Ik Ogbonna speaks...

I’ve been shaving my head since I was in primary one –Ik Ogbonna

Popular Nollywood actor, Ik Ogbonna, tells Ademola Olonilua about his style

You started out as a model; at what point did you decide to become an actor?

I am still a model but I have always loved acting and anything that has to do with entertainment. I always push myself to the limit and try to be the best at what I do. I started acting some years back when Rukky Sanda asked that I feature in her movie. After the movie, I began to get several calls to be a part of other movies. It has just been God’s grace all through. My acting was not too good at that time but I took it as a burden upon myself to be a better actor.

When I started out, some people called me and told me where I was lacking and I made sure I improved on myself. I thank God for that move and I am glad today because I have been nominated at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice award. I am happy that I have been able to win the award for the best actor at the Abuja International Film Festival. Awards are coming up every now and then and I am in every category.

We learnt that you started modelling since you were in the university…

I often say that I have been a model since I was in my mother’s womb. My mother tells me that the first thing I ever said was ‘tuck it in’. I have always wanted to look great and while I was in the University of Jos, I came out as one of the top 20 most handsome guys on campus. At some point, I became Mr. UniJos and I graced the covers of several magazines on campus. The love I got from people made me feel that it was something I wanted to pursue as a career. I came to Lagos in 2006 and ever since then, it has been an endless chase to get to the point that I really want to get to.

Has being a fine boy ever worked to your disadvantage?

I would not say it has worked to my disadvantage because I believe that everything that happens to you in life is for a reason. I count everything as a learning process; things cannot be smooth all the time. Life is a story and as you tell it, there would certainly be elements of good and bad things, so I cannot really say that I have had any bad encounter as a result of my looks. There are a few trivial things that I can say happened to me for being a pretty boy. For instance, I could go to visit someone and people in the place would not be comfortable with having me around probably due to inferiority complex or insecurity issues but at the same time you just have to live your life and be yourself.

Have you always been comfortable with being a bald man?

Even before I became totally bald,  which in my case is hereditary, I have been giving myself skin cut since I was in Primary One. I like to have a distinctive look and be different from other people. Anytime people want to describe me, they say things like, ‘that light-skinned guy with a skin cut.’ I have found out that I like myself better with this particular look and it has been with me for decades. I am very comfortable with it.

You also hardly keep facial hair…

Unfortunately, I have never been lucky enough to have that and back when I was in secondary school, my mates would laugh at me and call me a small boy because I did not have facial hair. But as we got to the university, they began to battle with bumps and were saddled with the problem of clearing them with different aftershave lotions and creams but I never faced that problem. I don’t grow facial hair and the best I have is the moustache and the little goatee under my chin.

Has your wife ever complained or teased you about your baldness?

My wife loves and appreciates me the way I am. Every time she says she loves me as a total package; she loves every single thing about me. It is a wonderful thing to have a woman that appreciates you for everything you stand for. She does not wish I have hair on my head at all and she loves the bald head. She likes the fact that I am a funny guy and also a go-getter. She is not complaining about anything that has to do with me and the same goes with me. I love everything about her. I have no complaints when it comes to her.

How often do you visit the gym?

Honestly speaking, I have not gone to the gym for about 18 months and that is why I have not posted any topless picture on my Instagram page. I would say that I have a good body and I know what my body should look like. I am planning to hit the gym back but it is always difficult starting the process all over again.

So what precautions do you take not to lose shape?

I would not lie; I have been very lazy since my work became more demanding. I have not had the time to do anything. I go to work sometimes by 5am and I work till 4am. I barely sleep and I have had to get a driver to drive my car sometimes so that I can sleep while going to a movie set. There is hardly any time for me to work-out these days; it is something that I would have to work on because if you work-out in your young age, it would help you as you grow older. But I have good genes, I can eat the whole world and I would still remain slim. I just think God blessed me with the way I look. There are some things I do not battle with like I am naturally light skinned; I don’t need to use bleaching cream. Even when I stay under the sun and try to tone my skin sometimes, I still get my complexion back. I just see all these as things God blessed me with and I am really grateful to him for that.

Why do you love tattoos so much?

I love fine arts and painting a lot and as a kid, I won a Milo competition for fine arts. Back while I was in school, I used to sketch pictures of my girlfriends and give them as birthday gifts. It is not something that I had to learn but a gift God gave me. I have not held a pencil and a cardboard in a long time but any time I find myself with a pencil, I realise that I start drawing. I really love arts and whenever I go shopping for things for my house, I spend time buying artifacts. My wife buys other things in the house but I spend time buying arts and it is because of the love that I have for arts. I felt that tattoos were the only way to express my love for arts. I found myself drawing tattoos on my skin but at some point I had to stop it because of my career. If it was Hollywood they have ways of covering your tattoos but this is Nollywood and sometimes we don’t work on a big budget. You would not want a situation whereby you would lose a job because of tattoos, so I had to stop. If not, by now I probably would have covered my whole body with tattoos.

Has fatherhood changed your style in any way?

I just think that age and time would make you realise that there are some certain things you should not be doing anymore. I am a very experimental dresser and I like to take risk when it comes to my style. I would not say that it is has anything to do with fatherhood. My son and I are best of friends and I am going to bring him up in the best way I can as a father and a friend. It is just that when you get married, you would develop a different sense of maturity and you probably would not be getting home late because you have people waiting for you.

You would probably have to increase your fees because you have more mouths to feed. It affects every single thing about you. Even your outings would change because you cannot take your child to where people are drinking and smoking. Naturally I would want to hang out at a club with my wife but now I would think of an open air space because of the kids. I now attend children’s birthday parties because I would want my child to socialise. When going for children’s parties, I will not wear torn jeans; I would have to dress for the occasion, you have to look as mature as you can because the people you would meet there are responsible people. Personally, I dress for the occasion and I don’t think anything has affected my style.

What is your fashion fetish?

I love perfumes a lot. There is this day I was at the airport and I saw a well-dressed guy but he had body odour and I felt very disappointed on his behalf. You always have to smell good. You can wear something very simple but smell good and that would make you win over people’s impression of you. I spend money on my perfume a lot so that when I go out, people love the way I smell even before they begin to assess my looks. I spend more money on my perfume than any other thing.