|
I never took a
break from acting - Keppy
Keppy
Ekpenyong-Bassey’s names will not cease ringing bell to keen
watchers of the movie industry. Whether actively present on the scene or not,
his prowess, like his huge frame,
looms large in the minds of Nollywood professional practitioners that
he’d worked with in the past. And there is only one major reason for
that: He has a very professional approach to the job.
Though not formally
trained as an actor, his acting resume will intimidate any formally trained
actor worth his calling. In fact,
he is a good justification of the contention that being a good actor is largely
dependent on talent and not training as some chose to argue.
Heavy built Keppy went
into acting in the early 80s via a Tade Ogidan production. The drama series was
titled Neighbourhood Boys and was aired on NTA Network. He told us at this interview
that was held at his Surulere, Lagos home:
“I started acting in a Tade Ogidan
production many years ago. I think it was ‘82, ‘83 or ‘84.
That production was what started my acting career, it was aired on NTA at the
time,” he recalled as nostalgia lit up his face, cutting the picture of
one whose consciousness is suddenly awash with memories he’d long
consigned to the backwaters of history.
From then, there was
no stopping the Lagos bred Akwa-Ibom State born gifted actor. He went on to
star in arguably one of the most successful soap operas that ever graced
Nigerian television - Ripples.
As captain Hassan
Suleiman, Keppy may not have been the lead actor but his deft interpretation of
his character enthralled many a Ripples followers still. It was so much that you either
hated or liked him - definitely there was no sitting on the fence.
“Yes, I was in Ripples, a Zeb Ejiro production,” he
recalled, just as his pets - two well built Alsatian dogs sauntered over
to where we were. Playfully fondling the two domestic animals, he went on:
“That was largely the training ground for most of us actors who pioneered
the home video industry. It was sponsored and eventually benefitted from a lot
of directing talents (including Fred Amata, Chico Ejiro and Mathias Obahiagbon)
because it was rich in content, and we worked under cumbersome conditions so
much that we had to put in our best.”
Since the advent of
the movie industry, Keppy Ekpenyong-Bassey has appeared in hordes of home
movies. They include Armadas, Raging storm, To Have and To Cherish, Unforgiven Sin, Narrow Gate and more recently Dear Love.
Said by those close to
him, to have a flair for intellectual discourse, he bagged his first degree in
Linguistics from the University of Calabar in 1984 where he one the
varsity’s first Mr. Unical in 1982 and, upon completion of his compulsory
national youth service, returned to the University of Lagos for a Masters
Degree in International Law and diplomacy.
Unknown to many, his
late dad retired as a full colonel and was one of the first two medical doctors
commissioned into the Nigerian Army.
Movie industry
insiders insist Keppy is a good mixer and one star actor without airs around
him.
“But you took a
break from acting for sometime,” this reporter queried.
“I didn’t
take a break”, he asserted, “what actually happened was that I left
Lagos for Calabar. There was a project we were doing and as the coordinator of
the project, I needed to be on ground but the project sort of overshot the
schedule. It took about three years to round off.”
The project, Klieglights learnt, was a big one that had
about 5,000 cast and crew. Its locations also spanned 17 local government areas
in Cross River State but it left him with mixed feelings.
“It was quite a
tasking period in my life but it’s painful the way it turned out, which I
can’t even discuss because the matter is in court.”
However, the
judo-loving dude feels happy that though he may yet have nothing to show for
the three years, his efforts on the stalled production has created an awareness
as to the immense potentials in the acting industry the state possesses, as
against the concentration in the South-west and the South-south.
He is married to
cheerful Nkoyo whom he met in 1990 and lovingly calls NY. Between them, they
have Noella 12, a girl, and Edet 6, whom they fondly call Eddy-Boy.
Keppy must have proved
pundits who doubt his ability to act on stage wrong.
Only recently, he
returned to stage in a Femi Branch production at the Muson centre. The two-man
cast play, which also starred Jaiye Aboderin, was highly commended by those
that saw it.
But according to
Keppy, it didn’t come easy and the cast and crew had to rehearse several
hours and for days before the performance proper.
“I wasn’t
really cut out for the stage. My very first experience on stage was only last
year. It was a Chuck Mike Production titled Death and the Maiden. It was cumbersome being my first
time on stage. It actually made me respect my colleagues who work in that
medium. The stage is very different, very tasking, the practitioners show a lot
more discipline, determination, and dedication to work because you really
can’t afford a take two.
“We did loads of
stuff I didn’t think was possible. We had voice training; we had
pronunciation training, rehearsals, exercises and all that we needed to do. I
believe it was worth it on the long run.”
“This year
again, in Femi Branch’s Po! I don’t know how I got involved on stage doing the
difficult things. The first one with Chuck Mike was a three-man play, the
second was a two man play with Jaiye. I guess some of the cobwebs I had to
clear up was because I know Jaiye is an easy person to work with. We worked
together for a while but the ultimate test was the performance for the
audience.’
In recent weeks, Keppy has been appearing in home video
before fresh productions was suspended November 1. When taken up on that, he
posited that “no real actor
leaves. Actors never really leave acting. We swing, take the back seat, then
return to take a script you if it comes your way, he ended.
|
