Nollywood: How Playing ‘Bad Boy Roles’ Affects Me- Kelvin Ikeduba

Kelvin Ikeduba has spoken about his experience playing bad boy roles in movies.

News Rain Nigeria gathered in a recent interview where popular actor who is versatile in both Yoruba and Igbo genres of Nollywood said there is a difference between Kevin on-screen and off-screen.

Nollywood: Playing ‘Bad Boy Roles’ – Kelvin Ikeduba

He said: “There is a very big difference. The Kelvin on screen is the Nollywood bad boy but this one that is with you here is a God-fearing Kelvin. Everything about my life is my faith in God. I believe so much in God. I won’t say I am too religious. I’m not the churchy type but I believe so much in God.”

Concerning his experience, the Economics Statistics graduate of the University of Benin said he always tries to be Kelvin anytime he is not on screen. But at the end of the day, he said he found out that most people tend to see him the way he is on screen.
He said: “I have had different experiences. I have been slapped. I have been called names and so on. I just believe it is a case of mistaken identity. Nigerians can be fanatical if they want to be. You hear such thing as, ‘why you go do that kind thing for that movie, you dey craze? God punish you.’ I don’t see it from the negative side but I see it as playing my role very well and that is why I am getting such comments. Most times, when I get those negative remarks, I don’t feel bad about them.”

And on why he always plays a bad role, Kelvin Ikeduba has this to say:

“That is the Nigerian factor for you. I don’t see it as being stereotyped.  There is this thing about the African or Nigerian audience, what they like about you is what they want to see. If Kelvin plays a doctor in a movie and do it over 100 percent and play a bad boy role in a movie and do it like 40 percent, people would still prefer the 40 percent to the over 100 percent because that is what they want to see Kelvin play. Playing a bad boy role doesn’t mean I have not played other roles but I want to believe that they appreciate it more when I am coming from a bad character angle which simply means that I am good at portraying that character but naturally I am not a bad person.”

Kelvin Ikeduba in 2014 won the award for Best Cross Over Actor at The Yoruba Movie Academy Awards (YMAA) and he is predominantly known for his diversity in the Nigerian movie industry as he has been featured in Nollywood movies where the English language is commonly used in their productions and also has been featured in diverse Yoruba only speaking movies produced by the Yoruba movie industry of Nigeria.