I was always led to believe you should take care of yourself, trust in your abilities and you're the author of your own destiny.
Wale means to arrive home. So the crown has arrived home. Akin is warrior or brave man. Nuoye is a brave man of chieftaincy and Agbaje means wealth and prosperity.
What you desire, as an actor, is to have an impact. That's why you did it. You want to move people, and you want to resonate with your audience. It's always a great compliment to have people appreciate and speak of the characters. I can go anywhere in the world, to places where people don't actually speak English, and people can say, verbatim, what I said on the show as Mr. Eko, which is great. That's fun!
I'm of Nigerian descent, from the Yoruba tribe. Names are very significant in that culture. It basically states your purpose in life.
When a child wants to be accepted, he'll do anything. And if it means you're getting a certain amount of notoriety from a fight, that's what you'll do.
The only way you can influence your fate is to put your soul into your performance and hope it registers with the audience.
Personally, I love Toronto.
I've never been really great at trusting anybody, just because of the way I grew up.
What I like about the Carpenter take on The Thing is the fact that it just has so much suspense. It seemed like a different story, with the horror elements. Those films that really speak to the primal fear that we, as human beings, have about the unknown have always intrigued me. That's the really scary thing, not the slasher, macabre movies.
As an actor, you really want to resonate with your audience. I played a character on Oz and people still approach me in the streets today.
You really have to act your pants off to stay alive. I thrive on that; I rise to the occasion of the circumstances.
I've played different nationalities, and everything from vulnerable to strong to crooked to demented. It just increases your possibilities of work because, if people know you can do just about anything, then you're going to get more offers. That's what I want to do.
You don't want it to be a replica or an imitation. You want to create something fresh, original, very unique.
My father was a lorry driver, very rarely at home. The house was run by my mother, and because there were 10 or so kids, there was no time for individual attention. It was about survival. It was about where the next meal was coming from.
Also, I'd like to play an athlete again, while I'm still physically fit, or a musician, like Nat King Cole, because I play the trumpet and sing. I'd like to incorporate that into a character.
It's very important to stretch, because while it's good to look pumped, a lot of the moves are split legs, and twisting fast. So you really, really have to stay supple.
It's a significant question: should black people only adopt black children, and white people white children?
The actual fights themselves are very demanding. You don't want to drain yourself. But it pumps you up, gets you in the zone. It's a good way of getting you into the zone for the scene.
Certainly, I look for different characters 'cause I always like to keep people guessing, and I also don't like to get typecast.
I'm known for playing bad guys, so this was an interesting departure from what I'm known to play, which is a softer, more likable, affable character.
And then, with a European director and Norwegian actors speaking in Norwegian, it was going to be very interesting. So, whatever initial trepidation or fear I may have had was alleviated by those factors. I just said, "This is something to get on board with."
Certainly, I look for different characters 'cause I always like to keep people guessing, and I also don't like to get typecast. I made a concerted effort, last year and this year, to get a range of characters, just to show people the range that I have, and for them to be able to see the artistry beyond the color.
I just want to keep the diversity and the options open. In terms of what I'm looking for, I'd like to do a lead action role. Whilst I'm still young and I still have the looks, I want to take the helm and be a renegade cop, or something like that. He's got to have a bit of an edge, but that would be nice.
There's always your initial trepidation about doing a remake, but that was alleviated by the fact that it was a prequel. Immediately, that gives you creative license to really recreate and explore and put a new stamp on the genre.
I remember in the Carpenter version, you got acquainted with the characters and really knew them. It was a real character piece. Each actor was serviced in the movie, and we tried to do that in this movie as well. I like the fact that there was a European, first-time director. I'd known of him because I'm from Europe. I knew him as a commercial director and thought one of his commercials was great. I thought it was an interesting take on such a big-budget cult classic.
