Nigerian Movie Star Profile
JT Tom West
Movie bad boy, JT Tom West, says he’s cut out for the part more than any one
else. “ I am the best person who can play bad roles. I always make my next
role different from the last one I did, even if it is the same character.
Most of my colleagues interpret similar roles the same way. If you give them
a role as a thief five times in different movies, they play it the same way,
but I don’t play me in any character. The way I interpret similar roles are
different. If I play a bad guy seven times in seven movies it would not be
the same. When you look at it, it’s either my looks, the way I talk or my
mannerism is different. I always put those things into consideration. I take
each role as a challenge. I am not the type that says no, please I’ve been
playing this role for long. If you give me the same role again, what I do is
to see how best I can change it from the last job I did, that is what I
think it’s all about”.
No training
The Rivers State-born actor’s love for music made him to go into acting,
though he had no form of training before joining the movie industry. “ I
love music a lot, any time I am angry music soothes my spirit. So from then
I developed interest in show biz. Though the schools I attended, as a
teenager, were always staging dramas, I did not think I was going to make it
a career. But I really liked it then. I never studied Drama or Theatre Arts,
I just went in front of a camera for an audition and that was it. But before
then, I was working with Zeb Ejiro on his talk show and was also modeling. I
guess I was used to cameras but not acting until we started Mega Fortune.
After that, the first movie I shot was Glamour Girls”. That first movie
fetched him N20,000 but he was not discouraged.
Breaking into the big league
J.T said he joined the big league after his role in State of Emergence. “
When I shot State of Emergency, people actually looked at me and said, oh!
this guy is good after all. Because in the past, I used to act bad guy.
Producers knew I was good but because of the ponytail I had then, they felt
I couldn’t fit into certain roles. Then, I offered to cut my hair and they
gave me a role in State of Emergency and that was what gave me a lot of
publicity and people started seeing me as a good actor”.
I’m not a bad guy
JT isn’t really a bad guy, or so he says. “Yes, I drink, smoke, that is all.
Those are the vices most men have, a lot of people don’t know me, and they
tend to believe what they see on television because of my part. If they
believe that, it means that my acting was good and that I am a good actor.
They must have watched my films and said, ‘this guy must be taking drugs or
else he would not be this good’. I know within myself that I don’t take
drugs, so I’ve succeeded in passing a message as an actor because I’ve never
smelt cocaine before. I know abroad there are some actors that take drugs
before going on set. Personally, what gets me high on set is the spirit of
trying to be better. I am a perfectionist. If I scored nine-and-half percent
the first time, the second time I would like to score 10 percent. The zeal
to be better keeps me high on set, not drugs.”
Suspension, not ban
He would not agree that some of his colleagues were recently banned from
acting, rather he said they were “suspended” due to indiscipline on set. “ I
don’t think it’s a ban but I would call it suspension, because the reason
the marketers gave was discipline on set. That some artistes come on set and
tell directors what to shoot and how they want it shot; they dictate to the
directors. Basically, that is wrong, an artiste can only suggest to a
director and not dictate to him on how to go about his work. Every
profession has its own rules. In the military, you can not talk to your
superior anyhow. The marketers have a right not to work with the artistes if
they want; it’s their right. But saying you want to suspend them is going
too hard on them. I know that at the end of the day both parties would come
to an agreement. There is a small vacuum that is created by the suspension
because the upcoming artistes can not replace them in certain roles”.
Why I’m not married
JT says he is still single because he is scared of making a mistake in
marriage. “I don’t want to make a mistake in things like that, that is why I
believe in courtship between the couple. Over the years, I’ve seen a few
girls I am considering getting married to. But when I finally get married,
the girl would be beautiful, intelligent, God-fearing, sensitive because I
am a very sensitive person. I don’t need a woman who would embarrass me in
the public without even knowing that she is embarrassing me. Again,
everybody likes good things, so she must be good looking and everyone that
sees her would say so”.
Challenging role
“ We do a lot of movies that are so challenging, but so far the most
challenging is Liberian Girl, directed by Samson Frances. But it has not
seen the light of the day. Incidentally, there is another movie that had to
do with Liberian situation, it’s called Laviva. I see it as the most
challenging because I had to speak Liberian-English and native tongue. Every
thing in the film was real”.
Why I braid my hair
JT said he braided his hair because he wanted to create an identity for
himself in his career. “ When we started braiding hair, people thought we
were crazy, but in essence I braid to make a difference in what I do. People
were condemning it but they did not understand that one could be creative. I
don’t like to imitate others or wear what other people are wearing. I am
very creative, I like to be me in what ever I do. Somebody asked me about my
walking stick which I started using eleven years ago, I told him it’s my
identity as a Rivers man. Now, I stopped braiding and shave my hair because
I wanted to shock the people that felt they knew me and did not. They never
came and asked me why I am braiding my hair the way you are doing now. They
sit in their houses and analyze why I am braiding my hair. I decided to
shock them by shaving my hair and let them know they don’t live my life for
me”.
I am not a homosexual
There is so much controversy surrounding JT’s life, one of them being that
he is a homosexual and is high on drugs. But he seas the speculations as a
huge joke and dared anybody sees him as a homosexual to bring his sister for
‘testing’ “I am not a homosexual, a paper actually wrote that I am one. I
told the guy that wrote the story that the only way to find out if I am a
homesexual is for him to bring his sister to me. I detest it and it’s
disgusting to me. If I know a man that is into it I would not allow him to
sit by me. But then, it is their life and we have to allow them to live it
the way they want”.
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