Nigerian Movie Star Profile
Steph-Nora
Okere
STEPHNORA Okere-Falana, the
Imo state-born actress is no new name in the movie industry. From acting in
the movies to even producing her own movies with her husband, Lanre Falana,
Steph as most of her friends prefer to call her, has also been in the news
not just for her achievements in her chosen calling but because of her
celebrated marriage to Lanre, a Yoruba man while she is of Igbo parentage.
Yes, there was that initial resistance by her parents. There are interesting
aspects of Steph but there is also an area she would want to remain in the
past. What it is? You will find out in this chat which she succumbed to in a
hurry following her call to another location, Steph bares her mind on some
of the questions her fans would love to ask her.
No new productions?
People like us have done quite a number of movies that we do not rush to be
seen in posters anymore. For now, if the next movie is worth it and the
script is worth it, we move to the next level. When you talk about
productions, I have not produced since Slave Masters.
In fact, the issue is that, it is my husband that produces. I am first and
foremost an actress. My first calling is acting. As for that, my husband
just came back from his trip abroad and we are watching the market for now
so you don’t just plunge your money into the market and it doesn’t come out.
That movie Slave master did okay in the market even though it wasn’t a bomb.
We did our best and told the kind of story people really identified with.
Marketing and production
Films are being produced everyday in Nigeria and that is good but about not
selling much, I am not an authority to talk about it. I am not in the
market. I hear often that films are selling well. I also hear they are not
selling. So, I don’t know who to believe. But I just believe that this is a
stage the industry has to go through at this stage of its development. When
a baby is teething , she begins to purge. She also stools and runs
temperature.
What we require is the spirit, the knowledge to persevere. That is what we
must seek from God at this time. I mean, the industry is not even up to
twenty years. Maybe, we need divine intervention for things to normalise.
Theatre and I
I studied Theatre Arts. I have a degree in it from the Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile-Ife. Right from when I was a little girl, I was already into
singing and dancing. In school as well, I was in the drama society. For me,
it was a natural thing. When I went to study Theatre Arts, it was not that I
couldn’t do any other course. If you saw my JAMB form, you would have seen
first choice, Theatre Arts, second choice same. And for my choice of school,
first choice, OAU, second, same. So, I knew what I was supposed to do. When
I was in school, I saw several serials on TV. But I still had to get into
the industry.
Glamour
As against the glamour that goes with the industry, I am a very reserved
person. Although somehow, the industry has brought me out to the limelight;
my privacy has been invaded severally. A lot of people find it hard to
believe but it is the truth that if you ask me why I entered into the movie
industry, I would say it’s not the popularity and glamour that took me there
in the first place. It’s the satisfaction I gain in the work of arts that
has driven me.
Art is a medium for preaching, teaching and correcting several ills in our
society. So, I wanted to be part of the team. The popularity part is another
thing. I know it would come one day but not as it eventually came. It came
gradually though but when it came in a surge it took me unawares and I took
it in my stride, anyway. That is why sometimes I decline several interviews.
I want to enjoy my privacy.
Life in the movies
The first movie I did was in 1994 called CrossRoads and produced by
Christine Michaels but it didn’t come into the market immediately until the
next year. However, the one that came into the market soon enough was Deadly
Affair by Opa Williams. It was a major role. I was a nurse. We went for an
audition and I was successful. We were taken for a group of nurses in a
hospital. I remember the story. It was a sequel to a part one story where
Charles Ifediba was brought to the hospital. It was fun. It wasn’t the first
but the first that hit the market and everyone saw Stephnora like a star.
Then and now
Well, I have been involved in acting and a little bit in the area of
writing, producing. But I have not really been in the groovy part. I have
been in the choice areas as well. I have been in the centre stage and I am
still there by the Grace of God. I am one of the known Nollywood actresses
and you won’t name several people without naming me. But like a carpenter,
the skills are still being sharpened by the day.
As time goes on, we grow. The roles I played in 1994 are roles I will play
very differently now. I was more of a threatre artiste when I came in. Now I
may have blended well. What I did then, I did with my best of ability. What
I am doing now I will do with the best of my ability.
The transition was smooth and easy for me because I am a natural actress who
went to the university to sharpen it. In the university, I didn’t do more
courses in acting except my year one. I majored in play writing. I also went
into TV production. Broadcasting is different.
Journey so far
I won’t say we have digressed. I won’t say we have retrogressed. I will only
say we have progressed because I am a progressive. Like I told you, this is
just a stage in the life. I try not to see anything negatively. What we are
in now is a stage we have to pass through and we must persevere.
