{"id":273950,"date":"2011-01-14T13:23:33","date_gmt":"2011-01-14T13:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/?p=47323"},"modified":"2011-01-14T13:23:33","modified_gmt":"2011-01-14T13:23:33","slug":"kanayo-o-kanayo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/14\/kanayo-o-kanayo\/","title":{"rendered":"Kanayo O Kanayo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
Kanayo O. Kanayo<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nNAME: Kanayo. O. Kanayo
\nADDRESS: Surulere, Lagos.
\nTOWN AND STATE: Nru Umueze Oboama, Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA, Imo State.
\nDATE OF BIRTH: 1 March, 1962
\nMARITAL STATUS: Married
\nLANGUAGES SPOKEN: Igbo, English, and French.
\nEDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:
\nDiploma, Mass Communication, University Of Lagos
\nPhilosophy Dept. University Of Lagos, 2000-Dat
\nTell us a little about your childhood, growing up, parents, brothers and sisters?
\nI was brought up under the strict guidance of Mr and Mrs Donatus and Isabella Onyekwere, my parents, with catholic tenets and Apostolic reverence for God. I have 2 sisters and an elder brother. Growing up was fun, I used to plait my hair a lot but papa never liked it.
\nWhat was the first paying job ever that you had?
\n\u201dDigging pit toilets with an older relative\u201d.
\nHow much were you paid per month and what were the responsibilities?
\nI Can\u2019t remember the payment. I was on ground receiving red sand while the older relative dug deep.
\nWhat other jobs did you do outside Acting?
\nI used to travel to Aba from lagos to buy and sow shirts and suits materials which I took around to banks, NTA e.t.c to sell.
\nWhat made you go into the Acting career and when did you start Acting (year)?
\nI started acting in 1982. I got into acting out of a personal desire to bring smiles to the faces of people, because about 1980, there were not too many T.V sets then, characters on TV were admired greatly, and were seen as role models.
\nWho was\/were your Idols\/Models (Actors) in those days?
\nMatt Dadzie.
\nWhat was your first role in Theatre, TV or Movies?
\nI Can\u2019t recall my first role on TV but on movies was Chief Omego in \u201cLiving in Bondage\u201d in 1992.
\nWhat was your major break-through role and in what film, series or play?
\nMy major breakthrough was No.7
\nWhat were the constraints you had to face and overcome as an up-and-coming Actor (young actor)?
\nThe major constraint as a young actor was the bureaucratic processing of payment forms at the Nigeria Television Authority, one spent over 70% of his artiste fee before getting paid. It was very discouraging because parents still had to cough out transport fares for their wards who are supposed to be earning their wages.
\nHow many films have you been involved with as an Actor to date?
\nAbove 120 films \u2013 (1) Blood money, (2) Rituals, (3.) Lost kingdom, (4.) Fire on the Mountain, (5) Billionaires Club, and (6) Entangled, to name a few.
\nAs a DYNAMIC, OUTSTANDING, \u2018A\u2019-List Actor, how have you managed to adapt to the different range of roles you have played in your career?
\nSimply by thinking yourself into the role.
\nWhat is the most awkward or strangest role you have had to take\/play in your career and why?
\nNo roles are strange or awkward, roles pose challenges and I love challenges.
\nWhat film have you been most proud to be involved with so far, and why?
\n\u201cBlood Money\u201d, because it was shot in the thick of the Otokoto Saga in Owerri, and the viewing public applauded its social relevance.
\nAs an \u2018A\u2019-List Actor yourself, what other \u2018A\u2019-List Actors or Actresses have worked or collaborated with?
\nOlu jacobs, Pete Edochie, Liz Benson, Omotola Ekehinde, Genevive Nnaji, Justus Esiri etc.
\nDid you at anytime want to quit your Acting career for something else or for a reason, and why (if any)?
\nThe industry took a break for 4 months in 2002 to restructure, I felt like quitting the profession when I found out as a representative of the Actors Guild in the CWC that most members we worked with were agents sent to destabilise and derail plans for a better welfare for actors.
\nWhat is the motivation for you or what keeps you interested in this career every morning you wake up?
\nPublic Opinion. Just knowing that I bring joy constantly into their lives, especially in this economically difficult times.
\nHow important are our Nigerian roots, morals, values, knowledge and sense of wisdom to you and your works?
\nThey are the only identity we have as Nigerians.
\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?
\nI ensure that I only participate in films with social relevance.
\nAs a Producer, Director and filmmaker also, how is this different for you from Acting and what is the additional drive for you?
\nThe additional drive is that I encourage script writers by contributing freely to re-working scripts.
\nWhat projects are you working on at the moment and with whom?
\nI am presently working on a project, part of which will be shot in South Africa. It has a working title at the moment, so it\u2019s better kept secret. Where do you see yourself in this career in the next five years?
\nThe future is very bright with a focused army of practitioners travelling in and out of the country to create awareness for our industry. With Governments \u201csudden interest\u201d and relevant implementable policies, co-producers\/production companies will come in from abroad to make movies in conjunction with Nigerian enterprises.
\nWhere do you see the Nigerian movies industry in the next couple of years?
\nFrom the above, a better welfare for me translates into a better and professionally managed industry.
\nWhen you are not working (Acting, producing, directing or making a film), what do you do or how do you pass the time?
\nI run a media consultancy outfit, and own a cyber caf\u0439 in Lagos. I spend some time with my family (which I take very seriously). My schedule is too tight right now for any other activities.
\nWhat kind of music do you listen to and who is your favourite musician?
\nClassical music, Jazz, Roots Rock Reggae, and Indigenous African music. Fela and Bob Marley.
\nIs there an International Actor (American, British, Australian, African, etc.) you will want to work with if the opportunity presented itself?
\nDenzel Washington, Spike Lee, and Al Pacino.
\nWhat message do you have for your international fans in America, United kingdom, Europe, Africa and its Diaspora?
\nKeep the African spirit alive by being good ambassadors, think about home always, and imbibe virtues abroad to be used to extinguish the vices.
\nFor any reason at all, how would you personally want your fans to remember you?
\nI want to be remembered as that guy who made drama look real.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAME: Kanayo. O. Kanayo ADDRESS: Surulere, Lagos. TOWN AND STATE: Nru Umueze Oboama, Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA, Imo State. DATE OF BIRTH: 1 March, 1962 MARITAL STATUS: Married LANGUAGES SPOKEN: Igbo, English, and French. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Diploma, Mass Communication, University Of Lagos Philosophy Dept. University Of Lagos, 2000-Dat Tell us a little about your childhood, growing […]<\/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-273950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nKanayo O Kanayo - 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\/14\/kanayo-o-kanayo\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Kanayo O Kanayo - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"NAME: Kanayo. O. Kanayo ADDRESS: Surulere, Lagos. TOWN AND STATE: Nru Umueze Oboama, Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA, Imo State. 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