Friday, March 29, 2024

I hate going to school but…,

says Nollywood actress, Ufuoma Mcdermott

 

The look on the face of Nollywood actress, Ufuoma Mcdermott, at the private screening of The Women, a movie directed by Blessing Egbe, is that of fulfillment and excitement. Though she is not the producer, she is excited for some reason.
Being part of the project actually excites her, she explains at the screening of the movie at the Filmhouse IMAX Cinemas in Lekki, Lagos. She is one of the lead characters in the new movie that also features Kate Henshaw, Omoni Oboli and Femi Branch.
“I think my biggest experience is having professionals on set, having people who understood that they needed to believe in themselves, drop their egos and put themselves in the characters to ensure that everything they did was in line with the movie. I think that is an experience any actor is actually blessed to experience,” she says.
Over the years, she has formed a good partnership with Uche jumbo, Omoni Oboli and Chioma Akpotha. But according to her, it has not been a conscious effort, insisting that it just happened and they cliqued. She also reveals that they have known another other for a long time, but they didn’t get along so soon.
She says, “The ‘Fanatic Four’ as we are fondly called on social media, I think, came to be after Wives On Strike. I think it came with our cinema tours because a lot of time we had to stay together and later did different things together. What I see in these girls is the way we’ve been able to encourage one another other. If you tell them that you are thinking of planting a tree before December, they will not let you rest until you plan it.
“I don’t understand why women do not support each other. We might have a few people who had a fight, but the fact that you fall out with your brother doesn’t mean he will stop being your brother. Same applies to your father and mother as well.”
Regardless of how good the quartet bond together, she admits that they do quarrel and fight, as well. But she finds it hard to pinpoint one particular thing that had caused fights among them, saying the smallest of a thing can trigger a disagreement.
“I am not God; I wish I could tell you what may lead to our fall out. But it could be that you just tell me you don’t like my dress and I get upset. It doesn’t have to be anything serious. We do actually have those fights because we are humans. Four of us being together and travelling here and there, we fight. But we still try to come together and move on to other important things. We cannot let little things tear us apart,” she says.
Though married to a white man, she is of the opinion that Africans have exciting stories to tell and it is up to them to tell their own stories. She also believes that if Africans wait for Hollywood to tell their stories, they will tell it as the hero and they will probably leave out the most important part, which is the truth about the African woman.
“But more often, I have noticed that we now tell our stories better. I think this is probably a time when we have come to realise that we need the truth. It is not a want; it is a necessity. We have to tell African stories. Whether it is from a woman or man’s perspective or about the African child, the African stories must be told. We need to sit up, take the mantle and tell our stories,” Mcdermott says.
While she admits she may not be in the best position to advise women on how to live their lives and who to share secrets with, she says, in life, for every action or reaction, there are consequences and one must be able to live with those consequences whenever they come.
Unlike most of her colleagues, the University of Lagos graduate didn’t just start acting. As a beauty queen, she had already made name for herself before venturing into acting.
Does she have plans to groom young girls to become super models? She says she has never thought of it because she knows that there are lots of agencies that groom models and beauty queens.
For her, modelling was a beautiful phase she had to pass through on her journey in life.
“I think modelling is a phase in life that I enjoyed, maximised and I have moved on to another phrase. To be honest, I cannot say I miss it. I did start with modelling, then acting came along. At every point, I have always understood that life has phases. When my phase as an actor came, I needed to maximise it. So, I went to film school and I did everything I had to do,” she says.
One thing she claims not to like is school and she had always had this strange feeling right from her tender age. But that has not stopped her from seeking knowledge or improving herself academically. To some extent, she is widely read. She had her first degree in French and second degree in public affairs. She has other certificates in filming, too.
“This sounds like an irony. I always tell people I hate school, but I always go to school. It is like every year I get a certificate. I think two years ago, I got my certificate in directing. As much as possible, build yourself. It is one thing for people to say you are qualified, but I don’t need anyone to tell me I am qualified because I know I am. If you learn about directing and script writing, as an actor, it will make you a better actor. Invest in yourself because it makes you a better person,” she says.
In December, she will debut her first movie, Christmas Is Coming, as a director. She says she wrote and directed it.

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