Stan Nze
Stanley Ebuka Nzediegwu known professionally as Stan Nze has evolved much that has seen him assume different characters over the years in his career prior to winning the Best Actor in a Drama at the last AMVCA. Starting by just wanting to be on TV, Stan progressed by playing lead in his own movies which eventually paved the way for further roles. In this riveting conversation, he tells Ferdinand Ekechukwu that the whole lot culminated to make the brand everyone knows as Stan Nze, and more . . .
How do you feel winning Best Actor (Drama) at the 8th AMVCA?
It’s like the best thing to me in the world. I mean for every actor that’s what they work towards. Asides from the fact that people recognise your work, like individuals that say ‘oh you did such a great job in this film and that film’, an award as prestigious as the AMVCA is also a way of knowing that ‘oh you have not been wasting your time’. It’s a great pat on the back. For me I’m really honoured and I feel really elated. More so because, I sort of just so expected it every year since the inceptions of the AMVCA. You will see the list you are not on it. I mean this is the eighth edition. So for seven years, I have looked forward to it, it never happened. It’s a great feeling I must say.
Looking at your career how much have you evolved as an actor?
I’ve evolved so much. Anybody that knows me knows that I’ve grown over the years. I mean I started off my career with just wanting to be on TV; anything just put me on TV you know… Yes, and I started doing my one scene, two scenes, then three scenes to one episode thereabout. It got to a point that I felt there’s more. One episode was not costing it anymore. I didn’t want to be just that random guy on TV. I wanted to be that person making a mark. So, I started auditioning for bigger stuff. I auditioned for Tinsel a couple of years. I got in in the fourth season that was in 2011. Even the role was not so big. But at the time, it was good for visibility.
In 2013 I got my first lead in a series, ‘The Benjamin’. Afterwards, I wanted more; I wanted it on TV now and nobody was giving me so I gave myself. I made my first film in 2015, ‘Bad Drop’, that was my first lead in a film. That gave me some form of revelation. That same year I got on something really profound for Trino Studios, called ‘The Encounter’ it’s on YouTube. Prior to then all I was doing was comedy. You know like sitcoms on TV. Nobody was taking me seriously. So I was looking for characters that could showcase my strength as an actor. Comedy is great. I think it’s one of the hardest to do, but it’s not my strength. I had to be doing it because that’s what was available at the time.
I had to make the best of that opportunity until I made my first film and then I got on that Trino Studios. The character was a mean soldier. I played the villain. It was just about two scenes but very powerful scenes. I was shown in a different light. I went on to produce my second film the year after, titled ‘Colourless’. So instead of always waiting for producers to give me role or give me the opportunity you know, God just has a way of bringing the opportunity.
Because that same year 2015, I got a call from a friend of mine she said she was making a film, ‘Just Not Married’ and wanted me to play the lead. So you see after I have given myself lead people started believing in me. I got on ‘Just Not Married’. It premiered at Toronto International Film Festival. It became one of the biggest films I have done at the time. It gave me so much exposure. It went on and on like that until I got on ‘Rattlesnake-The Ahanna Story’. That’s what I won the award for the Best Actor in a Drama for at the AMVCA. I did a couple of projects before that. But you know how sometimes, like for my career, I like to think that everything culminated to make the brand that everybody knows as Stan Nze today. So that’s how I have evolved over the years.
What would you attribute to as the reason for the increase in your appearance in movies, the roles in recent times?
Well it has always been. The only thing is I’m more in your face now. So you are more interested in things I do. From 2015 or 2016, I have been working back to back. The only difference is that most of the films now I have had have had more exposure, are more in the cinemas, are more in the blockbusters, which is what gets promotion. So you feel like I’m working more now, but I have always been working. It’s just that maybe I was doing smaller films you know. Films with lower budget they didn’t have budget for marketing as such. So you didn’t get to see. But right now I’m doing more of films that have more exposure. I have always just been working just in a different space. I’m working now in a bigger space.
In the course of your acting is there any character trait you have imbibed from assuming different characters and bringing them to life?
I like to separate my real life character from the characters I play. Because I don’t want to be Stan Nze all the time you know. So there might be some things I do in real life that might imbibe once in a while; and sometimes that might happen unconsciously. I mean we are still humans. You have things that you have done over the years that still creep into you.
What are your top memorable career moments so far?
Hmmm! definitely the night I won my award for Best Actor at the AMVCA. That has to be one of the best. The year I got the call that I was ‘Ahanna’; that for me was great. There are a lot of them but these ones definitely the peak.
What excites you most as an actor and what inspires you?
What excites me most are brilliant characters; interesting characters. So when I read a script I’m looking forward to who I’m becoming next you know; who’s the new person I’m going to get the privilege of becoming. You know like what will he be doing? Is he an emotional wreck? Is he a woman beater? Is he a spiritual man? Is he going to jump off a skyscraper? Who is he? What is he going to do? What is his backstory? Does he have children? ‘Oh I get to be a father to a five year old’. I don’t have children yet. Those are the things that intrigue and excite me to be honest. Then things that inspire me are the lives we transform. That’s why I don’t tell any sort of stories. I don’t tell stories for the fun of it. I want the films I do to affect lives, change lives. So those are the kind of things that inspire me and make me want to do more.
You did mention not having children yet. You are married to an actress, are we going to see you play couple together in a movie soon?
We have done a lot of movies together. We have films that we are working on. I mean we don’t sort of plan it you know. After we have gotten married we have acted together maybe. But before we got married we did a lot of films together. Most of the films coming out now are the films we did before we got married. We don’t say ‘oh because we are marred now we should create husband and wife roles’. We don’t plan it we just go with the tide. If there’s a script we should play love interest, fine.
Was it in the course of acting together you guys met and decided to go into partnership for life?
No, no, it wasn’t. We became friends even before we even started shooting for people and doing stuff together.
What set are you on at the moment and which was your last?
My last set I just finished from a set it’s a TV film. It’s called ‘Absent’. Then I’m currently filming something for the big screen with Inkblot Studios. I have one day to go we are almost done. I don’t think I’m allowed to say the title. I think that’s the much I can say about that.
Aside acting what else does Stan do? And if you weren’t into acting what else would you have been doing?
Okay I run a management for children. I do this project called ‘The Kids Can Act’ project. We train children. We push them into film and television. Then I already mentioned that I make films and I produce as well. Most of the things I do are just related. Of course I model for people. And if I weren’t into acting I would have probably being doing radio. I did radio (radio presenter) back in school. And it’s something I really enjoyed. I love to talk and that’s one thing I probably would have been doing.
