I am not a gay and I will never be – Augustine Okoye

His name is Augustine Okoye, born
on 19th October in Enugu,Nigeria,
into the family of Mr and Mrs
Okoye Benjamin.His parents hail
from Ihiala village in Anambra
State.He was the second boy in a
family of Four Children.After his
primary and secondary
education,Okoye Augustine
Onyebuchi had his tertiary
education at University of Nigeria
Nsukka ,Where he obtained B.Sc.
in Computer Science in 1995
before joining Nollywood in 2000.
He has featured in over 70 movies
and was Nominated for Best
Upcoming actor in Thema Award in
the year 2000 for the movie ‘Blood
of The Orphan’ and best supporting
actor in Encomium Entertainment
Award in 2009.
After starring in a gay movie and
playing the role to perfection,
Okoye became an object of
controversy, with many insinuating
that the actor may very well be
gay. Okoye in this encounter with
Vanguard shares his experience
and journey in the world of acting.
Seriously, are you gay?
For the fact that’s I recently
played a role in a gay movie does
not make me one. I am straight, I
took the role because I wanted to
prove to directors and producers
that I can take any role and give
my best in it . Fans has been
saying congrats for a job well
done. Please gays should stop
harassing me because I am not a
gay. I am not gay and I will never
be gay
How about your NAFCA
nominations?
I am glad that I am one of the
actors that will be presenting an
Award at Nollywood And Africa
Critics Awards ( Nafca ) California,
USA. which is coming up in
September and I am very happy
that one of my movies the New
Skull was Nominated and I was
Nominated as Best Supporting
Actor.
How is life?
Life is good, we thank God.
What are you working on currently
in terms of movies?
I have done some new movies
recently and they are yet to be
released.
By the way, how did you get into
the movie industry?
That was via my stage coach
whom I have not seen in a long
time. His name is Solo Amako.
I was buying fuel somewhere in my
neighborhood when he saw me and
convinced me to come join
Nollywood and here I am today.
Was ‘Immortality’ your first movie?
No it wasn’t. Funny enough, my
first professional acting experience
was a series but it has not seen
the light of day till date. It was
supposed to be ‘Ultimate Hero’
from the stables of Zeb Ejiro and it
was sponsored by Nigerian
Breweries- Gulder, to be precise.. I
don’t know what went wrong but
I’ve not seen a single episode.
Which was the movie that brought
you into limelight?
Izuka, Critical Decision and then
Immortality.
How have you been finding the
industry?
It has been good. The industry is
one that is growing and if you are
a visionary that knows where he is
going and if you have set a target
for yourself, you just have to grow
with the industry.
It comes with its ups and downs
but the good thing is that it comes
with enough goodwill. Movies are
the most positive exports from
Nigeria. As we speak right now our
clientele have gone beyond
Nigeria, beyond Africa, into the
Caribbeans and into black
America. But there is still a lot to
be done technically, with regards
to some spheres and circles in the
industry. This is the only place in
the world where you’ll call up
somebody and under one week, the
person delivers yet the person
hasn’t seen your scripts before. So
when it comes to artistry, yes, we
are good; but technically I think
we need to really upgrade.
You seem to have a very good
command of grammar, what did
you study in school?
Computer Science. Every good
path is not always smooth.
Can you share some of the rough
paths you’ve travelled in life?
As a growing child, I always had it
smooth but the roughest time I
had in my life was when I lost my
father in 2000. We had to face
proper reality as some amenities
were withdrawn from us. So it was
really tough adjusting. In the
industry too, the bottlenecks were
too much because with my former
job, I was used to sitting down and
doing my job. Also, when I was an
upcoming artiste, a lot of my older
colleagues were not very
comfortable with me. Sometimes
during rehearsals, they would not
rehearse properly with me and
when it’s time for action, you see
the real them coming out. I was
always prepared for them so they
never caught me unawares. But
there are still some who I respect
till tomorrow because they gave
me that encouragement. I can
remember RMD, Olu Jacobs and
Justus Esiri.
Who is this special woman in your
life right now?
She is special and I want her to
stay that way. I do not want her
name in the press but she is
special
How soon are you going to the
altar?
It could be soon, I don’t know but
at our special time.
Who is your kind of girl?
I like real people. I don’t like
somebody who will be all out to
absolutely impress me. I don’t like
fake people. I like true people that
when I look at you, I can see your
inside. I like a woman who, devoid
of anything is also God fearing,
though sometimes we sin but you
have to always understand that we
are nothing in the eyes of God who
made us. So we have to put that
as a basic principle. And of course
I’m a sucker for a woman who
dresses good and carries herself
very well.
So this special girl has all these
qualities?
I would say she has the ABCs of
my description of good woman.
Is she in the industry?
No. Fate has its course and she is
just not in the industry. I don’t
discriminate against anyone
having something to do with
somebody in his industry but it
just did not happen my way.
I am sure she watches your
movies.
Yes, she watches some of them.
So how does she feel when she
sees you smooching or kissing
other girls on set?
When she watches and starts
feeling funny, she just takes a deep
breath. And I tell her ‘honey, it’s
just a movie’. She understands it
is just the job and she knows who
I am. She knows the kisses I give
her is different from what she sees
in the movies.
How do you handle your female
fans?
I take it that I am being
appreciated for my work and what
I do. I only see myself in this light.
I am just like the regular guy you
see on the streets, the only
difference is that I am on
television. I know when and where
to draw the line and say ‘this is
going overboard’. Definitely if a
smile is thrown at me, of course I
will reciprocate and a handshake is
not bad at all because these are
the people who keep you in
demand, so, you owe them that.
You have to give them that
goodwill back and if someone is
being too persistent, you’ll find a
way around it and make her
understand you are not out for
what she wants.
Have you experienced any
embarrassing moment before on
account of a role you played?
There was this Igbo film titled
‘Moment of Truth’ where I played
an illiterate marketer. I was so
obsessed with some girl I was
helping in school. Chioma
Chukwuka was the girl and I was
really nasty in that film. Now there
was this day I was driving and an
old lady overtook me and I came
down from the car to know what
was wrong. I was still asking ‘what
is going on here’ and the next
thing I knew, the lady came out
from her car and slapped me hard
on my face.
I was so shocked. I could not say
anything. This was an old woman,
even older than my mum. As if the
slap was not enough, she started
shouting at me ‘You are stupid.
You are mad. You are crazy’ I
looked left and right to be sure it
wasn’t a setup. I moved back a
little because I could not
understand what was
happening.Two million and one
things were running through my
mind at the same time. She just
kept on ranting: ‘How can you
treat Chioma Chukwuka like that?
Who taught you that as element of
marriage?’ I was speechless. Then
I understood and I was like, ‘oh my
God this is all because of a film’.
By the time she was yelling again,
some Okada riders parked and
asked what happened.
On hearing the woman mentioning
Chioma Chukwuka, they knew it
was about a film and started
laughing. Today, that woman is
one of my biggest fan. She forced
me to lunch that day and when I
refused she just got into my car
and threw her car keys to her
grand daughter and said,
‘anywhere you are going, you will
go but we must go for lunch
together’.We went for lunch that
day and today, we are very close.
She calls and pray for me most of
the time.
If you can change anything in the
Nigerian entertainment industry,
what will it be?
I will lay more emphasis on sound.
We need to improve on that. If we
put our movies on the big screen
with this format, you will see a big
lapse.We also have to put the
proper structure in place where
royalties are being paid for works
of artistes.
What advice do you have for young
upcoming ones?
Get your education first. Don’t
come because you think there is
money