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Savvy, and with an
angelic voice, Gideon Okeke, stole our hearts as one of the few very
good looking contestants on the ‘Big Brother Nigeria’ show. Afterwards,
he became a presenter for the Storm Media produced lifestyle magazine
show ‘The Scoop’. Though Big Brother was his first step to fame, Okeke
has been in the background polishing his act. Currently playing Philip
Ade-Williams on MNET TV series, ‘Tinsel’, he speaks on his forthcoming
projects.

Tell us about your character in ‘Tinsel’?

My character is a
very conceited and arrogant person. He was brought up with the best.
His father instilled in him ideas which cannot be fulfilled so he finds
himself struggling with breaking out with the ideas his father, whom he
considers archaic and old school, has instilled in him. He is more like
a rebel.

How did you get into acting?

I started acting in
primary school. Then, I was in a theatre group and would act in front
of my mates and the school. As I grew older, I was given more
responsibilities by my teachers as they would make me write the scripts
and direct the plays. I didn’t know they were preparing me for the big
screen. This continued to secondary school, as I was also in the drama
group and would act in plays with the group. Really, I am not surprised
and my parents are not surprised that I am currently in acting. In
2008, after ‘Big Brother’, I decided to go professional with the movie
‘Half Empty, Half Full’ which was never released. Basically every form
of acting I did was to prepare me for this big stage.

What was your experience at ‘Big Brother’ like?

Wow, that was a
long time ago and I have moved on from there. I know I would never drop
that tag but I have moved from that emotionally. I take it as a phase
of life that brought fame.

Shortly after your ‘Big Brother’ gig, you released a single ‘Ogidigada’. What was the inspiration behind the track?

‘Ogidigada’ is my
nickname. We just got into the studio and were playing around; myself,
Darey, Eldee, Buchi and Ikechukwu and the single came. It wasn’t
planned. After the recording, let me just say I used my ‘Big Brother’
influence to put it on air. I didn’t go commercial with music, we just
recorded a song. Music still remains one of the parts of me that I
haven’t shared with everybody except for a few people who know that I
sing.

What would you have done if you weren’t acting?

I don’t know. I get
that question a lot and I haven’t thought about it. I just launched my
acting career three years ago and there are lots of places to go. So I
can’t tell you it’s this or that.

What should we expect from you later this year?

I am in a movie
titled ‘A Place in the Stars’, which is still in production. Then there
is also ‘Relentless’. Really I can’t tell you this or that because I
can’t say what I will be doing later this year. For music, let’s see
how less busy I get but I am not sure yet.

Tell us about ‘Relentless’

‘Relentless’ is
going to be my first cinematic release. It’s been across the world but
we are waiting for its release in Nigeria and I am hoping it gets as
much audience as it did in Europe. I play the character ‘Obi’, an
orphan from the Biafra era that is on a journey of self discovery.