King Oyelowo… Home for Selma, And with a message of peace

WHEN Pastor Paul Adefarasin’s House On the Rock Church announced plans to premiere Selma, a 2014 American historical drama film, which is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by James Bevel, movie buffs roared in excitement. 

    Scripted by Paul Webb and Ava DuVernay and directed by DuVernay, the movie parades Nigeria’s David Oyelowo as the lead actor, alongside Carmen Ejogo and Oprah Winifrey.

    Aside from having opportunity to watch the movie on big screen, coupled with the glitz and razzmatazz that come with movie premieres in Lagos, bringing Selma to Nigeria, many felt, was timely, considering that the country had become tensed following activities of the political class in its efforts to woo voters for the rescheduled presidential election on March 28. 

   On the other hand, it was seen by many, as a perfect homecoming for David Oyelowo, who has made the country, and indeed, the black race proud with his acting ingenuity. 

      Just take your time, search for Oyelowo’s profile online and you will get something like, ‘a British actor…’ This has always been the case with Western media. They claim ownership of successful sons and daughters of Africa, but quick to reject ‘never do wells.’ So, to a very large extent, Oyelowo’s homecoming provided one opportunity of getting the true profile of the actor, especially, as it concerns his descent. 

   As at 3pm, the Rock Cathedral, Lekki, was besieged by film lovers, especially members of the church, who turned up early to secure strategic positions in the massive hall. 

  On this day, invitation card/text didn’t give automatic access. Security was tight, as the event was put together in conjunction with the US Embassy in Nigeria. Stern-looking security men were more concerned with guests disclosing their identities.

   “Where is your identity card? If you don’t have it, I won’t let you in; that’s the instruction,” one of the security men told to a cameraman from one of the popular Lagos-based TV stations.

    From the car park, guests were ushered into the main building, through the side doors, except for the celebrities, who strutted the red carpet in elegant styles. As usual, the paparazzi ‘boys’ were on hand to do what they know best: capturing moments on lens. While the long wait lasted, dignitaries and celebrities got a cocktail reception at the main lobby, from where they were eventually ushered into the hall.

     Based on the programme, the organsiers, alongside Oyelowo and Carmen Ojo were to address the press at 4pm to herald the premiere. But as it turned out, the briefing didn’t start till about 6pm due to the late arrival of the star actors. However, the long wait ended when the neatly suited Pastor Adefarasin, in company of the United States (U.S) Ambassador to Nigeria, James F. Entwistle, stepped into the room. 

   In his usual gentlemanly manner, Adefarasin apologised for the long delay. Minutes latter, Ejogo stepped in, followed by Oyelowo.

    In his brief opening remark, Adefarasin noted that Nigeria was going through arguably one of the most defining moments in its 101-year post-amalgamation history, even as it prepares for the 2015 polls, where millions of Nigerians would perform their civic responsibility throughout the nation by voting for the candidates of their choice.  

MERE looking at Carmen Ejogo’s face as she sat on the high table with other dignitaries, it was obvious the actress with a Nigerian father, is visibly excited coming home. However, for Oyelowo, the session was just a perfect opportunity to get firsthand information on the true situation in his native country, having been away for eight years. All through the session, he listened with rapt attention; you could tell his memory was at work.

   And when it was his turn to speak, Oyelowo spoke soo passionately about Nigeria, the visible changes on ground and the possibilities that abound in the country.

    “We are a mighty nation; I lived here for seven years of my life. My dad is from Oyo State and my mum is from Edo state. It was a very rare marriage; maybe not so rare anymore as it was when my parents got married 40 years ago. But their marriage and love for each other had been exemplary to me,” he said. 

      As far as the talented actor is concerned, foreign media have not been fair to Nigeria, which has resulted in the negative image the country has internationally.

     “I live in America now, unfortunately, a lot of what is reported about Nigeria, are not so great stuffs. I’ve been back here for the first time in eight years and I can see incredible changes; I can see incredible improvement and progress. But this religious situation we have, especially in the north and the upcoming election, unfortunately for the press, whatever is bad is what they want to see.”

     While stating that there are so much positive changes going on in the country, Oyelowo said, “I just want the world to be aware of what is going on. With these elections coming up, if they go bad, that’s what is going to be blasted out to the world again; we need to blast out what is sooo amazing about this nation. For me, it’s to find a way where love overcomes hate; it’s going to be an incredible thing for this nation and the world generally.” 

    Meanwhile, this year’s list of Oscar nominations raised eyebrows in Hollywood and beyond. For the second time since the turn of the century, every nominee in the Academy’s four acting categories is white. Notably, the Nigeria-born-British actor David Oyelowo, acclaimed for his performance as Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, the first major film about the civil rights leader, was left out of the Best Actor category as the nominations were announced.

    Also, Selma’s director, Ava DuVernay, had been tipped to be the first black woman ever nominated for Best Director, after she was shortlisted for the 2015 Golden Globes. But she, too, was locked out of Oscar contention in another all-white category. The 2011 Oscars also featured an exclusively white crop of 20 acting nominees. 

   However, Selma was nominated for Best Picture, where it competes against Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel, which led the field with nine nominations apiece. Neither Oyelowo nor Grand Budapest Hotel star Ralph Fiennes was named in the Best Actor category, but two other British actors, Eddie Redmayne and Benedict Cumberbatch made the list.   

