I’m Lucky To Be

I’m Lucky To Be Olu Jacob’s Wife – Joke Silva

I’m Lucky To Be Olu Jacob’s Wife – Joke Silva

Veteran Nollywood actress, Joke Silva, speaks about her award-winning career, marriage and other related matters.What do you remember of the time you began acting?
What I remember was that it was incredible fun. It was at the University of Lagos and I was part of the cultural centre. We used to rehearse plays directed by the late Prof. Bode Osanyin, and we performed at places like the Goethe Institute and British Council. We were always performing.Why did acting appeal to you?
I enjoyed performing for people. I think I had more fun before I went for my training than I did after training. I performed with the University of Lagos, went to Nigerian Television Authority, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and from there, I went to perform at the National Theatre. Soon after, I went to train in England. I went to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts, London. When I completed my training, I returned home after a stint at The Royal Court Theatre. I also did a little bit of work with the British Broadcasting Corporation.
How and when did you notice your flair for acting?
My parents were the ones who enjoyed watching me perform. When I was in primary school, we had a stage production called The Merry Peasant or The Stranger.
It was a musical and I played the Merry Peasant. This was something I did in my final year in primary school. Years later, someone saw me and said, “Were you not the Merry Peasant? You were excellent.” I continued performing in secondary school, Holy Child College, Obalende and when I went for my A levels in Bournemouth.
I also sat for the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts examinations. I did that up to gold medal.
How come your parents encouraged you to pursue a career in acting at a time when most parents frowned at such?
I think part of it had to do with the fact that they were both professionals. My late mother was a medical doctor, and my late father was a lawyer but both of them also enjoyed the arts.
My mother played the piano and when my father was at the London School of Economics, he would join his friends who were on film sets in London. My mum did her A levels abroad and studied Medicine in Liverpool.
My mother had a schoolmate who became a very successful actress and she used to watch her on the big screen. For them, it was what I loved doing.
However, they also tried to caution me because they knew it was a hard profession. My father’s cousin was the late Uncle Jab Adu of the Village Headmaster and Adio Family fame. He was very good friends with the Olusolas.
My parents knew it wasn’t really a piece of cake to be an actress in any country and becoming an actress in Nigeria, was doubly difficult. For them, they would have preferred if I had a fallback plan.
My father was interested in me having Law as a fallback plan. I think with me, there was an understanding of my nature very early on in life that if I should had a fallback plan and things got difficult, I would just quit.
I think that was part of the reason I was pretty stubborn with them about not wanting a fallback plan. Also, when I had my gap year, they saw how much I flourished and thrived as an actress. They both felt that since acting was what I had been wired to do, then there was a need for me to get proper training.
Did you read a theatre-related course at the university?
I did not go to university until years later. I had been working for quite a couple of years, I had been married and I was expecting our second child when I went to UNILAG to study English.
How is the industry different from when you started out as an actress?
Then, there wasn’t that much work. I could function on the various platforms of theatre and television. At that time, there were not many films. The films that were being done at that time were few and far between. It was usually with the late Pa Hubert Ogunde, who I really wanted to work with but never got the opportunity to do so. I was really upset about not being able to work with Pa Ogunde, Ade Afolayan and Baba Sala. I did more theatre and quite a lot of television. Now, there is a lot more work. Once you are a good actor and you have been able to network properly, you are rarely going to be out of work.
When did you get your career breakthrough?
It was probably in the early eighties and in three different films; Owuro Lojo, which did exceptionally well and brought me to the notice of the Yoruba audience. There was Violated, which brought me to the notice of the English-speaking audience and then, there was theatre which sealed my professionalism and acumen. That was The King Must Dance Naked by Fred Agbe.
Have there been times you felt like quitting?
I have been acting for about three decades and I always feel like quitting until the next job comes.
What have you done to remain relevant over the decades?
I think a good actor is one that continues to learn about their craft and is always willing to learn. You can’t say because you have been acting for years, then you know everything. A lot of times, you are working with a different director, so they bring something new to the table. Of course, because you have experience, you can think along with the director on some things but I think it also important to be open to the experience, learn , see where the character is taking you. No two characters are the same.
Do you have retirement plans?
What for? Acting is one job that you don’t need to retire from because you have people in real life who live to be 100 years old and above.

Olu Jacob’s Wife – Joke Silva