{"id":273832,"date":"2011-01-13T17:48:31","date_gmt":"2011-01-13T17:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/?p=47046"},"modified":"2011-01-13T17:48:31","modified_gmt":"2011-01-13T17:48:31","slug":"clarion-chukwurah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/13\/clarion-chukwurah\/","title":{"rendered":"Clarion Chukwurah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
Clarion Chukwurah<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nClarion Chukwurah- Oduneye
\nAddress: Oko-oba, Lagos, Nigeria.
\nMarital Status: Married
\nState of Origin: \u2013 Onitsha, Anambra
\nlanguages spoken: Yoruba, Igbo and English.
\nEducational background \u2013
\nLadylark nursery school, Lagos. Nigeria
\nAll saints primary school, Lagos, Nigeria.
\nQueen of our rosary college, Onitsha, Nigeria.
\nUniversity of Ibadan actors workshop company, Ibadan, Nigeria.
\nDepartment of dramatic arts, university of Ife, Ile-ife, Nigeria.
\nTell us a little about your childhood, growing up, parents, brothers and sisters?
\nI was born into a middle class family in the mid sixties at the Lagos teaching hospital, Idi-araba, Lagos, to J.C. chukwurah, a chartered accountant and top Lagos socialite, and c.o. chukwurah, an ibara abeokuta princess who was a building materials contractor. I am an only daughter with four brothers. I had a good childhood in a big home off Commercial Avenue in the Old Yaba, Lagos growing up among upper middle class neighbours and family friends in a clean, organised and civilised neighbourhood of a not then over populated Lagos state, Nigeria.
\nWhat was the first paying job ever that you had?
\nA Bata shop sales assistant for two months in the summer before I finished high school.
\nHow much were you paid per month and what were the responsibilities?
\n50 Nauru. To help customers try shoe size on their feet.
\nWhat other jobs did you do outside acting?
\nHuman resources executive, fassey royal airlines, Lagos.
\nModelling and models recruitment.
\nOil industry services.
\nYouth empowerment initiative.
\nDrama and documentaries productions.
\nWhat made you go into the acting career and when did you start acting (year)?
\nMy father had us taken to the cinema as kids. I saw Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra when I was six years old and I knew that\u2019s where I wanted to be, on the screen. I began acting in 1980.
\nWho were your idols\/models (actors) in those days?
\nAl Pacino, Jodie foster.
\nWhat was your first role in theatre, tv or movies?
\nJolomi Tutu in Prof. Bode Sowande\u2019s play \u2018farewell to babylon\u2019, theatre.
\nBello\u2019s daughter in Wale Ogunyemi\u2019s T.V. series bello\u2019s way.and
\nYemi in Ola Balogun\u2019s movie \u2018money power\u2019, all in the early eighties.
\nWhat was your major break-through role and in what film, series or play?
\nMoney power-film as Yemi,
\nThe king must dance naked, as king Omajuwa- theatre.
\nMirror in the sun \u2013 T.V.- as Tinu.
\nAbuja connection \u2013 home video movies. as Jessica.
\nWhat were the constraints you had to face and overcome as an up-and-coming actor (young actor)?
\nLow pay and being mostly out of work.
\nWorking within the confines of a society with little or no understanding and appreciation for creative art content.
\nA television and theatre based industry controlled by government and lacking growth inducing private initiative.
\nHow many films have you been involved with as an actor to date?
\nAbout 80 English and Yoruba movies.
\n1. Oduduwa, 2. Lagidigba, 3.Valentino, 4.True love, 5. Abuja connection, 6. egg of life, 7. Abela pupa, 8. Her majesty, 9. Danger signal, to mention a few
\nAs a dynamic and outstanding, \u2018a\u2019-list actor, how have you managed to adapt to the different range of roles you have played in your career?
\nBy applying my professional style born out of talent, training, experience and skill- I do character acting on movies and method acting on stage.
\nwhat is the most awkward or strangest role you have had to take\/play in your career and why?
