{"id":273820,"date":"2011-01-13T17:28:08","date_gmt":"2011-01-13T17:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/?p=47022"},"modified":"2011-01-13T17:28:08","modified_gmt":"2011-01-13T17:28:08","slug":"benedict-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/13\/benedict-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"Benedict Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure id=\"attachment_47023\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47023\" style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-47023\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/01\/13\/benedict-johnson\/benedict-johnson\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-47023\" title=\"Benedict Johnson\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Benedict-Johnson.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"320\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-47023\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Benedict Johnson<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nHe came into Nollywood many years ago, but Benedict Johnson didn\u2019t become a household name until a few years back.<br \/>\nJohnson is known for his mean roles, and some even say he looks the part. But he tells \u2018NONYE IWUAGWU that he is the exact opposite of what he acts.<br \/>\nThere was a time you wanted to be a musician.<br \/>\nOh yes. Music was my first love. I can never forget it. In fact, I am still working on an album. My music is a mixture of R and B and Hip Hop.<br \/>\nYour mother had nine children, how come?<br \/>\nI am from a royal family. My father was the traditional ruler of my village, so my mother did well to have had nine children, she was married to a king.<br \/>\nMany people think you are related to Mercy Johnson, the actress\u2026<br \/>\nWe are not related. She is from Kogi State while I am from Isu in Nwangele Local Government Area of Imo State.<br \/>\nTell us about your childhood.<br \/>\nMy childhood was good and bad. It was good in the sense that I enjoyed my life when my father was alive but had to survive like a man when he died, because things were very tough. I only survived because I had a vision. I knew from the outset that I was going to be at the top, but I didn\u2019t know how I would get there. I became a musician in 1988. I read Mass Communication at the Abia State University.<br \/>\nHow come your musical career didn\u2019t flourish?<br \/>\nI did my demo between 1989 and 1990. It was during the days of The Dready Boys in the East. I did some songs with them. I tried to release my own song after I had produced it, and a friend asked me to come to Lagos and stay with him, saying he would help me to get it released.<br \/>\nSo what happened?<br \/>\nI got frustrated. I stayed with him for more than three years but nothing happened.<br \/>\nWas that when you decided to go into acting?<br \/>\nYes. Along the line, another friend invited me for an audition. I wasn\u2019t really keen on trying it out, because I used to be a very shy person. But I still went for the audition and the people there commended me and said I was good, so I got the role.<br \/>\nHow was life after your father\u2019s death?<br \/>\nI was brought up in a Christian family. Despite the fact that my father was a traditional ruler, he was a very strong Christian. He nurtured us to love, worship and serve God. I didn\u2019t see any reason not to look up to God.<br \/>\nSince your father was a traditional ruler, would you accept to take his place if you are called upon?<br \/>\nI will not. My father did it and they killed him for it. Some people didn\u2019t want him there. I wouldn\u2019t want anything that will make people to throw jazz at me.<br \/>\nDoes acting pay your bills?<br \/>\nIt is paying my bills. At least, I have a good home, ride a good car and take care of my family.<br \/>\nHow do you cope with female fans?<br \/>\nPeople love me and they call me. I love them too, but I don\u2019t take advantage of my female fans. I\u2019m a God-fearing person, so if anybody comes close to me, I try to draw the person closer to God, because I believe that God brought me to this position to glorify his name. So, I preach to the female fans who call me.<br \/>\nThat means you are not in any relationship.<br \/>\nI am through with relationships. I am married now. I\u2019ve been a married man for six months, and I have a beautiful daughter.<br \/>\nHow come people don\u2019t know that you are married?<br \/>\nI didn\u2019t make it loud, because I want to keep my family out of the public glare.<br \/>\nSometime ago, I had a relationship that was known about. People came in and that was how I lost the relationship. So, I don\u2019t want to make this one open. I just want my marriage to be private.<br \/>\nHow does your wife react when she sees you kissing on set?<br \/>\nIt is not easy. But she is also a God-fearing person and knows that it is only make believe. She trusts me, that\u2019s why we are still hanging on.<br \/>\nWhen did you get the big break in your acting career?<br \/>\nIt was with Stolen Bible. Emeka Nwabueze directed it. Before I acted in that movie, I was a relatively unknown actor. I had been acting since Living in Bondage was released, but I was not known. In Stolen Bible I was the only new face. I acted alongside Kate Henshaw-Nuttal. After that movie, I got calls from producers and directors, asking me to come and take scripts.