Interview With Ufuoma Mcdermott
Photography: @Ore007 Joshua Oreoluwa Makeup: @be_gorg Olwale Sophiat Styles by:@emehnoel Emeh Noel
Hair: @topladyhair Adedoyin Hope Adewuyi UW/VOL2/16
Watching Ufuoma Mcdermott on television, one is struck with a curiosity to find out who she is behind the screen. In this interview with Urban Woman Magazine, she talks about her life as an actress, staying scandal free and what she thinks about roles women take on due to societal pressure.
UW: Describe your journey into the movie industry.
UM: I started my journey as a model and a beauty queen. I remember winning the Miss Congeniality at the Miss Commonwealth Pageant in 2002. I had gone to collect my prize at the sponsor's office and there I met Zeb Ejiro, he started telling me of how I would make a good actress, and at the time, I wasn't interested, so I politely said no. But then, he went on and on and at a point, I started feeling choked. So I turned from polite to rude. Then I said, "Thank you very much sir, but if I want to start acting, I would go straight to Hollywood". Then he brings out his card and says, "When you get to Hollywood, please remember me". Some years later, when I did decide that I wanted to act, I brought out that card and he was gracious enough to listen to me. Luckily for me, it was at a time when he was preparing to shoot, so I went and picked the script, the next day, I went in for the audition, and got a major role.
UW: When was the " Eureka" moment when you decided that you wanted to act?
UM: There was no Eureka moment. For me, I was in my 300 year at the French Village, and my mates at the main campus, University of Lagos, had not even begun their 300 level. So I had a whole year, and it became a question of what I should do with my time. I must say that I have had good graces. Zeb Ejiro being the one who introduced me did a lot for me. I picked up the right vibes, what to do, what not to do. He advised me to get registered with the Actors Guild, and that day, I didn't even know there was an audition holding at the National Theatre. I went for that audition, read the script, and got a supporting role to play alongside Rita Dominic. He advised me against hanging out at certain places. He wanted me to be deliberate in my actions and in my quest for roles. Also, AGN used to send bulk messages for actors to come for auditions, because producers used to have their auditions at the National Theatre and AGN'S office was at the
National Theatre, so I was always in the know and my actions were always deliberate.
UW: How would you describe the way the movie industry has moved from where it was in the past to where it is now.
UM: We are not where we want to be, but we know that we are not where we used to be either. We are grateful for the progression, and the timing in which the progression has happened. The industry has taken an enormous leap from last year to this year. We had 8 films go into the Toronto International Film Festival last year, from an industry that people said had no business being an international player. We have seen our films go to cinemas in the UK, being in cinemas in France, being dubbed in French. People are a lot more calculated in what they do, from producers, to script writers. It is amazing and I am so proud to be a part of it.
UW: You have been scandal free throughout your journey as an actress, what would you attribute this to?
UM: I usually say to people, that scandal is relative. So what is scandal? Some people live their lives and the way they live their everyday lives are what others refer to as scandal. What I basically do is just be myself. A lot of people who know me, know that I have always been a very disciplined person, and I try to set goals for myself and work towards those goals. I try not to break my focus. I am focused on the fact that acting is work, it is not a playground for me. I am just a regular working person. I am the regular woman who wakes up in the morning, goes to work and comes back to her family. I am not the one to go out and call attention to myself. That is not to say that I am better than those who do so. I respect people for the path they have chosen and also expect them to respect me for the path that I have chosen. I just feel scandal is relative, and if we look at it well, if may just be that person is living the life they have known to live all their lives.
UW: You featured in "Hear Word". How were you able to bring yourself to the point where your audience could literally feel the emotions you portrayed on stage?
