Nollywood actress, OAP and model, Sandra Eze, has spent just four years in the entertainment industry but with an impressive dossier of works. The graduate of English Language and Literary Studies from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State speaks with OVWE MEDEME on her career, passion and relationship among other issues.
CAN I meet you?
Sandra Eze is a simple girl and an actress. I grew up in a family of five. I attended Nnamdi Azikiwe University. I studied English Language. I presently reside in Lagos. I am an actor and a TV personality.
What would you say attracted you to acting, of all genres of the arts?
Before acting came up, I was a presenter, but I do watch movies. I love watching the Oscar awards and everything related to movies and I always imagined if I could do this. I like pretending to be somebody who I’m not. Growing up, I would act like my mum and my teacher. So on one of those days, I came to visit Lagos and my friend dragged me to my first audition. I was really scared at first but I just went to try it because I had nothing to lose. I went for the audition and I got the role. That was back in 2010.
Four years down the line, how would you say you have fared?
The entertainment industry has been good to me. I mean, it takes a lot of work and consistency to survive. You just have to keep going especially when you got into the industry not knowing anyone; just a young girl coming from Eastern Nigeria to find a better life in Lagos.
It was really tough. I could attend like 50 auditions and get called for about five. So it was difficult but eventually you grow in the business and the more movies you feature in, the more contacts you get, the better your stay and the better characters you get.
What has been your biggest challenge so far?
My biggest challenge as an actress is interpreting a character, giving a character the right interpretation it needs because the thing is, there are a million and one ways to interpret a character. Most people would say it is getting a role or scaling through auditions that matters most, but the fact is that you have to interpret a character well enough and then live the part of the character for you to scale through an audition. I think basically, character interpretation is the biggest challenge an actress can face; getting it right.
Some people would say their challenge is sexual harassment in the industry…
I don’t really call that a challenge. Of course this does not apply only to the entertainment industry. Even in corporate offices, if you walk into an office to get a contract, you may face similar experience.
Sadly enough, this has been going on for a long while in the production world. The thing is that you need to know your standard. If I set a standard for myself that I won’t compromise, then it is not a challenge to me. It is one of those things which I know I won’t conform to, so I don’t count it as a challenge. For me, I would never consider that.
For a somewhat new comer, how do you plan to stand out?
That is a tough one because you can’t really say this is how I plan to stand out, but I will just stay true to who I am. I will stick to my morals and professional standards and give my movies the best interpretation. When I work, I don’t exactly try to see it as a competition. I see it as something I have to do; something that makes me happy and something I would like other people to see and appreciate me for. That is my game plan.
You are also a singer…
The thing about singing is that, aside from the few music auditions that I have attended, I don’t really take my singing talent professionally. But everybody who knows me knows that I can sing. I just don’t know how to juggle it with acting because that is quite some work right now. However, when the time is right, I probably would start up my singing career but right now, the frontline for me is acting and TV presentation. Presently, I work with TVC. I anchor this TV show called Your View. It is a panel of four women discussing national issues, politics, health and everything in between. I am the youngest among them. It is an honour to be among the panel so that is what I do on TV.
Could you relate being on TV to your life as an actress?
For one, the biggest similarity is that we are always in front of the camera. Aside from that, they are two different things because acting is trying to fit into another character while being on TV is about you voicing out your opinion. It is about you being there, not as anybody else, but as representation of who you are. So it is like one is about pretending while the other one is real.
How do you juggle both worlds and still find time for yourself?
I have a way of making time out for myself. The thing about my job is that I don’t shoot every day. There are times you have your down moment, when you don’t really have a job doing. On such days, I take all the time to enjoy myself, hang out and see movies. Most of the time, being a presenter on TV doesn’t take the whole day. So I just do my stuff, do other projects and then come back to do some research. Either way, I still find time for myself.
Talking about hanging out, where is your favourite spot?
I love going to the beach and cinema.
What attracts you to the beach?
I love nature. I am a huge fan of wildlife, the jungle and looking up at night. Most Nigerians would say I am so weird but that is just me. I love solitude. I love being in a quiet zone and just observing everything especially the environment. It is just perfect. It is calming. I just love walking on water, having that feel. I love the beach. I don’t know how to explain it.
Have you considered turning your love for nature into a pet project?
Honestly, no. I would be very honest with myself. I am not considering that. The conservation of nature is very important. Everybody is talking about going green but I would be very honest with you, I don’t really observe it. I am just a lazy nature observer. I don’t put in any effort to conserve nature. I should do more, I know. I would do more in the future.
If you were to take up a pet project, what would that be?
It would be something that a lot of people had done before, and that is empowering the young generation; telling them that they could do more. A lot of people do that but we find out there is less impact. So I am thinking we need more people with passion, people that have gone through this struggle and are still young and making impacts. We need more people like that to come out and change the country, change the perception of the teenagers and the youths. If I was to officially start a pet project, I think empowering the youths would be it, especially the girl child.
What was growing up like?
Growing up was ideal. We had friends and a lovely family. Somewhere along the line, I had to move to Enugu to live with my uncle. I wouldn’t want to delve into all of that but I grew up partly in Onitsha. I grew up mostly with my uncle and from there I went to school and then relocated to Lagos.
For one who studied English, would you say working on TV is putting your certificate to use?
Not exactly. Ideally, one should study Mass Communication to be a presenter but this is Nigeria. Engineers become TV personalities. I think these days, it is more about your passion and where you get a job.
Is Sandra in a relationship?
Not officially.
So you are in an unofficial relationship?
Unofficially means I could be, I could not be but I am not in anything serious right now.
Though you are on the young side, have you been under pressure to get married?
Well, it is a norm in Nigeria and in the whole of Africa. It is like once you turn 18, everybody expects you to get married and have kids and make grand children for your parents or stuffs like that. So yes, society does mount that kind of pressure on females, especially some families. But at the end of the day, one has to understand that marriage is about happiness.
Most people who are telling you to get married just want to drink on your head. Most of them don’t care about your happiness. They just want to wear aso-ebi. I keep telling myself each time that question of marriage pops up about me. I have to find a man who understands me, understands my vision and what I represent and who will accept me and my dreams the way it is. Until I find that kind of person, I will keep waiting on God.
