Handsome and baritone-voiced actor, Yemi Blaq, is always a delight to talk to. The bearded dark dude who is usually meticulous and professional about all he does chatted with YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AZUH ARINZE. This was inside LTV Studios, in Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 and where they had bumped into each other. Excerpts…
What got you interested in acting?
I have always loved it. I guess it’s in my genes. I used to say it that I got my genes from my mother. But then, looking back, I realized that my father is an entertainer also. He is always telling lovely stories, putting life into situations. So, I think my genes made the calling first, then I just decided from a really tender age that, that’s what I wanted to do. I am not one of those people that fell into it. I always wanted to be an actor.
What do you like most about being an actor?
It’s the fact that you get to live almost a thousand lifetimes in one lifetime. You know, today, I’m a prince, next day, I am a pauper, sometimes a farmer. It’s really interesting to be those people, all at the same time.
What don’t you like about being an actor?
I don’t like the fame, so to say. The whole razzmatazz. Somewhere you just can’t blend in sometimes. It’s amazing how that rubs off the wrong way and you know a lot of the time in Lagos, you are just going somewhere and everyone just begs you for money and it’s really irritating, because everywhere I go, there is always someone that will say: “Bros, how far now, drop something”.
What is the greatest thing that being an actor has done for you?
It’s an opportunity, an avenue to open doors; you know you are given a key to the world. In some places in America, when you go over there and you do something good, you get a key to the city from the Mayor. But acting gives you literally a key to the world. You go to some places and you think no one would know you are there. But it’s always possible someone who knows you or knows of your work or industry is going to ease your way through.
What is the costliest mistake that most actors make?
I think the costliest mistake that most actors make is actually living to or dancing to the tune of the public. People see you in a certain way or expect you to behave in a certain way and once you start doing that, you begin to lose the essence of yourself. It is really imperative to remain true to the core of your being; look at yourself and say who am I? Am I the guy that wears expensive clothes all the time and drives big cars to impress people or am I the guy that wants to build a future and knowing so, I have to cut cost and expenses at this point to be able to achieve it?
Most people attain success in acting and are not able to sustain it. Where do you think they normally get it wrong?
I just think that a lot of people attain success and they become financially stable and they start to live a life that is pandering to the people, that is playing to the gallery. You get to a spot where they are unable to uphold that lifestyle anymore. So, the truth of the matter is staying true to yourself; if you can afford to live on the Island, please live there, if you can’t afford to live on the Island, there are places on the mainland that look very good also.
What’s your own personal definition of acting?
Acting is being. For as long as someone sees your movies and they can say that guy is a good actor, he can act, that should be the situation. They should be able to see your movie and get lost in it, because what they are seeing is not you acting, but you totally being that person in such a way that when you cry, they cry with you, when you laugh, they do the same with you because they believe in you.
Ladies tend to gravitate towards stars like you, how have you been coping and what has been your own experience?
My experience, I think, is the fact that sometimes it gets worse for most entertainers if they get limited attention from the opposite sex. Before they start working, they got none. So, when they get to that stage and they get a lot of attention, they get woozy about it. I would not totally say that I have not gotten attention from the opposite sex, even before I started acting. So, it can help knowing full well that even if you put a goat in front of the television, it will still get attention. There will still be admirers and female who will want to be with that goat. But if you start to see yourself as the ultimate sex symbol, you will realise that you’ve made a mistake. It’s not really about you, it’s about the persona that they see. So, once you juxtapose that, you will realize that how many of them will like me if they know that I fart in my sleep, or if they know that I do all these things that normal human beings do?
Most artistes run into problem when it comes to managing stardom, how have you navigated this?
Once again, I am not very aware of stardom. It’s not a term that I am very comfortable with. I don’t really know if I like being a star, because most people say you are a star. As for me, I love my job a lot and I like the fact that, that is what I do. The other part of it; what’s the whole stardom about? That is why I don’t go for every event because I’m a home boy really inside of my heart. If I had a choice, I will just be home at all times you know, read a book, play a game, watch a movie or something.
What distinguishes Yemi Blaq from the other artistes?
I try as much as possible to prepare myself in a way for every work I take on, knowing that it’s the definition of your person. Your work defines your person. So, I’d like this territory to be able to judge me fairly, I’d like to be that person that could be looked upon as that person that did his best at his job.
Can you recollect the most memorable role you have played?
The most memorable role that I have played so far has been every role I have played. I know that sounds rather partisan, but at the end of the day, the truth is every role that I have played is a departure from your person as an human being and that means that in speaking, in thought and in everything, you have to be so real and every time you play a role, you are redefining who you are.
Away from work, what keeps you busy, what are the things you spend your free hours doing?
I write. I write poetry. I write songs and I’ve been doing it for some time. But the truth is that I have not till now found the kind of producers that would put life into the sounds I hear in my head, because I believe that if you are going to do something, then do it well. However, I’ve been fortunate to meet a couple of producers lately who have been able to put together that which I hear in my head and that which I hear with my ears. Also, I want to start my own production company, and I have a couple of other business ventures that I am venturing into.
Can we meet your family?
Yes, my wife is Remi. She is a writer, producer and I have a son. He is eight years old. There is no doubt that he is going to be an artiste also because right now, the stories that he comes up with on a daily basis are totally amazing. You know, he wants to create his own TV series, his own TV show. He has created characters, stories and a whole stuff.
How did you meet your wife, would you like to tell us the story?
I met my wife on set, she was the producer and I was an actor.
What movie?
I can’t remember the title now. We got to meet and work on that project, I liked her mind, because I am attracted to intelligent females, and she is very, very intelligent. So, that was it.
So, what would you say has kept the marriage going?
It’s just once again her intelligence.
What year exactly did you get married?
I would like to skip certain details.