UM: For an actor, you need to become a character, and you need to take that character on a journey, I have never been sexually assaulted whether as a child or an adult. The closest I have come to someone who had VVF was a friend whose sister had gone through child marriage. What I did with the character was first of all, get a clear cut interpretation from the director. My darkest piece was one where a young girl was married to a much older man. She got pregnant, lost the baby, they had to battle to save her life, and then she suffered from VVF and her husband didn't want her anymore. I hate that piece. Everybody on the "Hear Word" train knows that I hate that piece, all because of where I have to take myself to, the journey I have to take myself through to birth that character. I have to ask, "What can this mother be going through?" Evaluate the emotions, hate, anger, pity, regret etc. That is what helps me immerse myself into the character.
UW: What do you think about roles women are expected to endure because they are women, especially in some parts of Nigeria, example, child marriage, the woman who suffers domestic violence, etc?
UM: The truth is this, no matter what medium through which we tell these stories, no matter the platform, the message is one all over the world. It is not peculiar to Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas, or even Africans. The message is "Be kind to the next person". Treat the next person the way you want to be treated. Why should someone's life be limited because of their gender or religion or belief? It is not just right. If we really take that phrase of loving your neighbor as yourself, there are a whole lot of things we wouldn't even do, there are a whole lot of things we won't even talk about. When a person says a woman's role is to sit at home and give birth, what is theirs? Would they like to be tied down at home
too? We should basically learn to be kind to one another and treat the next person the way we want to be treated.
UW: You grew up in Jos, describe growing up and how it was.
UM: My dad used to work at the Ministry of Agriculture and when you worked in the civil service, you were moved around. So we moved from Benin to Jos, and I could speak Hausa but I lost it when we moved to Lagos because there was nobody to speak Hausa to. It was nostalgic going back to Jos recently and seeing so many places, the rocky plains. It was great fun, I remember Terminus used to be our Shoprite. To hear about all the unrest, I couldn't believe that Terminus got burnt, it is just sad.
UW: How do you cope with attention from your fans?
UM: I think I have the most wonderful fans, the closest I have come to being mobbed by a fan is when someone just grabs you in an embrace and then someone is taking your pictures already. But if you check it, they do mean well and it is their way of expressing their excitement. I remember when I was in film school and I saw Damon Wayan and I met him at the lot, I was in awe. So I can imagine how the fans feel when they see you after watching you on television, you take them through this emotional journey, sometimes they cry with you. You can almost forgive them for not being able to hold their emotions and just express it in the way that they can. I have had fans reach out to me at my lowest periods, and some have become very good friends, even family. They have sent me a word, a prayer. We honestly never take these fans for granted. We totally appreciate them.
UW: What has been your toughest movie?
UM: One of my toughest back then was "Saving Sarah", where I almost had to play three characters in one. At the beginning, I was someone who had the spirit of discernment so I was almost like a crazy person, the movie started with my character being disillusioned, at some
point I became a bad girl, because everybody was convinced that I was crazy and I got kicked out of the house. So the character went from Zero to Hundred. Then, she met this guy, decided to change her life and then became an extreme born again Christian. Also, because we do not shoot chronologically, we may shoot in one location where I have to be this character and that character, but I had a good director, who helped me pull that through. Also, in Okafor's Law, I had to be Ifeoma Omene, the trophy wife, who wanted for nothing but who later got curious. I had to rely on my director for that transition as well. Also, The Women, where I had to play Omoh, the pathological liar, the fakest human being. She was a bit of a crazy character. I have had a lot of challenges and I am looking forward to more.
UW: What are your plans for the future?
UM: I think I have started some of them already, one of which is to grow my production company to inculcate children content which I think we lack in this part of the world. If you want your children to watch something, you have to be deliberate about creating it. Overall, production wise, I hope to create memorable characters in the minds of children. Characters with which we can introduce certain values into our society, and do all sorts of things with these characters, merchandize, have a theme park etc. Also, my movie Christmas Is Coming would be out this December, it is distributed by Silverbird Distribution, it features myself, Chioma Akpotha, Deyemi Okanlawon, Sola Sobowale, Zack Orji. It is such an interesting romantic comedy and it is a holiday movie that would keep everybody's spirit alive for the holidays. I love Christmas and everybody knows. I am not even ashamed to say it. Watch out for Christmas Is Coming.