Zack Orji talks ‘pastoral duties’ and more in new interview

 Zack Orji is a veteran actor who has seen all the tricks in the movie
industry. Though he recently took up the cloak of a pastor, it doesn’t appear
the vineyard of the Lord has taken all the tricks away from him as a consummate
thespian. Read his recent interview with showbiz below:

Well, I just did a very brief
appearance in the opening scene. It was just one scene where I played the role
of a father to two daughters.

They are foreign actors and it was
fun in the sense that I had to fly to London just to shoot that one scene. Even
though it was a Nigerian scene, they had to fly me to the studio in London to
shoot the scene and I spent some days there.

Tell us about your pastoral work?

I’m an ordained pastor with Power
Line Bible Church.

Was it a divine call from God or did
the church just decide to ordain you?

(Laughs) If it’s not a divine call,
what then is it, a diabolical call? Actually, the church decided to ordain me,
but you know before the church decides to do that, there must be a prompting by
the Holy Spirit. So when it came, I couldn’t say ‘no’, because you don’t say ‘no’
when God says ‘yes’.

As a pastor, how has the experience
been?

I’ve been coping very well, it has
taken me around, it has taken me to preach in Canada, South Africa, Liberia,
Ghana, Morovia, Toronto and then all around Nigeria. I’ve been to at least three
to four cities in South Africa to minister the word of God.

How do you manage being an actor and
a preacher?   

I’m not a full-time pastor in the
sense that I’m not a pastor who owns a church. I’m a member of Power Line Bible
Church. The difference is that I’m a member of the pastoral council, but I
still do my work.

But doesn’t it affect the kind of
roles you play?

It doesn’t, it hasn’t affected the
kind of roles I play, but I’m very careful about the kind of roles I accept to
play now, because of the long years I have put in the industry and the fact
that I am very critical about any particular job that comes my way.

I want to make sure that the script
has been well written before I take part in it and also make sure that all the
elements of production are in place.

Do you plan to set up your own
church in future?

No, not right now. I have thought
about it but it’s not something I intend to do. But we can’t say what God would
want us to do in a few years from now, but right now it’s not in my agenda at
all.

Would you mind a political
appointment?     

If it agrees with me, yes. We are
all called to serve in different regards. You may be called to serve
spiritually, you may be called to serve your country in one capacity or
another, it all depends. I have shouldered responsibilities over the years.

As far back as 1978, I was the
leader of a delegation of Nigerian students who were sponsored by the French
embassy on a three-week holiday programme in Lome. There were about sixty
students from Nigeria and I was the leader of that delegation.

Right from time, I have served in
one way or the other in different capacities, so it all depends. If it’s
something that agrees with me; why not?

In my secondary school, I was senior
prefect. I was the old Anambra state school champion in shot-put and discus. I
even represented the state in the national sports competition from my
University. I was also the president of Estate Department Students’
Association.

As a popular actor, how do you
relate with your fans?

I just try to be nice to everyone.
This job has taught me to be humble, because just a smile can make someone’s
day, just a ‘hi’ and spending few minutes to say “How are you?” can really make
someone happy. I have come to take it in my stride, though sometimes it is not
convenient for me, but I believe that anyone who must acknowledge somebody else
must first of all humble himself to do that.

Can you recall any embarrassing
moment with a female fan?

Yes, some time ago I was in
Washington DC when a lady saw me in a super market and there were a lot of
people there. It was unbelievable to her and she said, “Oh my God! I just
watched you this morning, oh my God” She started shouting and called the
attention of the entire supermarket, “Come and see, he’s an actor from my
country, Nigeria.

I just watched him this morning!” I
begged her to stop and she paid for everything I bought in the supermarket that
day. I was also in Johannesburg sometime ago, when a lady walked up to me and
just stretched out her hand. I was a bit embarrassed because she just came,
looked me straight in the eyes and stretched out her hand for a handshake.

I looked back at her and said, “In
my country, young women do not stretch out their hands to shake older men or to
shake a man”. She said, “Oh I’m very sorry, it’s just that I’ve been watching
you and I can’t believe that you are in my country”.

She then said “Ok, what am I
supposed to do? I said “You will bend down and I will pat you on the back”.
Immediately, she bent down and I patted her on the back and she just stayed
like that, walking, shouting and saying, “He patted me on the back!” (Laughs)

Can you talk briefly about your
son’s musical career and why did he choose music over acting?

He has acted before. He studied
media and television at the University of Bradford in England and graduated in
2012. He’s doing his youth service now. He said music is what he wants to do
and I said okay, fine, no problem.

He’s a grown man, right now he’s
above 21years of age, so he can decide for himself what he wants to do. What I
have discovered is that any young man who has gone to the university has the
right to decide his future.

You can’t stop him because at the
end of the day we follow our talent, skill and passion. I advise a lot of young
people I train, I tell them you must discover who you are, your calling, gifts,
skills, talents and strengths.

Now, he has dropped two songs and we
are now planning to shoot the video and after that, we will begin to promote it
on radio, television and in clubs.

What have you got to say about movie
producers sexually harassing female actresses?

I don’t know. There may be some
truth in it and there has to be proof.  I know that as a producer, I have
never harassed anybody. Besides, people are so desperate these days that they
offer themselves. Also, some of these people just want to give producers a bad
name, sometimes, some of them do not measure up.

They think it is by sleeping around
that they would get a juicy role. It’s not necessarily by sleeping around, but
by applying your strength, talent, expressing and proving yourself. I do not
deny that there is sexual harassment, but it is everywhere, not just in the
movie industry. The thing is that human beings are predators.

When human beings are in a position
where they can dole out some largess, some now exhibit their terrible
characters. Some people just need to be put in a position of authority and you
will see that they are animals.

That doesn’t mean we do not have
genuine producers who are thoroughly looking for talents to want to use in
their movies, because at the end of the day a good actor is a good actor. If
you do not deliver, people will watch and they will see that this guy is not
good or this girl is not good.