Perhaps, one of the most popular veteran actors in the movie industry right now who has as much presence in the Yoruba films as in English films is no other than Prince Jide Kosoko. He is an actor who has been around for more than six decades. He is so talented he is considered by colleagues to be a chameleon when it comes to assuming characters to translate his roles.
In this engaging interview, the Prince of Kosoko Royal Family of Lagos chronicles the history of film productions in Nigeria, his family, and the art of acting.
There have been arguments over when Nollywood came into existence. In your own view, when did the film industry emerge in Nigeria? Nollywood is more than 20 years old as against what people think. They make reference to Living in Bondage (1992) which was not the pioneer film in Nigeria. I produced Asiri nla that same year. Film production in Nigeria started in the 60s but most of the films were documentaries.
In this engaging interview, the Prince of Kosoko Royal Family of Lagos chronicles the history of film productions in Nigeria, his family, and the art of acting.
There have been arguments over when Nollywood came into existence. In your own view, when did the film industry emerge in Nigeria? Nollywood is more than 20 years old as against what people think. They make reference to Living in Bondage (1992) which was not the pioneer film in Nigeria. I produced Asiri nla that same year. Film production in Nigeria started in the 60s but most of the films were documentaries.
Do you mind taking us down the memory lane? Professor Wole Soyinka produced Kongi Harvest which did not have a commercial viability then. Commercialised film-making in Nigeria started in 1976 with Ajani Ogun produced by Dr. Ola Balogun . This film experimented on the already existing Yoruba theater created by the likes of Herbert Ogunde, Baba Sala, Duro Ladipo, Kolawole Ogunmola , Ogungbe, etc. who were as at that time,acting on stage.
Ajani Ogun was in celluloid and that was the first film that started the revolution of film-making in Nigeria. Other films like Ija Ominira, Aiye, etc. also followed suit.
The process of film production could not be completed in Nigeria because our laboratories lacked the equipment needed for the post production, so many producers had to travel abroad. In 1985 when the economic Structural Adjustment Programme of the country started, many film producers could not make enough money to travel abroad for the post production of films. Along the line, Alade Aromire broke the jinx and produced a film using a video projector. Although the production was of low quality, it recorded a huge success like the celluloid.
After this, I produced Asiri Nla and Adebayo Salami produced Asewo to re meka in 1992 to improve on the low quality. Tunde Kelani followed with Ti oluwa nile. And that started the second revolution, improving on what was on ground. In the late 90s the third revolution started. Living in Bondage by Kenneth Nnebue & Okechukwu Ogunjiofor started the incursion of other tribes into the industry.
Kenneth Nnebue had produced Aje niya mi and other films for NEK Videos before Living in Bondage. Living in Bondage did have its impact on the Nigeria film industry, in terms of equipment, post production etc., but can never be a point of reference when thinking about when Nollywood came into existence.
You started acting when many parents did not believe in the industry. How did you manage? I started acting professionally in 1964 at age 10. But I starred in a professional production which was even before film production. My parents were not happy with my choice of career just like other parents. But I was rascally as a child. I engaged in things that many of my mates never could dare. My parents felt I was to be entertained as a royal prince and not the other way round.
What do you think influenced your choice of career? My passion for acting. Also, I lived in the same vicinity with Papa Hubert Ogunde on the Island and had some of his children as friends. I used to admire how people shouted his name whenever he drove round the street and I prayed to be like him. So, when the opportunity came, even as a child, I grabbed it with both hands.
What do you think you would have become if you didn’t go acting? Sincerely, I don’t know if I could have succeeded outside the creative world. Acting and entertainment is my calling.
What are the things you consider before accepting roles? I have gotten to a stage where I cannot afford to be part of a bad production. The first thing I consider is the quality of the script. I also put who the producer is into consideration. A bad producer will only deliver a bad production because he will not be able to get able hands to work with. The director and the caliber of actors and actresses invited to narrate the story are also other factors to consider.
Which film sold you to the world? One film doesn’t bring an actor to limelight rather continuity does. When people see a particular face in good productions, they will note the face and as time goes on, they will reckon with the face. And that is how the fame comes. That is why I detest some of my colleagues who believe they can turn one actor to a celebrity overnight. A continuous process of quality film productions brought me to limelight.
You are an authority in the film industry, a role model to many actors and actresses, one of the pioneers in the industry, one of the few Nigerians who have been able to participate both in Yoruba and English films. What does all these mean to you? They mean dedication, hard work and most importantly, God’s blessing.
And how has your work affected your life? It has robbed me of my privacy. The moment you become a public figure, your life becomes other people’s business. You have to pretend to be a gentleman even when you are a rascal. We learn to stage-manage our lives even when we are not on set. Many of us have learnt to live a fake life to suit and keep our fans, people who see us as role models.
How have you been managing your role as a father, husband, actor, role model, etc., over the years? These are different sectors of my life. I know my responsibility as a father. I have eight of my kids who have graduated from the University. I make the money from being an actor to play my role as a father and husband. I try my best to remain focused and hardworking to remain a role model to many people.
Some of your children and fans were not happy when you took two wives. What’s your comment? I never envisaged being a polygamist though I am a product of one. My parents didn’t support it too. My first wife was a business woman. I craved for somebody who was in the same field with me. In those days, the best advice you got was from your better half and that was how the second woman came to be. Along the line, I lost the two to childbirths within 11months interval.
I had seven children as at that time, so I didn’t plan remarrying or having more children again. But after much persuasion from my doctor and relatives, I decided to have a woman with the agreement of not having more children but a complete African woman will not agree to that. One thing led to the other and I got two women again. So being a polygamist was not intentional but God’s design over which I do not have power.
Do you mind sharing those things that led to your marrying two women again? The situation that surrounded marrying my wives made me go for the two.
What has been the worst thing ever written about you and how did you react? Bad reporting is just bad. I can’t place my hand on the worst. I have decided not to react because I believe I am bigger than them. Also, the more I react, the more copies they sell. I need not cry over split milk at this level.
Many are of the opinion that actors are very promiscuous. What’s your take on that? That is far from the truth. In fact, our’s is one of the professions whose members are very disciplined. People tend to make noise out of everything we do as public figures. That is not to say we do not date or sleep with each other. The profession is a blessed one and people should please see the good side of our profession too. We educate, entertain, admonish, enlighten the world through our artistic works.
What is new in your plate? I am working on a movie titled Kobiowu meaning measurement. It is like a semi-epic movie and I intend shooting by April.
The Nigeria film industry has more than one professional body. Do you think having an umbrella body to regulate the profession will be better? I think so. Associations are being regulated by a guild in every nation of the world. And their guilds are under a council which serves as the executive. Just like some people believe that the National Film and Video Censors Board are regulating the film industry in Nigeria, this is not true because that is outside their jurisdiction.
The film industry needs a body managed by the film-makers and not a parastatal owned by the government. The National Film and Video Censors Board classify our films but they do not serve as a regulatory body. We need our own council and an umbrella body which will soon emerge.
Are you as funny in real life as you are in movies? Life itself is a stage; it is just natural, it comes with the genes. I won’t call myself a comedian, but an actor must be versatile. You act any role given to you, you act the script you are given. Some people would say “Jide Kosoko, you are a crossover artiste, you act in English movies and you also act in Yoruba movies.” It is the script that I’m given that I act.
How many children do you have? I can’t be precise but my children are more than a dozen.