'I Learnt To Speak Yoruba For The Role' - Bridget Nkem On House Of Ga’a

In this episode of Nollywood BTS, sponsored by Filmmakers Mart, we speak with actress, Bridget Nkem about her role as Agbonyin in House of Ga'a and her work in theatre.

You know her for her role as Agbonyin in Bolanle Austen Peters’ Netflix original, House Of Ga’a, but Bridget Nkem’s visibility on a global scale has been a long time coming.

Since she found her love for the arts at a young age, developing a career as an actor was a no brainer.

While House Of Ga’a may be her official feature debut, Bridget has years of experience as a theatre performer. She’s appeared in several musicals and stage plays.

In this interview, Bridget Nkem describes her acting career as a full circle moment, especially the journey of playing Agbonyin in House of Ga’a, a Yoruba character as someone who isn’t of Yoruba origin.

House Of Ga’a has been the topic for over weeks now. How are you feeling? 

It's mixed emotions, but now I'm a bit more calm, settling into it a bit more comfortably. Before the premiere, I was so nervous because no cast had seen the film, so we didn't know what to expect.

After the premiere, everybody was like, okay, that went good. We were more comfortable. For me, it's my debut, not just in film, but on a global scale. So I'm excited and grateful about the entire thing.

How do you typically introduce yourself to people, especially when you have to talk about your profession? 

Of course, my name is Bridget Nkem. I always call myself a creative entrepreneur because I'm a multipotentialite. I don't do just one thing. I act, I sing and dance. I won’t say I'm a professional dancer but I can move very well and that helps me on stage.

As a creative entrepreneur, I do some back end work production wise, I also do lots of creative directing. I'm building Bloom 360, which is a creative company where creatives come together for growth and development.

Have you always wanted to be a creative?

I just always found myself in that space. I remember that as a child, acting was one of the first professions that I really loved. I would see old Nollywood movies and loved Genevieve Nnaji, Eucharia Anunobi. I was always re-acting the scenes they played.

I also recall taking a chair and it would be my audience or I'm standing in front of the mirror crying, and acting like I'm reading lines. Music also has always been one of the things where I just found that I could do them. It’s not like I went through some form of training and all that good stuff before knowing at the initial stage where it was just me and what I love to do. From there, it was simply a no brainer.

What was your first foray into acting?

That would be in university back then in OAU. I took a course in drama, I think it was drama 101 or 201, I can't remember now, but then it was a play, The king must dance naked, where I played the king.

I played a man's role, had beards on and all. It was a dramatic arts department project, so we had people come get tickets to watch. I was just having fun at the time but that was a great challenge. One that will always be etched in my memory. 

So would you say that was where the love for theater began for you, for real?

Yeah, I saw the possibility and I just fell in love with the process of putting everything together.

When people say it takes a village, for theater, it really takes a village, because  it's a madhouse. So I really fell in love with that process backstage and the things people don't get to see. I think that was where it really started from.

How did your role in House Of Ga’a come about? 

I’d appeared in a number of her [Bolanle Austen-Peters] stage plays and musicals. So she had always told me she wanted me in one of her movies, but it just never worked. She has done so many in the past.

For this one, there was a rehearsal that happened and then she called me for it. Though it wasn’t  like she had me in mind for the role. It was just a rehearsal. We finished the rehearsal and I didn't even think much of it. Only a few days later, I got a call very early in the morning to come for a reading. She thought I would pull it off and she just felt like I was the one who's meant to play it.

At the time, I didn't even know the magnitude of the project at the time but that was how it happened. Apparently, the other person that was meant to play the role initially is a prominent person. In the end, I think it just worked out and this was meant to be at the time. 

How was the process of this project for you and how different was it to every other thing that you've done in the past?

Acting is acting, of course, but then stage acting is very different from screen acting, because you can't do too much. For the stage, it's like bringing everything to life. You have to overdo everything and exaggerate.

