Only Nigerians living under a rock will say they are not familiar with comedian Bovi. Born Abovi Ugboma, Bovi has been thrilling his audience with punch-lines and acts crafted to get them rolling in laughter.
Bovi who was born on September 25, 1979, in Benin City, Edo, has tried his hand at acting, being a P.A to renowned actor Richard Mofe-Damijo and even rapping at some point (Have you listened to his #FvckYouChallenge cover?) but he settled for making other people laugh as his means of living.
In a recent chat with Yes Nigeria, Bovi spoke on his upbringing and why he chose to become a comedian as opposed to acting or being a show runner.
But first, he reveals his definition of who a good stand-up comedian is as a person with “the ability to take the microphone, stand before an audience and tell jokes or stories that are laced with jokes that will elicit laughter.”
On what he loves most about being a comedian, he said: “The ability to be any character; it’s like being an actor. I usually tell people that stand-up comedy is a one-man stage play, so the ability to be a story teller, and while telling the story, assume any character you want.” However, he pointed out that he didn’t enjoy people’s juxtaposition of who he is on stage with his actual personality.
On how he became interested in comedy, he said: “I don’t know! My interest is not just in comedy, my interest has always been entertainment. I’ve always loved to be an actor, I’ve always been a writer. When I was a kid, my earliest recollection is when my mom was telling me of the late Benny Hill. She was like when this guy comes on stage, he doesn’t even need to say anything, she is already laughing. Then, I stumbled on the likes of Eddie Murphy, Ali Baba… So, at the time, growing up, I always used to say men, I wanna be an MC, I wanna go on stage and talk. I also wanna be an actor. It was in my teenage years I now discovered that okay, there’s what you call stand-up comedy.”
You can read the full interview on Yes Nigeria here