by Anike Jacobs

Nollywood actor, Chinedu Ikedezie, aka ‘Aki’ in a revealing interview with The Sun has disclosed how he grew up with his siblings, joining Nollywood, wooing and marrying his wife.

Here are 10 lessons we learnt about him from the interview:

1.  He is from a polygamous home: We were many like any other African family. I am the first son and second child. I am not from a polygamous home. I used to have four brothers but I lost one in 2009. I also have a sister; the first child of the family.

2. He was born on the 12th day of the 12 month:  My mum put to bed at exactly 12 am on the dot the day I was born; as soon as it was 12 am I popped out! I came into the world at exactly 12 am on the dot on the 12 day of the 12 month of the year so that means there is something unique about me.

3. His mum always goes to the labour room with her wrist watch: One peculiar thing about my mum is that she goes to the labour room with her wristwatch and once she gives birth she records the time. And God has so blessed her she delivered like the Hebrew women; she never had complications.

4. He was a jack of all trade: You know, parents have a way of knowing what their kids would be in the future. They would be like this one is going to be a medical doctor and that one is going to be an engineer. In my case, they couldn’t tell where I was headed because I seemed to have a knack for everything; that’s the making behind my life and who I am today.

5. He didn’t experience any discrimination on account of his size:  My IQ made up for whatever I was lacking. My first role was that of a seven year-old boy and I delivered and the director and producers were like wow!

6. He met Pawpaw, Osita Iheme on a movie set: I started acting in 1998. He came into the industry three years later in 2001. I was in school then and we had a job so he had this opportunity to shoot in Enugu. He had just started acting then.  We met in the hotel lobby where we were lodged. We talked and I discovered he was a very shy fellow. Before then Amayo Uzor had been telling me that ‘Chinedu, just hang on, there is boy I have seen that looks just like you and guess what, he is in the industry and I am working on a script for the both of you.’ After our meeting, they called us and gave us scripts; that was the first time I did pure comedy. The movie was entitled Aki Na Ukwa.

7. He was paid N500 for his first movie:  I was paid N500 (laughter). I did not do that movie for the money. I used the N500 to buy a ring boiler. I was not discouraged. The title of the movie was Evil Men Part 1.

8. He fell in love with his wife at first sight: Just the way every other man meets their wife.

9. He made the first move: I made the first move. Does it really matter? God will not forgive you if you know you love a girl and she loves you and you know you can make a family. So, what stops you from telling her you love her? What stops you from telling her ‘common baby, let’s do this.’ I just told her baby, lets do this and the rest is history.

10. He has a foundation:  We have the Aki & Pawpaw Foundation. Most of the time, we use our funds for everything we do; 99 per cent of our initiatives are self-sponsored. We don’t like making noise. When that day comes when we will need help, we will reach out to people.

Sola