Ime Bishop Umoh is indeed one of the funniest men from
Akwa Ibom state since ‘Giringori’ of ‘New Masquerade’.
•Comedy; childhood and my discovery;
Comedy must have been in me while I was growing up but I
didn’t know about it until I was already in school as a child.
Meanwhile, when I noticed I had it, I took advantage of the
gift and showcased my talents in churches especially when I am invited for plays.
I believe l am taking after my father who was indeed a funny person while he was alive. Although he was a lawyer by profession, he was also a comedian in every true sense of it because he was always making my mother and everyone in our home laugh.
As a child, I used to wonder what was so funny about my
dad; why we were always laughing at what he said and how
he said it. My dad use to say that his job was to make my
mother to laugh. I am having a better understanding these
days because people tend to laugh at me even when I am
very serious.
•My flight to limelight;
I don’t know oh, but I have always wanted to act; acting has
always being my dream. It started like I said in my younger
days in school and church, but I chose comedy this time
because I noticed that l have a good sense of humour. What
I discovered in me is better described as a commercial
quality sense of humour.
In other words, it can be bottled and sold. I got discovered in
the University by Emem Isong. After that, other producers
started giving me calls all the way from Lagos but I didn’t
take these calls serious because I was still a student who
needed to stay focus on school work.
Acting as a profession is a multi-tasking and time-consuming deal. When I got through with my degree program, I was invited to Lagos by Emem Isong. Other producers saw me and the rest is history.
Meanwhile, I attended University of Uyo; studied Philosophy, but I am speaking for a living today.
Two movies launched me into the spotlight. The first one is
an indigenous movie titled ‘Uyai’ produced by Emem Isong in 2008 and an English movie, I cannot remember the title at
the moment.
But after these two movies gave me the credibility l needed
at that time; Emem Isong invited me to Lagos state again
and other producers began giving me scripts and more jobs.
People started giving me a second look. Obviously, those two movies were the miracles l needed and it came just in time.
At the moment; I have lost count of the movies I have
featured in. I know that it’s funny to say this because people
who have been in the industry for donkey years can still
remember the movies they have done, but I am sorry that I
cannot remember. But I know l have done more than fifteen
movies since I started.
•Stand –up comedy; a genre of art;
Stand-up comedy is another genre of art that I have full
mastery of. It is my strongest point so to say. I do stand-up
comedy once in a while, but l haven’t found my feet as much as I have done in the movies.
I believe we are all blessed and gifted in different areas and I may not have found my feet like I have set out to do in
stand-up comedy, but l am a stand-up comedian in my own
right.
•Life on the set with colleagues and fans;
My colleagues; l mean actors like me are prepared for the
comical part l take in whatsoever movie l am doing; hence it
is something they are expecting from my character.
The people that usually cannot stand me or the character I
have brought to life are people who saw my movies and are
just meeting me for the first time. So, I get embarrassed
everywhere l go to these days! Above all, I want to say that
humour has a power of its own.
•Saddest moment;
My saddest moment was when I lost my father; I was only
twelve years old when he died. I am from a polygamous
home; my mum was the last wife of my dad and I am the
first of four children. I had an amazing relationship with my
dad, so it hurt when he passed on.
•My future roles, if not comedy;
Acting is not strictly speech delivery, it is not fluency; I
speak English language fluently to an extent and my
indigenous language Ibibio. But that is not the same thing as
acting or entering a character.
I have always known myself to perfect everything l set my
hands on. I have worked on my good sense of humour and it is paying me well. It is not a bad thing when a new act is
launched with a certain brand; for instance, James Bond is
considered a lover guy and Mr. Bean is seen as an extreme
clown.
It only becomes unprofessional when the actor cannot try his hands in other roles. I think l would try my hands in other
roles in the nearest future when I am popular enough.
•My plans for the future;
I wouldn’t do shows in future because other comedians have done it and they have made names out of it.
I would do something because it is original to me and I enjoy doing it. I do not want to be seen as a second fiddle in all that I set my hands to do. My watch word in the game that l play is to be original; so in ten years, I should have gotten to the top of my game; God helping me.
I would be married, have my children and do other stuff that
comes to me naturally. I would have done my own movies
and all that. I have dreams of acting in the international
scene with known world class faces; I wouldn’t mind going to Hollywood and meeting with the stars.
•My leisure and exercise;
At the moment, my state has being transformed; it is indeed
beautiful. So l go out and sometimes go to the cinemas to
watch good movies without paying much. It is indeed
amazing what has happened in the state!
There is a Hotel Tropicana, the cinema branch of it is ready
and movies are going cheap. I work out because it is necessary and healthy; I have a mini gym in my house. So I
don’t play with those times spent in it.
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