Yes, I can act nude – Neema Godwin
W
hen it comes to interpreting roles,
actress, model and ex-beauty queen, Neema Godwin is bold and daring. For
the former Miss Fotogenix, acting nude is no big deal. It’s just a way
of expressing herself.
Through her NGO, The Pink Woman, which was launched in 2015, Godwin empowers women, making them significant. She has touched
the lives of several widows who were struggling to survive because of
neglect. In this interview, she gives insight into her modeling and
acting worlds. Excerpts:
I was excited about it and it has shaped
me in a way that it has been a platform for me. I have been able to push
forward from there. Also, it has brought out the interesting part of
me. It has shaped me to see life from different perspectives, to
understand life and mingle with people. It has given me popularity,
endorsements and jobs.
Growing up, I used to hear people say
that I have the face for television, and then, I used to have producers
and directors follow me to my house, just to talk to my dad to allow me
venture into Nollywood, but the thing is my dad has always been a strict
person. He feels that those in the industry are prostitutes; they don’t
have good home training and all that. But then, I went to school and
started doing modeling and presenting. At a point, he was like, ‘you
like acting, why don’t you just go for it?’ I was like ‘okay’. I now
went to Royal Arts Academy where I did a three-month acting course and
got a certificate. That was after I won the Miss Fotogenix. In fact, I
actually started acting this year, and it has been wonderful because I
have done a few works. Most of the movies I featured in are from Royal
Arts Academy.
I have featured in Body Language, a film directed by Emem Isong. It is not out yet but it will be released this October. Another one is Lovers and Sinners, a TV series produced and directed by Emem Isong, as well as Not a Perfect Man.
I have role models both locally and
internationally. I admire everybody in Nollywood but there are few
people that I actually look up to. They are Rita Dominic, Genevieve
Nnaji and Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde. These actresses tend to put me in
shape. I just want to watch them and model my acting after them.
Hmmm, this is a tough one. Well, I can’t go nude but if it is a role that I need to express being nude, I will go for it. You see, I look at a lot of foreign
actors and I have noticed that as an actor or a model, you are free;
your body is your tool. So, if I need to interpret a character being
nude, I will say yes, I will go for it. It is just that in this part of
our world, tradition and religion are attached to everything.
