You’ve got to love Jim
Iyke after reading his response during recently interview by punch, highlight
of the interview was him bragging to own 125 sunglasses, 200 pairs of shoes,
how his clothes are made by same Taylor as Gucci, Relationship with Nadia
Buhari and the most hilarious, was him making 38movies in a year!
Nollywooddddddddd.!!!!!
Kai! When one Hollywood movie takes 3-5yrs in making.
Kindly read the
interesting interview by punch after the cut.
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.
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