By Matebello Motloung, January 2008

Award-winning Nigerian actor and director Akin Omotoso makes films about stories he can 'defend'. He talks about his work, shunning stereotypes and why he is fazed by fame

Akin Omotoso is an ambitious perfectionist. Defined by his African roots, he is nonetheless a citizen of the world who does not take life, or himself, too seriously.

The talented actor and filmmaker, who has become a recognisable face in South Africa since he appeared in the popular TV series Generations and Isidingo, was born and brought up in Nigeria. Yet he regards himself as a Pan-African. Omotoso immigrated to South Africa 15 years ago with his family when Nigeria's future looked rather bleak. He was only 17 at the time, and wary of what life in South Africa would hold for someone "of a darker hue". But, he readily admits, the move was the best thing that happened to him.

A graduate of the University of Cape Town's drama school, Omotoso has also had roles in a number of local and international feature films, notably Lord of War where he starred opposite Nicolas Cage.

He also wrote and directed the highly acclaimed feature film God is African.

His work was rewarded recently with one of the highest accolades a young artist working in South Africa can hope to receive, the Standard Bank Young Artist award.

The son of English literature professor and intellectual Kole Omotoso (whose face is well-known to South Africans as the friendly old man in Vodacom's Yebo Gogo advertisements), he admits that he holds his father in high esteem and always wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a writer, something he has done.

Omotoso draws inspiration from people and "ordinary stuff" which he internalises and recreates into work that is anything but ordinary.

RD: You're an actor, producer and director. Which do you prefer?
Omotoso: Directing, producing and acting require different things. I like doing them all. It's all part and parcel of an attempt to tell a story. Each of them gives me joy in one way or the other.

RD: All this has brought you fame. Do you enjoy it?
Omotoso: Define fame.
RD: I mean being a widely recognised face, where people say "Oh, there's Akin."
Omotoso: I'm always amazed when people recognise me. I don't want to say I don't like it, because that would be like a doctor saying he doesn't like his patients.

There's a kind of invisible bond between what we do and the people who receive what we do. But personally, I can't take fame. It's a joke among my friends how I recoil from it. It's very important to be clear about who you are, but if it means that you get doors opened for you, one can't complain. I guess what I'm saying is that there's no black or white.

I have seen how friends of mine who at one point in their lives were famous, now can't get anyone to take their calls. I can't live my life like that. I want to live my life the way I understand it.

RD: What is the cruellest thing you've ever read about yourself?
Omotoso: People have said a lot of cruel things. But the most important thing is to keep everything in perspective, you can't take it too personally. I know there's a period where I get annoyed but I move on, because at the end of the day it's not someone else's journey, it's your journey.

RD: Have you ever wished you were not well known?
Omotoso: Yes. One particular time was when I had just seen my mother's body at a Cape Town hospital and was devastated when I was approached for my autograph. And that's what I mean, where I was like, "Sorry, but my mom has just died, do you know what I mean? The person who brought me to this planet has died and you want me to sign some autograph because you've seen me on TV? It doesn't work that way."

RD: What did you do?
Omotoso: I can't remember, I might have signed it and said a few things. But I'm saying that's the grey area. That's the one incident I remember.

RD: What kind of relationship did you have with your mother?
Omotoso: My mother was great, what can I say. She was great.

RD: I see you're wearing a ring on your left hand. Are you married?
Omotoso: Yes, I'm married.

RD: To whom and for how long?
Omotoso: I'm married, that's all I'm going to say.

RD: Apparently you wanted to be a lawyer when you were younger. Why did you change your mind? What made you go into film?
Omotoso: I went to drama school and I fell in love with it.

RD: Was the attraction to law that you argue well?
Omotoso: That's it. As a young person I was told exactly that. But when I got to drama school it became clear to me after about three years that I couldn't do anything else. I decided if I'm going to be good at this then I better work hard at it.

RD: Are you a perfectionist?
Omotoso: Ja, but not to a point where I would jump off a cliff. As I said, after all that stuff you must live life. You must chill, but yeah, I do put pressure on myself. I've been in this industry for ten years and I've done a couple of things, and I still feel I've got some catching up to do.

RD: Who or what do you measure yourself against?
Omotoso: I'm really inspired by people, by ordinary stuff. It's not just one group of people. It's when I watch something that is great and I leave the film shaking and I'm thinking, Gee, that film was brilliant. That inspires me. It's like when Bob Marley wrote Redemption Song, everything just came together. The stars were aligned and boom, this guy wrote this piece which we are still listening to 25 years later. That stuff inspires me. Similarly, decades later, the lyrics of Fela Kuti's Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense still resonate with us. That's impressive and inspiring.

RD: Which authors do you read?
Omotoso: I read everything.

RD: Your father is an intellectual of note. Do you consider yourself one, too?
Omotoso: Nah, I don't think so. He's one of the people I look up to and I admire greatly and not just as a father who is great, but also as someone who continues to contribute a lot to the discourse of the African continent. Originally, I wanted to be a writer and follow in his footsteps.

