Front line Nollywood actor, Christiana Nkem Adelana says Rita Dominic and Hollywood Angelina Jolie are two of the female artistes who inspire her most.
Speaking in an interview with eelive.ng, the actress whose career started on television at the age of 16, explained that these two artistes have influenced her art and personality in a few significant ways.
The artiste who is popularly referred to as Tana Adelana explains that Angelina Jolie takes her art so seriously that you could indeed turn totally turn down the volume in any of her films and still comprehend the message she is trying to pass across. She described Dominic as an excellent actor who also carries herself with elegance and grace.
Her words: “For, Angelina Jolie, I can turn down the volume of my television and still find her intriguing. To me she is a method actor. Acting isn’t about looking pretty, which is why when people watch me, they would realise I don’t really care about what I wear on TV or whether my makeup is super or not. I am usually more interested in my delivery and what I say and how I say it. People like Angelina Jolie inspired me because if you look at her she also doesn’t care about stuffs like that and every time you watch her she leaves a mark on you. So, I like her, as an actor? She is amazing. And Rita Dominic, as an actor here as well, she’s amazing. She takes are art serious. But I also love that she is very elegant. It’s part of the business, it’s a show business if you can stay and remain elegant there is always a market for you. She’s eloquent, she’s pretty, she’s calm, she’s sexy, and she knows her onions.”
Adelana, without doubt one of the most competent actors in Nigeria, also told eelive.ng that the choice of taking up a role or not is usually guided by how much she is able to picture herself in the actualisation of that role, what the entire story would contribute to society as well as the excitement that the character brings to her.
She explained that this was what she saw in the film Body Language, for which she won the Best Actress in a Leading Role award at the 2018 edition of the Best of Nollywood Awards.
Speaking about Body Language in which she plays the role of lady with a dual personality, Mrs Adelana said: “I watched the movie while I was reading the script and I didn’t drop the script. You know when I’m also able to read and not drop my script throughout, like oh I want to take a tea break, no. I sat through the script and I read it and found it captivating yes, I take the role. Body Language was different from the norm. I was always telling the good girl story and may be the occasional bad girl little stories but, that was different. One thing that people seem to have missed about Body Language is that it talked a lot about mental health. You know there are people who live two three different lives, and they appear normal to you…”
The actress also spoke about why she started producing her own movies, challenges film makers face in Nigeria and how she has successfully kept her family out of the public glare over one decade.
To read the full interview, click HERE