Known for her distinctive role interpretation, Dakore Egbuson-Akande, an actress extraordinaire is sure a go-getter and a happy family woman who draws inspiration from her children, husband and career.
In this chat with LAWORE MUTIAT, Dakore opens up on several issues including her passionate kiss with Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD) on the set of ‘Castle and Castle’, way out of the current economic crunch, amongst others.
How did you draw inspiration to work?
For this new series, I drew the inspiration from my life, as a woman that has to juggle lots of things. My children, my husband and my career. It hasn’t been easy.
You played Remi in new EbonyLife Series, Castle and Castle, how were you able to fit into that character?
Remi is a woman who is dealing with a lot of things; she is juggling a lot as most women do. She has a successful law firm, which she runs with her husband. So, you can imagine the dynamics of that relationship. Then she is being pitched against her dad, whom she loves dearly. But because the dad doesn’t like her husband, she is thus placed in between. The workforce too comes in and all that. She has to try to maintain her sanity while running all of these. Remi’s character stressed me, yet, it was fun.
It seems it’s your first time playing a lawyer?
Actually, it is. I have never really played the role of a lawyer. I mean not as extensively as what I did in Castle and Castle. Going to court and all that. It really opened my eyes to more about the legal profession. I give it to them. I now do appreciate them the more. The lots of cases they have in their heads, the court sessions. It’s not easy at all. Much respect to the lawyers.
Dakore still remains very selective with the kind of scripts she accepts, why?
Well, that’s true. Some people had said I do only EbonyLife movies, but that’s not totally true. I was part of New Money, which is already in the cinema. That wasn’t Ebonylife. I did Isoken too. Obviously, it looks like I work more with EbonyLife, but I have always been very selective with the kind of scripts I accept and who I work with.
That’s because it’s also part of having the spirit of excellence. I don’t want to see a film that I have been in and cringe, maybe because I was hungry at a time and I just took a script to survive. I’m not knocking anybody off, but I know films are forever. Once it’s on celluloid, it’s there to stay. So, if I would be in the movie, I have to make sure it’s something that intrigues me as well.
I want to have fun doing it and it’s something that I’d be very proud of when it comes out. EbonyLife has the spirit of excellence in bringing that quality and projecting Africa positively.
In the recent TV series, there are moments you kissed RMD passionately; doesn’t your husband get jealous seeing you doing such?
Well, it comes with the job. I have really tried to stay away from those kinds of scripts, but I can’t keep avoiding them and find myself out of business. My husband and I have an understanding. He is amazing. He understands and knows that at the end of the day, he is the one I love; he is the one I would come home to. He is the one I have children with. So, of course, he must count for something.
Did you give the part of kissing RMD a deep second thought, when you saw it on the script?
I did. I won’t lie, I thought about it. Then, I said to myself, well, do you want to do this? Do you love the script? And my response was yes. I went ahead. When I spoke with RMD, he said he is fine with it too, and then we came on board. We have a connection. RMD and I. We have been close friends. Our first film together, Caught in the Middle, was a very successful one. So, we are always cool together.
For now, you have only two kids, any plans for an addition?
No! We are done. We are alright. We are not planning for another.
Just two girls?
Yes! They are children? Aren’t they? They are human beings. So, please we love them like that.
What do you think should be done to steer Nigeria out of this current economy mess?
Get your Permanent Voter Card (PVC). I have gotten mine. That’s the only power that we have left. And then, how we treat our fellow man matters. We really need to think about it. That’s why depression and suicide are now taking over. It’s a clear indication that we are losing touch with our humanity. We are becoming numb to things that happen around us.
More like, these people died? Okay. They killed some people in the North, alright. People are dying here and there, okay. Please, it’s not okay. We need to do something. Let’s try in our own little way to do something. PVC is really the main thing.