<br \/>\nYou claim you are born again yet you always act mean and wicked roles\u2026<br \/>\nI am a versatile actor. I have acted a lot of Christian movies, including 40 days in the Wilderness, where I acted as a pastor; Oath of a Priest, where I acted as a priest. But as an actor, you should be able to wear the character that you are playing. If I am given the role of a bad boy, I interpret it very well, same with when I am given the role of a good boy.<br \/>\nIt is widely believed that most people get born again when they become frustrated with life or when they are in difficulties\u2026<br \/>\nIn my own case, it was neither of the two. I thought it was the best thing to do at that time as a young man, so that I can achieve my aims in life. We live in a very dangerous world. There are two powers ruling this world; one is the positive supernatural power and the other is the negative supernatural power. You must belong to one to excel in life. If you stand in the middle, you won\u2019t make a headway. I didn\u2019t follow God because of frustration but because of my belief and the words I hear everyday.<br \/>\nWhy do most actors live above their means?<br \/>\nI am not in that category. I am real. I don\u2019t fake anything. I have every opportunity to fake things, but I don\u2019t. I try to be myself and do things that I used to do regularly before I became a star.<br \/>\nWhat have you lost since you became a star?<br \/>\nBeing a star has deprived one of many things. Like now, if I have to come out to the public, I have to clean up, because people will be looking at me. If I fight, it will make the headlines. I can\u2019t trek from one part of Lagos to another. People will start wondering why I am trekking. If I decide to ride on Okada, people would think I\u2019m suffering.<br \/>\nAs actors, sometimes we get stranded, we are broke, our cars develop faults. In such situations, you have to remain indoors because you don\u2019t want people to see you trekking or riding on Okada. You have to maintain that status.<br \/>\nSince you don\u2019t womanise, do you drink or smoke.<br \/>\nI don\u2019t smoke any longer. I used to be a chain smoker. I used to smoke like three packets of cigarettes everyday. But I was medically advised to stop because it was punching holes in my heart. The doctor advised me to stop or I would die. I did three days fasting, because it wasn\u2019t easy. My pastor helped me, because cigarette smoking is a spiritual activity. That is why it is usually difficult for people to stop. I stopped after fasting. It has been two years since I took a cigarette. I will not be tempted to go back to it, because I drink. When I hang out with friends I take red wine and brandy.<br \/>\nWhat is your dream in life?<br \/>\nI dream to become a mega star and live outside Nigeria; to go out there and achieve something for my country. And when I get close to 50 or 60, I want to be a football coach.<br \/>\nFootball? How can you do that when you are not a footballer?<br \/>\nI played football in my secondary school.<br \/>\nHave you faced any challenge since you joined the movie industry?<br \/>\nWhen I came into the industry, it was frustrating. It\u2019s not like now that they give everybody opportunity to act. Then, it was difficult. I was one of the actors that came up after the movie Living in Bondage. I came into the industry around 1996. Then, very many people were turning up for auditioning and the producers wouldn\u2019t listen to you. But I was encouraged by a friend to continue going for auditions. I stayed there for four years still believing. It didn\u2019t work out, so I left.<br \/>\nWhere did you go to when you left?<br \/>\nI went to Spain where I did one or two things, then I came back home. I like the fact that I am back home, doing what I am doing. I prefer it to staying abroad. If I travel now, people receive me very well. Everybody wants to meet me, and I am happy.<br \/>\nDo you have any advice for upcoming actors?<br \/>\nThey have to believe in themselves. If they know that they have something in them, which they need to deliver, they just have to work at it and pray hard. I believe there is a hero in everybody. All you need to do is to work hard and the hero will come out. I want them to know that whatever happens in life, you must try to stay alive.<br \/>\nHave you ever been embarrassed as an actor?<br \/>\nI played the role of an epileptic in the movie Painful World. I went to an occasion, and some ladies who had seen the movie believed that I was epileptic and kept asking if they could touch me. They meant it and were laughing at me. I felt so embarrassed.<br \/>\nFilmography:<br \/>\nUntapped Gold 1&amp;2<br \/>\nUnbreakable Affair 1&amp;2<br \/>\nThe Master 1&amp;2<br \/>\nMy Fianc\u00e9e 1&amp;2<br \/>\nBehind The Plot 1&amp;2<br \/>\nToo Late To Claim 1&amp;2<br \/>\nSweet Money 1&amp;2<br \/>\nUltimate Risk 1&amp;2<br \/>\nPainful World 1&amp;2<br \/>\nThe Woman In Me<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>He came into Nollywood many years ago, but Benedict Johnson didn\u2019t become a household name until a few years back. Johnson is known for his mean roles, and some even say he looks the part. But he tells \u2018NONYE IWUAGWU that he is the exact opposite of what he acts. There was a time you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-273820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Benedict Johnson - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/13\/benedict-johnson\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Benedict Johnson - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"He came into Nollywood many years ago, but Benedict Johnson didn\u2019t become a household name until a few years back. 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