the role five other actors had refused and how filming steamy scenes with fellow actor was.
Read the exclusive below…
About his thoughts on five other Actors previously turning down the role
‘Well, I only just heard that today.
On why he chose to play a gay character
‘Whenever I pick up a Script and I read it, I either connect or I don’t on any level. And because I am a human behavior person off of being an Actor, I like to concern myself with everything about human nature and why we do what we do. This really struck a chord in special way because it is a conversation that is being had behind closed doors. Laws are being enacted without proper conversations being had in the foreground. It is a background conversation stirring a lot of controversy, a lot of laws put against humans of a certain orientation that are born the way they are in most cases. And I find that very interesting. It was a beautifully written script.
On how filming steamy and emotional scenes with Actor Daniel K Daniel felt
‘It wasn’t awkward for me not because it may not be awkward for another Actor but because of how I function as an Actor. Because I understood the character’s struggle; that was just one of his situations. It was the truth as it were… how can he be gay without having a male partner? You know, that is what it is about… For me that is just what it is. So there was nothing I had to activate or deactivate. I was living in the truth of Pastor Gbolahan (the character)
On whether or not his family would have an issue with playing the role of a gay Pastor
‘I’m quite fortunate to come from a family that supports me. They would trust my judgement. My mom is a very religious woman, like we like to say in our far lands, Churcheous. But in all of that, she is equally exposed and she understands the art and what the art represent and she respects and trusts my judgement. You know, I am not just there where I am being in a film useless with no message. This is a socially relevant film. This is about humanity; this is about laws passed about gay people in Nigeria.
On his future projects
‘I just wrapped up two very interesting productions. One is a sequel, it is called When Love Happens Again. It was filmed in the US. Coming to film a musical for Koga Studios, the guys that did The Visit. It is going to be powerful.
On singing in the upcoming musical
‘I didn’t sing. I sing… everybody sings. Everybody with a voice.
On working with the biggest Studios in Nollywood
‘I won’t go into that but it is a collaborative effort between four big studios. It is a collaboration between Ebony Life, Filmhouse, Inglot and Koga.
This post first appeared on TNS.