Veteran Actor, Kalu Ikeagwu Describes The Thrills Of Being A Husband And Cool Father-Of-2 In New Interview
Veteran Nollywood star actor, Kalu Ikeagwu, 45, has emerged as one of Nigeria’s hottest role interpreters. Having made his mark in several movies and stage plays, however, became attracted to Ikeagwu as an actor in the popular TV series, Tinsel.
Daily Sun recently caught up with the British-Nigerian dad-of-two at the premiere of Andy Boyo’s House of Talents and he opened up on his flourishing career, how he met his wife, fatherhood and many other issues.
Read excerpts below…
You have been married for a while. How are you enjoying marriage, any kids yet?
I have been married since 2016 and it has been good all the way. I have two kids and it has been a most wonderful experience.
You are always hopping from set to set. How do you get to spend quality time with your kids?
The truth is that God has been very good to me. I spend a lot of time on set. For instance, I just spent almost three weeks shooting an epic in Abia State. After spending that much time, I try to spend like a week at home, and during those times, I don’t go anywhere.
I help my daughter with her homework. I even cook for my family and now my entire family looks forward to it. They are always like ‘wow, dad is coming home and he is going to cook for us’.
I spend as much time as I can with them, and my little baby is about six months old now. So, I always take them on a walk. Even now, whenever I go away for a while and return, he still recognises me.
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You are a dashing young man, how are you handling your female fans?
Wow! Female fans? I see them as God’s blessings. Looking good also comes with responsibilities. When God blesses you, you appreciate it but you don’t let it go to your head. You take cognisance of the fact that the blessing was given to you for a purpose, so you focus on why it was given to you.
I appreciate my female fans very much and I also see them for what they are, wonderful and adoring. It is my responsibility to minister to my female fans and not to get carried away by abusing them.
Doesn’t your wife get jealous that some smart Nollywood girl might snatch you from her?
The funny thing is I met my wife on set. Funny enough, it was her first time on set. She had just completed a make-up course in India and decided to come on set to see if she could make it as a make-up artiste or go start a business.
That was how I met her in Port Harcourt. I was the one that chased her, and from the way I acted, she knew the kind of person I was. Yes, I can be very playful and sometimes I am serious, but when it comes to work, work is work and I don’t mess with my work.
Was it love at first sight and how did you pop the question?
I don’t know how to explain it, but immediately I saw her, there was a connection. I wouldn’t say I knew she was the one but when I saw her, I was inspired because she had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen in my entire life. I just saw everything I liked in a woman. And when we were coming back, because she used to take us from set to the hotel and drive back to drop all of us.
Aunty Joke Silva, myself and others, and sometimes, she drove dangerous roads and I would ask her ‘are you not scared?’ And she would say ‘no’. So, I liked that courageous heart and as time went on, I saw other qualities and I knew she was the one for me.
How did I pop the question? I was at my aunt’s funeral and my uncle was there with me and he kept asking ‘when are you going to get married and start having kids? When are you going to bring your wife home and begin to have children that will break things in the house?’ And there and then, she walked in and I was like ‘uncle, here is the woman I want to marry’ and that was all (laughter).
Three months after, we were married. I am not the most conventional person. I am also not the most romantic person. When I see what I want, I just go for it and the romance can follow later.
SEE ALSO: Proud Dad, Timi Dakolo, Describes What Fatherhood Means To Him, In Glowing Terms,
How have you been able to avoid scandals in the industry?
I believe that nobody is perfect. We all have our good and bad sides. So, there is no reason why I shouldn’t be scandalous. But the reason I would say is that it is only God. God in the sense that He made it possible for me to realise that my looks, character, talent and everything attributed to me were a gift from Him.
So, when you recognise that you did not add anything to yourself, you ask, why were you made that way?And well, the worst thing for you to do is to abuse that thing because you are abusing your maker. So, it is your responsibility to ask ‘Lord, why did you make me this way? Let me follow the way you made me’. And then, one day, we all must die and go to the afterlife and give account of what we did with the talent and gifts He gave us, and that’s what is uppermost on my mind.
You sound very spiritual.
I am. Like I said, I don’t have any presence on social media. I don’t go advertising myself, so there is a reason why I am still relevant and it has nothing to do with how good I am and whatever. There is someone responsible for that and I noticed that earlier in my career. Even my coming into this industry was a miracle. I had no reason to be here.
I was living in England but acting has been something I have always wanted to do, and I have always prayed to God to guide me. I could go on forever. There are so many miracles, things that have happened in my life. I shouldn’t have had my son, not even my daughter but for His mercies. So, I have no choice but to be spiritual.
What was your parents’ reaction when you chose acting as a career?
The struggle started way before Nollywood because I have been acting for 31 years. In the university, I did stage plays for World Health Organisation, which was a huge disappointment for my dad, because he wanted me to be a doctor.
And when I told him this was what I wanted to do after school, there was crisis. So, the fight started long ago but when his friends saw me on stage and told him ‘hey! We saw your boy on TV, he is quite good’, he relented and started encouraging me.