Nigerian Movie Star Profile
Uche Iwuji
Almost every artiste you meet, either started from the
church or school. Uche began at The Over comers Church. And did she over
come? Not without mentioning the fact that her initial dream was to become a
top model and beauty queen until she could not sustain her slim figure. Her
modeling dream thus passed away and the home video industry took possession
of her. Uji was second runner up at the Miss Lagos Island Pageant in 2001.
She has appeared in My Heart Desire, One Way To the Top,
He lives in Me,
My Conscience,
Mortal Sins,
Beautiful Faces,
My Dream, Against All Odds, Lost Passion,
Up To Me,
Seperate Lives,
Innocent Tears,
Total Control, No Guarantee,
Aristos and
Passion and
Pains. Uji, a 300 level student of sociology at the Univesity of Lagos
began her movie career in year 2000, having been discovered by Zeb Ejiro.
She was challenged by her role in Emotional Tears also starring Genevieve
Nnaji, Jim Iyke,
Ashley Nwosu, and
Sola Sobowale.
Her best movie, however, she said is Passion and Pain, a campus story she
played alongside
Desmond Elliot,
Ramsey Nouah
and Emeka Ike.
“I was able to blend with all of them in that movie,” she said.
Looking back, from her very first soap opera, Candle Light to date, Ujis
said, “Acting is really fun because it deals with the inner mind, and
dealing with that kind of thing, you have to give yourself deep thought,
knowing what you are going into and believing same to match your
aspirations. Acting may be a make-believe, but a true actor must live the
character and interpret the role with his emotions. By so doing, he is also
identifying with the message which, in most cases, is geared towards
correcting societal ills.”
The difficult task in the art, she said, “is the one to one delivery of
story lines which most producers expect you to do. Also, coming to shoot and
at the end of the day you find out that nothing is happening and then you
have to go back home, having wasted your time and money. It’s really
difficult.”
And has she ever experienced or faced sexual harassment from anyone in the
quest for a role? Uji answered in the affirmative, but she claimed that she
was smart about it. “It’s like that in the Nigerian movie industry. There
were those who tormented me, but I am a very smart person. When I came in,
Winnines was a very hot place and you found out that when you get there
every man comes asking: Do you want to act? Take this script upstairs.” But,
I was cautious not to allow myself to be used. Some times, I embarrassed the
guys and for a long time nothing happened and I gave myself a break. I came
back and, by then, I had done the soap opera, so, it became easier to taunt
those who wanted to sleep with me before giving me a role. Then, of course,
there are genuine people who looked at my performance in the soap and gave
me roles. This was the game until I came to limelight.”
Uji in Up
To Me
One beautiful thing she enjoys about her career is response from her fans.
She enjoys their approaches and she loves to give them attention. “My fans
like to send me gifts. They give me so many things. I have never asked for
the gifts they give to me. They appreciate me. They like my movies and I
like them so much that I don’t know what to give them in return. Sometimes,
I feel like I should be the president or governor or be in position to be
able to favor them all.”
Tel:571-247-2679 email:contact@nigeriamovies.net
