'Characters Stay With Me After I Play Them'- Sharon Rotimi

In this episode of Nollywood BTS, sponsored by Filmmakers Mart, we speak with actress, Sharon Rotimi. Learn more about her in this conversation with In Nollywood.

Having almost all  the filmmakers you’ve worked with talk about you in a glowing manner is probably not very common in Nollywood, but Sharon Rotimi seems to have somehow cracked the code for weaving her way into the hearts of those she works with on every film  project. For someone whose background is not close to acting or the arts, it surely is a stunning quality to have.

Sharon’s talent is undeniable. She has an onscreen quality that immediately grips the viewer but she doesn’t only rely on her talent to voyage her through the thick of Nollywood. To her, talent is not enough.

In this interview, she talks about her journey into Nollywood, why she doesn’t think method acting is for her and more about her upcoming exciting projects.

How did you get into acting?

Becoming an actor was a journey for me. My father believed that acting was a talent you should have but not necessarily something to study in school. After secondary school, I went to nursing school, where I did well, finishing as the second-best each year. Later, I tried to get into medicine but was admitted for Zoology instead.

Although my mom wanted me to go abroad but I realized I wasn't passionate about a medical career. I believe that to pursue a demanding career like medicine, you need to be passionate about it, and I wasn't happy. I even sabotaged a job interview to work as a nurse in Nigeria, so I could get some experience to travel and work as a nurse abroad.

My mom was only trying to do what she thought was best for me, but when I took a bold step by paying for my own film school, she realized acting was what I truly wanted. Since then, she has been supportive. It was a journey full of detours, but I’m glad I’m here now.

Why do you like acting? 

This is one of those questions you never really have a specific answer for. I guess it's just been a part of me. It's something that I had loved right from when I was a child. I would pretend as a child  like I had long hair and act as Ramsey Noah's girlfriend.

I don't know what I even knew about girlfriend or boyfriend? I just saw movies and wanted to do what I saw in the movies. I like the fact that you can reach people and they see this thing you're doing and can relate to it.

Art imitates life and that is such a beautiful thing. I don't know how else to explain my love for it. I just know that I really love it and now there's nothing else I'd rather be doing.

All the filmmakers you’ve worked with talk about you in a glowing manner, why is that the case? 

I think it's part training, part self-awareness and self-improvement. My coach, Stella Damasus, likes to say that talent is only a part of your job. Character will also take you very far in the industry. So aside from going to work, deciding to do my job, being a professional, I also think that it’s important to maintain relationships.

I’m a really shy person and very socially awkward, but I know that being civil and nice to people goes a long way. It makes no sense if you're just there for the work and you do not realize how much interpersonal relationships go as regards building a career. I try to be  professional, courteous, nice, and respectful to every single person, no matter what rank they are.  

Do you consider yourself a method actor?

This makes me sigh because the term has been abused a lot in Nollywood. It’s like once you do a scene that impresses people, the next thing you hear is  ‘method actor’.

I think words have meaning and no matter how fancy a term sounds, you just don't adopt it because it sounds cute. I won’t call myself a method actor because method acting requires a lot of emotional investment that I don't know if I’d be able to give. 

Firstly because I’m always so emotionally connected to my character and much so that if for example I’m on a series and I have to play the character for the next 30 to whatever days, once I’m out, I have withdrawal symptoms. Now taking this to a whole other level is something I don't know if I can do. I do my necessary background work, I do my homework, I make sure I become this character. But for my sanity, I don't think method acting is for me.

How much of the characters do you think you’ve retained after playing them?

Every single character. But I think more for the characters that I've had to play for months. I eventually let go of them, but for like the next few days, they're still very much a part of me. 

Some include Flo who I played on the Africa Magic series, Chronicles, and  another character called Dima who I played on The Wives that's yet to be released. I remember a few days after the shoot, I would wake up in the middle of the night almost as if somebody called me but by the character’s name. After waking up I’d remember that I was no longer on set.  

You are signed to Guguru Media. How has it been being associated with the company and how has it impacted you as a person and on your craft?

I am grateful because you see the crop of actors that are there and it's people who have done stuff and are practically established in the industry.

It was super cool for them to take a chance on someone like me who is practically new to the industry. Not many people know my name and what they're doing with me and a few other people is nurturing our careers.