Sexual harassments?
I didn’t encounter that in any way. Maybe, I was lucky or because of the way
I carried myself. Luckily for me, I came into the industry with my degree in
dramatic arts hanging on my shoulders. Luckily as well, I was the national
vice president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria. That may have given me a
shield. But I was not also ready to compromise.
When you begin to have the problem is when you do not really have a focus.
If anyone had even asked me for a date, I think it may have been for the
person liking me and not because they want to put me into a movie.
There could have been overtures but never linked to me getting a job in the
movies. Maybe I had lost a job because someone may have done something, I
don’t know or I am not sure. But it has never been a basis for my not
getting a job. What I am saying is that I have never encountered any form of
(sexual) harassement. If you made yourself look available, then you might be
harassed, if I should use your language. You don’t put yourself in the
position where every Tom, Dick and Hary would ask you out. I didn’t and
still don’t put myself in such uncompromising positions where some people
could make a pass at me. I think I have outgrown that.
Contemporaries
They are not in the industry. I can’t remember any of them in the industry -
Moji Ajayi, Young-Etie, Nene etc. They are not in the industry. But for
people who passed through the department I know, are people like Sola Fosudo,
Mahmud Alli Balogun, Segun Arinze. But I miss my colleagues who didn’t
continue in the field anyway. They toed other lines and I know they must be
excelling in their chosen areas.
Lanre Falana
Yes, that’s my husband’s name. I don’t know what else you want to know about
him. Whether I love him and he loves me? Yes, very well. You cannot live
with a guy you don’t love. And a man cannot live with a woman he does not
love. I met him here in Lagos in 1997 but nothing happened till we met again
in 2000 and became friends. One thing led to the other and now we are
married. For me, there are no hard and fast rules to getting together,
falling in love and getting married.
I am Igbo from very core Igbo parents. My husband is Yoruba and truly so.
You ask how I cope with an inter-tribal marriage? I tell you I am coping and
still coping. But I live my life as a detribalised person. Race and tribes
do not come up in my dealings with people. My parents being typical Igbo had
other apprehensions at the beginning. They couldn’t believe that their
daughter could go that far as to marry a Yoruba man. But I stood my grounds
to say this is what I wanted. So far, it has been so and I haven’t had cause
to regret. My marriage to a Yoruba man has not changed my Igbo character. I
still speak my dialect very well when the time comes. Maybe, my being very
familiar with the Yoruba language may have helped me out.
Jim Iyke
What do you want to know about him? Anyway, anything you wish to know, I
don’t want to talk about it. The Bible says old things have passed away and
every other thing has become new. Why dwell in the past? Please, just let
that area be. I beg you. I don’t want to resurrect anything in my past.
What’s important is my present and my future.
It seems to bother you that I don’t wish to talk about that affair. Hey,
it’s over six years ago. This is 2006. Why should you continue to worry
about my not speaking about that affair? Please, let that area get behind
me.
Growing up
I grew up in Lagos. I schooled here at St Paul’s School, Ebute Metta. Then I
went to Jubril Martins Memorial School. I had to relocate to complete my
secondary school in Akwakuma Secondary School, Owerri. If you must know, I
am from Ngor-Okpala, Owerri. My parents come from a little community called
Imerienwe. I was just in class three when my father picked up an appointment
with Imo College of Agriculture and we had to move to Owerri. That was why I
moved to Akwakuma. From there I moved to OAU Ife.
Movies all the way
I have been in the industry since 1994 and have done a couple of movies
including Crossroads, Professional Bachelor, Slave Masters, Evil Forest,
Oganigwe and so on. Every movie, for me, is a challenge. I immerse myself
into the job because I trained for it. Nothing is easy. I see each job as
challenging as the other and I try to give my best.So, I cannot tell you
which is as challenging as the other because acting for me is serious work
which I must take very seriously.
Other ventures
I am here and there. I am working in the movie industry and still do
something at the side. I have other businesses I run but I don’t want to
talk about them on the pages of the newspapers now. I want to keep those
away from the public. My entire life cannot be on the pages of the
newspapers. At this level, I am enjoying the flow in the industry. I see the
future as very bright. Right now international interests are coming for our
movies. And I believe we are moving towards the next level.
Some of Steph Nora movies includes
The ultimate,
Aristos,
Sharon Stone,
Immoral Act, etc
Tel:571-247-2679 email:contact@nigeriamovies.net