RD: So you wanted to be a writer as well?
Omotoso: Yes. I wanted to win the Nobel Prize for literature. What does an Olympic athlete aim for? You don't dream of a silver or a bronze, you dream of gold. You have to be in the game to win. I'm not saying prizes define those things but you have to have a point in what you're doing ? to attain the highest accolade in that genre. So I try to follow in my father's footsteps. I write as well from time to time.

I like to think a lot, I like theories. For example, someone says do you like Nollywood? (Nigerian-made low-budget thrillers). I would say while I'm a fan of those films, I like them from an intellectual, sociological view. That is very hard to start to explain to people when they ask, "Do you like the film or don't you like the film?"

RD: Why do you think people watch Nollywood films?
Omotoso: People who like Nollywood films forgive the lack of aesthetics and love the stories. They aren't hung up on the lack of low lighting or the stupendous plots. They are sucked in because at the bare minimum, these stories are the large tales that in some way they can relate to. It's the same when you look at Bollywood, they are good at those stories. They produce musicals like no one else, and people watch them.

RD: How many films have you made?
Omotoso: I've made five short films. I've done a short film which is around 15 minutes, one feature film, God is African and one documentary. I've produced a feature film, one documentary and the television programme, Nomzamo, A Place Called Home and Sorted. So I've done quite a bit.

RD: You recently won the Standard Bank Young Artist award. What do you think this says?
Omotoso: The thing about it is that they don't award the film category every year and you don't apply for it. So it really meant a lot. It indicated that the times I didn't go to parties to stay home and work were worthwhile. It was very touching because there are a lot of filmmakers in the country. There are lots of people whom I admire and when you look at all the people who've won before, they are people whose work I like.

RD: When you make a film, is there a particular message you try to impart? What is an Akin trademark?
Omotoso: I always say it must be a story that I can defend. If I can't defend it, I can't make it. Film takes a long time, it takes a long part of your life, so when you start working on films it's a three- to five-year commitment. So if I'm going to be working on something for that length of time, I'd better like it. And I can't just do anything and that's what governs my thoughts, my commitment.

RD: You've acted in a number of international films. How was it?
Omotoso: With Lord of War I really liked the director, Andrew Niccol, who wrote The Truman Show. I spoke to Andrew a lot and still keep in contact, even today.

RD: And how was acting alongside Nicolas Cage?
Omotoso: Nic was cool. I like to do things for the experience.

RD: As an actor, are there any roles you will not play?
Omotoso: I will not play certain parts. For example, I will not act as a Nigerian drug dealer. I don't care how much you offer to pay me, I will not play that.

RD: What do you think the local industry can still learn from what other people are doing overseas?
Omotoso: We have to realise that it's a marathon, not a 100-metre dash. If you accept that, then you have growth in an organic way as opposed to rushing.

RD: What film are you busy with now?
Omotoso: I've just shot a short film, Jesus and the Giant in which Jesus is a black woman. The film looks at what would happen if the symbol of peace lived in downtown Johannesburg.

RD: Do you follow a particular religion?
Omotoso: Uhm . . . I think the best way to answer that is to say, I believe.

RD: In what?
Omotoso: I'm a believer. Let's just leave it at that. It's too complicated.

RD: How do you regard yourself? It keeps on coming up that you're Nigerian yet you've been in South Africa for 15 years?
Omotoso: You need to be clear about who you are. I have been fortunate to have a lot. My Dad is Nigerian and my late mother was West Indian, and my grandparents lived in London and are now in Barbados. So from an early age what was clear to me was that I had access to all these cultures so I didn't have to be defined by one.

I grew up in Nigeria but I spent some time in London and Barbados and then came to South Africa. I feel at home here but you can't ignore that there is a xenophobic kind of underbelly that exists. I tackled that in God is African.

I see myself as a Pan-African, and I embrace the Pan-African way of thinking, the idea that we all have access to culture, as opposed to blanket stuff. People make a lot of blanket statements: Nigerians are this, black South Africans are that, it's all problematic. We should stop generalising as it causes problems.

RD: Do you ever regret moving to South Africa?
Omotoso: No.

RD: Why not?
Omotoso: Because if I didn't move here I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing.

RD: But it's not like you came here willingly.
Omotoso: The thing is, I was 17 years old and being uprooted to a place that is totally different. And let's not forget that South Africa was not exactly known for its hospitality towards people of the darker hue, so I grew up with particular images of the country. In retrospect it's the best thing that ever happened because Nigeria was definitely going down.

RD: Is that why your family left?
Omotoso: Well, my dad got a job here and he moved the whole family. He had the foresight to see that Nigeria was going down. So when I was going to university here, my friends in Nigeria were not because the military had shut down all the universities. So ja, I don't know what would have happened but I thank God my dad said, "This is where we are going". The reason you think I'm worth interviewing has come about because 15 years ago my dad made a decision that we should come to South Africa. Had he not done that, we would never have met. So South Africa has given me a lot. I grew up here.

RD: Would you say you're a naturalised South African?
Omotoso: I am. I'm a South African citizen.