I think it's a really great thing and I will forever be grateful for that, because it's been a great platform, considering the kind of projects associated with the name Guguru. And when they see that I'm associated with them, it's some goodwill passed on to me as well. 

You have such range with the characters you’ve played in the past. Is this intentional?

I think I've just been so blessed. I've been so lucky the characters I've played are always distinct and different. I wish I could say I was selecting my part but I've just been very lucky in the offers that have come my way that they are such distinct characters.

I'm grateful because it helps me explore the range of characters I could play, and see where I imagine I could be falling short. It just helps me know who I am and can be as an actor. I've played roles that I found very challenging at first, but finally found my footing along the way.

In the same way, I have played characters that just came to me very easily because they were very similar to who I am as a person. So if anything, it is telling people that I've got range and can do anything.

Which of the characters you’ve played do you feel is most similar to Sharon?

On The Wives, I played Dima. She is the kind of person I used to be, I could relate to that because at a time in my life I had not found my voice, or come to a knowledge of who I was exactly, I was that person.

There's also Chidima from The Artifact. I'm not a tomboy like Chidima, but I consider myself intelligent, outspoken and a natural leader. People just seem to assume that I’m the type of person that can be put in a leadership position. 

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Art inspires me a lot, because I consume a lot of content. I consume films, I consume books. So arts generally, I love to watch people perform. I find people who are in tune with their art so inspiring.

There are many both in Nigeria and outside Nigeria that just do that for me. For example, people like Buchi Franklin, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Uche Chika Elumelu, my coach Stella Damasus.

My friend Kanyin Eros inspires me so much, there's a level of intentionality that she brings to her work that just blows my mind. Tracy George is also an actor who I saw do a monologue and immediately thought to myself ‘‘I want to be able to do this’’. There are some filmmakers that I look up to, as well.

What is your general approach to acting?

I start by understanding the story. It’s easy for actors to rush into developing their character, but I believe it’s crucial to understand the environment in which the character operates.

Once you grasp the story, everything else flows naturally. My coach, Stella Damasus, always emphasizes the importance of reading and enjoying the story first, without breaking anything down or doing research. Once you understand the story, you can delve into character breakdowns, research, and motivations.

Acting is a lot of work, both mentally and physically. While everyone wants to be booked and busy, it’s important to recognize the hard work that goes into each role and know when to take a break before moving on to the next job.

What has been your most challenging character to play?

I think a character I found challenging was Flo because she’s so different from who I am. I love playing villains because they’re fun and there’s so much you can do with the role. However, I was so nervous about playing Flo that I had a panic attack on set. I had to find a way to justify her actions and defend them in my mind to portray her convincingly.

What kinds of projects are you looking to be involved in going forward and what kind of characters you really want to take on?

First off, I'm a romance girl. I definitely want to do a lot of romance. If I wasn’t acting, I’d produce or be a filmmaker someday. I also want to do drama, action, and tell stories for women. I'm very pro-women, so I don't think we can have too many sisterhood or female friendship stories. I want to do stuff like that. I don’t want to be put in a box.

Is there something about A Tale of Two First Dates and Son Of The Soil and the roles you played in them that deepened your interest in wanting to explore more roles like in the romance and action genre?

I can't speak too much about Son Of The Soil but I wasn't doing a lot of action on the project although I saw other people do the action and I was challenged. I think for me, it's not so much the genre as it is the exploration of different stories of human lives.

Like in a romance film, there's so many people who could be in a romance film. There could be the classic villain. There could be a lover girl. There could be the lead character who is so multi-dimensional where she both annoys people and then people are rooting for her. So it's so much more about the story for me.

Filming The Artifact took you across different places outside of Lagos. What was the experience like for you?

Oh my goodness, it was a lot of things because, first of all, I do not like traveling and I like traveling at the same time. I don’t like the process of traveling because I get motion sickness but I like being in different places. I like experiencing different cultures, so it was a lot on me physically and mentally but not in a bad way because it was exciting. I hadn’t been to many of these places. I think we were in eight different states just to shoot the film.

More so, it wasn't just that we're traveling, I got to experience people, make friends. I have forged lasting relationships just on that set alone and I'm super grateful for it. I think it's one of the things that excites me about the project. I don't think we've had one like that in Nigeria. I think this was the first of this kind and I cannot wait for people to see it.

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