Jonathan Nwokpor
Jim Iyke, a seasoned actor from Nigeria, has opened up about the struggles he faced growing up in his father’s home to follow his acting career.
Jim Iyke stated in an interview with media personality Chinasa Anukam that his love of acting caused his father to send him out of the house when he was very young.
Jim states that after earning his first degree at 18, his father encouraged him to continue his studies and earn a master’s degree.
Jim continued, saying that his parents wanted to mold his life to fit their perfect image for him only because he did so well in school.
He said: “I was a straight-A student. And the course was already, I mean, you know the Igbo parents, they decide your life before you are born and probably after you die if they outlive you. I was about 18 and a half years old when I finished my first degree. The idea was, ‘Get your MBA.’ That was the whole plan. My dad’s boss is American, so he already had a setup. And I came home one day and said, ‘I think I really want to be an actor.’
“My dad’s fair argument then was that I’m excruciatingly shy. Now, how come you come out? A well-known introvert comes out to say, ‘You want to be an actor?’ But I think there was something—you know, call it female intuition or whatever. She (my mum) just believed, even before I did. I just saw a glimpse of something that made me believe this is what I wanted to do, but it wasn’t hard-formed.
“There was no core to it. There was no master plan. There was no road map. It was just a simple conviction. But she believed before I did. And that is what makes mothers as unique as they are.
Jim Iyke detailed his last conversation with his dad before his exit from home.
“It became unbearable to stay at home. So much so that one day, my dad woke up and said, ‘Listen, there can’t be two captains on this ship. You either go get this master’s going as quickly as possible. Take one year, go do whatever nonsense you want to do, come back, and then we set the course again or you leave my house.’ So I left.”
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