    While responding to questions from journalists at the Oscar nomination party on the disappointment from his fans over his non-inclusion on the list, Oyelowo said, “… yea, including my dad, who flew in from the United Kingdom yesterday. We didn’t get that joy, but more people know my name and his name than they did two months ago.”

      Now in Nigeria, the same question was put across to Oyelowo and he responded thus: “To be honest with you, being here in Nigeria, where I’m from, as an actor, as a Christian, as someone who believes in social justice, there’s no greater reward than this for me; I have to say it. To have made a film that can help to inspire people towards peace, help people recognise that solidarity is something to be shaped; the fact that votes, not just in America, but around the world are things that have been fought so hard to be got for all people, whether you are black or a woman… it shows the cost of democracy, the cost of being able to vote.”

   Oyelowo is optimistic that, “if young people, who would take the vote for granted, see the film and decide to vote, if people, who have been subjected to prejudice and racism can reach out to someone, who looks different from them, like it happened in Selma… Dr. King reached out to clergies; people of faith and colours, whites and blacks came together to take this from being a black problem to being a human problem; an American problem. They said, ‘enough is enough.’ There’s no greater reward to an artiste to have your work meet up with what society generally needs.” 

    To Oyelowo, film greatly impact culture, describing motion picture as a viable tool for advocacy. “There are those who would say film doesn’t impact culture and I would disagree hugely. As we discoursed earlier today, in some ways, movie theatres and cinemas have become the new churches.”

    Then, he took a swipe at the movie industry saying, “the profession and industry that I work out of, bangs out a lot of bad stuff. I will be honest with you, we put out stuff that are not edifying. So, when a film comes along that is edifying, that glorifies God, that glorifies peace, love and social justice; it doesn’t’ happen everyday. So, for me, it is the greatest reward and award. And to bring it to Nigeria is something that I will take to my grave.” 

ON his role as Dr. King in Selma, the Red Tail actor said, “for me, this journey started seven years ago; it started with a call from God to play this role. That was July 2007; God told me I would play this role. The characteristic I admire in human being is sacrificial love as demonstrated by Jesus Christ. Dr. King was ruled by his faith and I truly believe that love in the face of hate, in the face of prejudice is a universal truth that crosses colour lines, religious lines and borders.”

  He continued: “For me, what Dr. King was preaching, what he was advocating before he was cut down in 1958, is the fact that in God’s eyes, we are all equal. God loves us all and that love that he has for us is the love we should have for one another. I truly believe that if we exhibit this sacrificial love in life, the world would be a very, very different place,” he said.

    According to Oyelowo, growing up partly in Nigeria, to a large extent, helped him interpret his role as Dr. King in Selma.   

    “I know for a fact that when Lee Daniels, who was the director attached at the time I got cast, was in place, he said, ‘David, the reason I cast you as Dr. King is because you didn’t come in with any of the baggage of this icon. You just came in and played the man.’ You look at that historical figure, I imagine there are plenty of times when you’re thinking, ‘you know what, Hollywood doesn’t want this, I’m beneath it, my uncle’s marched with him, my grandfather knew him,’ which is what you have a lot when you talk with a lot of African-Americans about Dr. King. I didn’t have that. All I saw was an opportunity to put on display one of the greatest human beings, I think, who ever walked the planet and one of the greatest episodes in America’s history,” he said.  

HOWEVER, for Oyelowo, who also starred in Blood And Oil, to grow up black in western countries comes with its challenges.  

    “The truth of the matter is, what living in the West unfortunately does for you as a black person is that it engenders in you a minority mentality. You are a minority and, so, you live in a world where subliminally you are being told, or you are taking on, the fact that not every opportunity afforded within that society is open to you. Whereas when I lived in Nigeria (from the age of five to 13), the notion of the colour of my skin, the notion of opportunities afforded to me as a result, never occurred to me. And it does affect how you bounce out of bed. It does affect your ambition. It does affect your outlook in life,” he said.

       On the burden of expectations for ‘black films’, he said, “I think, being black in the West, whether it’s in Europe or America, is that everything you do has such an intense gaze upon it, because the opportunities are so sparse. So, you always feel this need to be all things to all men for their salvation. And what we don’t get that you get if you’re a white artist, or director or producer, or even the audience … from a white point of view, you have so much context for what it is to be a human being.”       

A TRAINED stage actor, Oyelowo has quickly become one of Hollywood‘s most sought-after talents. He was born in Oxford, England, to Nigerian parents (his father, Stephen, worked for an airline company and his mother for the railway). Oyelowo graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), and received the Scholarship for Excellence from Nicholas Hytner in 1998.

      Oyelowo first impressed audiences on the stage when he starred in The Suppliants at the Gate Theatre playing King Palasgus, for which he received the Ian Charleson award commendation. Following this, he played the title role of Henry VI, becoming the first black actor to play an English king for the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company). The role won him The Ian Charleson Award and an Evening Standard award nomination.
     David received numerous accolades for the recent independent film, Middle of Nowhere, which screened to rave reviews at last year’s Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals. The emotionally inspiring film portrays the universal dilemma of how a person maintains oneself as they commit to loving and supporting someone through hardship. David has received nominations for Best Supporting Actor for the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards and the 44th Annual NAACP Image Awards on behalf of his work in the film.
    He also was seen recently in Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed drama Lincoln, with Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones. Lincoln has already been the recipient of many awards, which include being named one of the top films of the year by the National Board of Review and AFI Awards.