Stage is also different because all you get is one take. I'd done TV before, but not in this light and nothing that I can even really remember to be honest, but maybe made like cameo appearances. However, I would say that this was really a case of preparation meeting opportunity because I had taken classes, and courses.

I'd been rehearsing, not like I knew that there was anything that was coming up but then I was simply preparing myself. So although it was a new terrain, I won’t say I just breezed into it, but it was not difficult. I had good direction, the director knew what she wanted and I did my own research on the character and the story. I had great help from the entire cast and crew as well.

Everyone was so supportive. Another thing is learning the language and sounding correct, because I am not Yoruba and I had to speak Yoruba. Moreso, it wasn’t just normal Yoruba we had to speak. We had to respect the culture and give it to the viewers accurately. 

So what are the things that helped you to get into character? 

I think, beyond reading the script, I had conversations with my director. I had friends who I called every day to ask questions. I tried to read up on the story or the actual story. I mean, we had learned this thing in secondary school but I had to read it again and understand. I was humble. I asked a lot of questions, things I didn't understand. I think that's basically it. I  had a lot of help, thank God.

One person that really helped and acted as my language coach was Mr. Ibrahim Chatta. He was so good that he would come and sit down behind the camera listening and encouraging. I went to him like one million times and he would correct with so much love like he was not just there for everybody but for me particularly.

I was comfortable and no one was judging me even though I wasn’t Yoruba. Another thing that also helped me to get into character as Agbonyin was that even on set before I was acting they were treating and calling me princess. That helped a lot because the crew helped me to get into character. So I give kudos to everyone on that set. 

Looking at the experience as a whole, how has it impacted you as an actor and as a person? 

I think it's important to think about the experience as a whole. As an actor it has really stretched me. It opened my eyes to see my potential. I mean, I still critique and judge myself every time I watch the movie, to be honest with you. So it's not as if I'm saying I was perfect. I think every actor or most actors are like that, we're like the worst critics of ourselves.

However, this has really opened my eyes to see different layers of opportunities also in terms of network. Although I can't say I know everything from where I'm sitting right now. But I know that there are many opportunities that are going to unfold. I was even in a conversation this morning with one of the other cast members where I was saying there's no hard and fast rule in having a successful career in this industry, you just do what you can now and then it unfolds. As it keeps unfolding, you keep seeing different ways that you can get better. 

As an actor, I want to go for more. I'm now being very intentional about what I want to do with this phase of my career and where I want to go moving forward because that's so important. I know that sometimes, as an upcoming actor, you feel  you can just take everything, and go where they throw you. I think it shouldn't be like that. You should be able to map out a trajectory. I want to drive this narrative. I want people to see or to know about who I am and it's just really being intentional and strategic about yourself and your career. 

How would you describe your relationship with Nollywood currently? Would you say you have found your place?

My relationship with Nollywood didn't just start now. I know now, my face is out there. As an actor, I've interacted with everyone. I've done a couple of productions in the past. This is not my first interaction or relationship with Nollywood. I've always wanted to be an actor in Nollywood and not just Nollywood but beyond too. It's a big, massive world so the work is far from over. So yes, this is one of the things I really want to keep doing. 

What are some projects that you'd like to be a part of in the near future? Are there filmmakers you'd like to work with?

Thank you very much for this question. I would love roles that challenge me. I love watching rom-coms, but I actually don’t want to be in rom-coms. I want to be in action movies and others that stretch me and get me out of my comfort zone. That's number one.

Number two is stories that make an impact. I'm very big on impact. Stories that are very deep in culture, heritage, and values. Those kinds that you just watch and they leave a lasting impression on your mind. They keep you talking. A filmmaker I would love to work with in Nigeria apart from Bolanle Austen Peters is Jade Osiberu.

I love how she thinks and how intentional and very strategic she is. Then Kunle Afolayan too but it might be challenging for a non-English film as I would have to take my time to really learn another language.

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This series is jointly presented by Filmmakers Mart, the leading film logistics marketplace in Nollywood.