\nPlaying four roles in the same play same time in Chinua Achebe\u2019s Thing\u2019s fall apart at the West Yorkshire playhouse, Leeds and at the Royal Court theatre in London\u2019s west end for the London International Festival of Theatre.
\nI had to play three male roles and one female haven been flown in two weeks to opening night to play with British actors who\u2019d been rehearsing for over a month. Chuck Mike was my Director.
\nWhat film have you been most proud to be involved with so far, and why?
\nEgg of life. it was serious acting for the screen.
\nAs an \u2018a\u2019-list actress yourself, what other \u2018a\u2019-list actors or actresses have worked or collaborated with?
\nPete Edochie, Richard Mofe Damijo, Olu Jacobs, Joke Silva, Bukky Ajayi, Idowu Philips and Jide Kosoko.
\nDid you at anytime want to quit your acting career for something else or for a reason, and why (if any)?
\nActing is my life. No.
\nWhat is the motivation for you or what keeps you interested in this career every morning you wake up?
\nActing itself is the motivation. It\u2019s the one thing I do best apart from being a good mother.
\nHow important are our Nigerian roots, morals, values, knowledge and sense of wisdom to you and your works?
\nNigerian movies are to promote positive and progressive African values and move our people forward where change is necessary to enable our people adapt and compete favourably in a world that has become a global village. That is what I project in my works.
\nOn the stories, scripts, or screen play of your films, and its impact on the Nigerian\/African cultural values (home and abroad), how do you manage to harness, keep and pass them across in your films?
\nBy discussing whatever script I accept to play in with my director on story thrust, message, character analysis vis-\u0430-vis our agreed story interpretation. Discussing the image actualisation of my characterisation with the costumean and the make-up artist, and finally projecting the team work creativity of the entire crew.
\nAs a producer, director and filmmaker also, how is this different for you from acting and what is the additional drive for you?
\nThere are great organisational responsibilities solely yours to monitor as a producer to protect your investor\u2019s money as well as make sure your cast and crew are kept happy to get the job done. At the end of the day when your movie record massive public appreciation in sales figures, you just want to go right back and record more success, the stress forgotten because you\u2019ve become a major stakeholder in a forward moving industry.
\nWhat projects are you working on at the moment and with whom?
\nI don\u2019t discuss current projects until they are completed.
\nWhere do you see yourself in this career in the next five years?
\nA major producing stakeholder of internationally marketed African films.
\nWhere do you see the Nigerian movies industry in the next couple of years?
\nThird biggest movie industry in the world with movies of high creative and technical content competing at international film festivals world-wide especially the Cannes film festival.
\nWhen you are not working (acting, producing, directing or making a film), what do you do or how do you pass the time?
\nI holiday abroad because I work very hard. I spend quality time with my family. I love sailing, car racing and cinema.
\nWhat kind of music do you listen to and who is your favourite musician?
\nSouth African music and R and b. My favourite artist is R. Kelly.
\nIs there an international actor (American, British, Australian, African, etc.) You will want to work with if the opportunity presented itself?
\nAngela basset
\nWhat message do you have for your international fans in America, United Kingdom, Europe, Africa and its Diaspora?
\nJust keep watching my movies. I have some fantastic ones you will love to see this year. Concentrate on my art, ignore the frills.
\nFor any reason at all, how would you personally want your fans to remember you?
\nA damned good actress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clarion Chukwurah- Oduneye Address: Oko-oba, Lagos, Nigeria. Marital Status: Married State of Origin: \u2013 Onitsha, Anambra languages spoken: Yoruba, Igbo and English. Educational background \u2013 Ladylark nursery school, Lagos. Nigeria All saints primary school, Lagos, Nigeria. Queen of our rosary college, Onitsha, Nigeria. University of Ibadan actors workshop company, Ibadan, Nigeria. Department of dramatic arts, […]<\/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-273832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nClarion Chukwurah - 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\/clarion-chukwurah\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Clarion Chukwurah - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Clarion Chukwurah- Oduneye Address: Oko-oba, Lagos, Nigeria. Marital Status: Married State of Origin: \u2013 Onitsha, Anambra languages spoken: Yoruba, Igbo and English. 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