I Can Be Very Extreme At Interpreting A Role - Actor Samuel Ajibola "SPIFF"

It was a cloudy Wednesday,  the 8th day of March 2017 precisely when Micheal Irabor of kinggs Blog left home to meet with the freshest,

well dressed,  eloquent,  savvy  and creative actor Samuel Ajibola for an exclusive interview. I must confess the interview didn't go lesser than I expected. In this interview,  the fine and well trained actor enlightened us well about his life,  craft and aspirations. Enjoy

Tell us something we do not know about you.
My name is Samuel Ajibola,  I'm an actor and the 1st child of siblings of Camander lanre and Mrs Ayoni Ajibola. And one thing you do not know about me is that I have been playing the piano since I was in primary for and I still play it up till now. I play the piano, the drums,  I play the recorder,  I am just one music entity.

How come you didn't venture into music with all this instrumental talents you have?
Well at some point in my life,  when I just got into junior secondary school, I was feeling rap at that point and I wanted to be a rap star. I tried my hands on a few verses and songs but I somehow figured out the point that I already had a talent and calling to be an actor,  so I decided to stick to what I knew I was good at,  become a master in it,  then maybe later on in life if I want to,  or see the need to,  I might then divert into other things.

When did you discover you had the talent to act in you?
It was as far as primary school,  primary 4-5, I think I was 6 or 7 years old then. We had a drama in church,  which was about the story of Samuel and my aunty wanted me to okay the role of Samuel,  coincidentally my name to is Samuel. At that point I was young,  adventurous and I wanted to just try something new. Prior to then,  I didn't even know I had the talent,  until I didn't it then she discovered it in me. Coincidentally,  at that same time opa William wanted to shoot his first film and needed a boy of my age to play a particular role. So after she watched me,  she just took me to him,  he interviewed my and that was how my acting career started with Tears for love and may other movies.

How would you define a good role interpreter?
From my point of view,  I'd speak as a trained actor. A good role interpreter is an actor who doesn't bring himself into a character, every character demands some sort of realism and self expectations from a person and if you bring yourself into the character,  all I see is you instead of what the character demands. Let's imagine you are a shy person and you are suppose to play the character of a bug lousy tout but I can still see that shy portrait while you interpret the lousy tout role then it's clear you aren't good at interpreting roles. That makes you ineligible of being a good role interpreter.

At what point in your life did you decide to take acting as a profession?
To be really honest,  I think it was at that tender age. Well not only because it was making me money but because there was something just good and sweet about being popular and being able to cram lines and  meet with big celebrities  like RMD and the rest of them. It was really interesting, it was fun. Always leaving the house,  going on set to go shoot. So at that point I think I knew I wanted to make it a profession. Then for a while school started to interfere then I had to take a break. I didn't stop it completely,  my mind was still in it,  I was always watching actors and saying to myself "I'm suppose to be there".  When it interested school,  my dad drew a line and said at this point,  take a break,  your education is more important,  focus on school. So I decided that when I could handle it properly without interrupting school I'd be getting back to it. So in my university level,  I got back to it and featured in my first film "Fake Prophet"  by Teco Benson in 2009.

Tell us about your educational background.
-I also schooled in command secondary school, both at Ibadan and ipaja lagos, I have a Bsc in political science from the University of Lagos and I also like to add the fact that I have diploma in film and media study from centre of excellence,  under the tutor of the late Amaka Igwe.

Tell us about your first time on a movie set.
That would be "Tears for Love"  my first movie. I'd say as a child I was really playful,  very bold,  courageous and very intelligent. I wasn't shy on my first attempt,  when they had given me the necessary instructions like don't look at this person not the camera, say this after this person says this,  I think I just loved it. And then meeting with all those big stars that I had always watched on TV and looked up to,  having them taking me as their baby,  it was all just so much fun and I loved it.

So far,  what would you say are the achievements acting as brought you and what's that thing acting is yet to bring you?
Well first of all,  not just as a talented but professionally trained actor,  acting has brought me recognition, fame,  awards,  it has brought me prestige,  honour,  respect and acknowledgement. Then what acting is yet to bring me is an Oscar award.

What was the first amount of money you made from acting?
At that young age I started,  my parents were my managers so I had no idea how much I was making.

What movie would you say was your stepping stone into limelight?
I like to define my acting career in two dimensions. My acting career when I was a kid and when I got back in 2009.  My acting career in those days when I was a kid,  I had  movies like "Without love,  Onome,"  I had the movie where I put a baby in a freezer. Those was registered movies I featured in that go me recognition wherever I went. People are always like "Yo are that guy that put a baby in a freezer in that movie". But more recently when I came back,  I'd like to say "The Johnsons" and the SPIFF character  because it's the prominent,  the most loved,  it has gotten me most of the things I have today.

How long does it take you to fit into a movie character?
Well,  because of the Nigerian system, how we get scripts maybe a week before shooting or quite impromptu,  I could use any amount of time but I like to be given substantial amount of time  like 1 to 3weeks to immense myself into a character so that I can comfortably leave my self and go fully into the character and I flow in the character till the end of the show.

How long did it take you to fit into the SPIFF character?
The Johnsons is it its 5tg season now, in season 1 I didn't bring my talent into the movie, I was just being myself because I wasn't trained then. Then in season 2 after I had gotten trained by Amaka Igwe,  I started experimenting and creating characters. It was in season 2 I started introducing the SPIFF character but I wasn't sure about it because it was just an experiment but I was like let's just do it and see how people accept it and behold it was highly accepted and worth trying.  People loved season 2 for it. And the way I learnt how to act,  I can easily get in and out of a character,  I just need a few time like I explained to you earlier.  So when season 3 come out,  it was quite long,  so I got used to it. So by season 4 and 5,  I'm ready to act,  so I just go into the character,  and when they say cut, I'm back to being myself.

Tell us about being on set with Casts of the Johnsons. What's it like,  are there days you guys don't get along?
We are one big family, as much as you see us on TV. It doesn't now mean that we don't have our individual differences and disagreement,  everybody does. I mean even blood brothers, husbands and wives have disagreements once in a while. So once in a while we have disagreements but all in all, on a more larger scale we are one bonded family.

How far can you go at interpreting a role?
I can be very extreme at interpreting a role. I am a method actor,  but the Nigerian factor doesn't let is go that far,  not just because of the money but  time constraints and other things. I have gone as far as losing an extraordinary amount of weight for a movie and I didn't even get the movie to start with and at the end of the day it was a loss. So these are some of the factors we consider when we want to go extreme for a role

Share with us some of your life aspirations.
The SPIFF character and my talent came out of the need to make people happy. Putting the fact about what's going on with the present economy,  things are quite difficult  and I know it isn't easy for a lot of people. You have to struggle to work,  eat,  pay school fees and once in a while,  you just need something that would ease up that stress,  which we know is laughter. So I sat that and was like let me do this and see how I can make  a lot of people happy. Prior to now u wasn't a comic actor but when the opportunity came,  I decided to nail it and a lot of people tell me "You are the reason why I watch African Magic".  I thank God for having to hear such comments.  I am happy that I make a lot of people happy with what I do,  it's an aspiration that I have always wanted to achieve, so I am glad that I am doing it right now.

Any role model?
Yes, I love a lot of people,  I like RMD, I really do like RMD. Not just because girls are crazy over him but because he has this carriage and charisma that I really admire. I like Ayo Richard Makun "AY" for his tenacity, his focus and his drive towards business.  I like Charlse Inoje, my adopted parents in the Johnsons. Charlse Inoje is quite an intelligent man a good director. I like a whole lot of people I can't mention them all.

What's the craziest thing a fan has ever done to you?
I'd like to share this one experience,  when I was coming out of the gym something back,  I was literally  walking outside and this fan was walking into the gym then saw me and was like "Aren't you the guy I see on TV?"  and I'm like yes I am the one,  then he asks "Then why are you walking?"  and I am like,  am I suppose to be flying?  I'm human, walking is what we should do. Lol.  I get experiences like that once I  a while.

What are you presently walking on?
My set of comedy Skits are out already,  titled "Dele Issues".  I dropped the first episode last Friday the 10th of March.  I would be dropping two episodes every month, second and fourth Fridays of every month at 12 noon for the next 6momths,  then maybe more but the first season would be released within the space of 6months. I have other pending projects people are calling me for that I intend to start very soon but right now I am focused on "Dele Issues"  and how I can keep making people happy.

How do you spend your leisure hours?
I like to exercise,  I really like to stay fit,  basically because of my character on the Johnsons,  o can not afford to develop a potbelly. That's one, secondly I like to watch movies, to study them and also to relax with them.  Sometime I like to just stay at home an relax,  sometime I like to go out,  I like the Beach,  I like to swim.

If you were given a chance to be any fancy car,  which would you be and why?
I think I would just be a  bugatti because it's one of the most expensive cars and it's classy.

If given a fortune,  what would you spend it on?
I would do a lot of things,  I would spend in children especially the less privileged children.