Revealed!! How young actresses sleep with movie directors for roles – Angela Philips

Busty and beautiful Angela Philips has seen quite a few things as far as the Nigerian movie industry is concerned. Her run of good streaks began as ‘Efe’ in the popular but rested soap opera ‘Behind the Clouds’, then she reaffirmed her presence on the scene with a highly celebrated comedy ‘Osofiason’ and later went on to stamp her name as one of the leading ladies of the tube in ‘Domino’, another soap that lit households across the country in the early 2000s.

Born to a Lagosian father and an Imo State-born mother, Angela has an hybrid genes in her that allows her to deliver multi-ethnic roles with effortless gusto. But in spite of her enviable profile she is yet to find the man of her dream. In this encounter with Showtime Celebrity she opens up on her love life, career, the industry and lots more:

What have you been up to lately?
I’ve been away for a while doing a couple of things, but I’m fully back to doing movies.

Going down memory lane, what movie brought you to limelight?
I can’t really say, but I think it was Peacemaker, Pure Love, Confidence, Lust of the Flesh and the soap opera, Domino.

Having done movies and soap operas, which would you say is more challenging?
They both have their challenges but I think soap operas involve a lot of technicalities.
Having been in the industry for a long while as an actress, do you have plans to produce your own movie?
Of course, I’m coming out with something very soon.

You are a beautiful lady by all standards but you are yet to tie the knots, why is it so?
I guess it’s because the right man hasn’t come, but he’s around the corner.

What are those qualities you look for in a man?
He has to be God- fearing and must be willing to accept me for who I am. I don’t want to go into marriage today and come out of it tomorrow. I really want someone who would understand me.

What’s your take on the spate of celebrity broken marriages?
It’s getting worse by the day. I just pray that people will take out time to understand what marriage is about. Divorce is becoming rampant everywhere not just in the industry. It’s sad and so you find out that most singles don’t even want to get married.

When choosing your man, what do you consider, his looks or his pocket?
Everything is important – the looks and money. The most important thing is getting someone who will love you for who you are. I don’t believe money can buy love.

Can you mention some difficulties you’ve encountered in the course of your career?
Those days, when we started acting, when you told people you were an actress, they looked at you as if you were a prostitute. I think people are now beginning to accept acting like any other profession.

Some of the new and upcoming actresses usually complain about sexual harassment in the industry, what’s your experience in that regard?
I’ve never been sexually harassed. If you go for an audition half naked, what do you expect? Besides, most actresses are very desperate for movie roles, they are willing to do anything to act in a movie. So, it isn’t about being harassed, it is about you. If you set up yourself for harassment you would be harassed . Most upcoming actresses set themselves up for harassment.
Not at all.

Can you remember the most challenging role you’ve played?
I think it was in the movie ‘Pure Love’. I was much younger then and I had to play the role of a blind girl. I acted alongside Desmond Elliot and it was a Fidelis Duker film. Everyday, my eyeballs would have to roll up and my eyes were always open. My Grandma saw the movie and started weeping because she thought I had actually gone blind. People had to make her understand that it was make-believe.

Would you mind getting married to a colleague in the industry?
What really matters is the understanding. One’s husband can come from anywhere. Where he comes from is not the issue, what matters is the love you both share.

There’s been increase in the infusion of nudity and sexually explicit scenes in our movies these days…
That’s what the public want to see, so why are they complaining? They shouldn’t complain. If you shoot a movie where everyone is well dressed and covered from head to toe, nobody will buy it. They want to see nude girls. Nigerians should stop pretending. That’s what we like and those are the things that sell. Look at the musicians for instance, how many gospel songs sell? But when you look at the secular music, you’ll realise they’re making waves. Look at our music videos. Everybody likes nudity, be it in movies or music, so they should stop complaining.

Is there anything you would love to change in the industry?
I just pray that we get united because that’s the only way things will work out. There’s a lot of disagreement, people forming different groups and all that. We are supposed to be one body.

What’s your relationship with your colleagues like?
I’m friends with everybody. I don’t have an enemy and I don’t have a special friend.

How do you see the crop of young upcoming actresses in the industry?
I don’t even understand them at all. Unlike those days when we got into the industry, there was discipline, strictness and ethics. God will help all of us.

How would you compare the earlier days and now?
Those days, we had respect for our seniors and those we met in the industry. We were one big happy family. Those days, when we finished shooting and you were leaving, the people you were leaving behind would start crying. Now, it’s all business, no close relationship. When I did my first film, Osuofiason, I was treated like a young sister by the likes of Nkem Owoh, Tony One Week, Mr. Ibu among others. Now, everyone is hustling on their own.

Do you think being well-endowed, especially your boobs, has opened doors for you?
I don’t know. To others it might, but I don’t think it has contributed to where I am today. You might give me a role because I’m well endowed, but if you didn’t tell me that was why I was given the role I wouldn’t know. I only know I was given the role as me.

Are you in a relationship at the moment?
Let’s not go there please, so you don’t drive people away (Laughs). I’m still searching o.

What should fans expect from you?
They should expect a better me. I’m fully back to the industry and I’m not going anywhere. I’ve come to stay.

Is there any role you’d turn down?
I can’t be nude in a film, so I would turn down that role. No matter the amount of money involved, it’s not possible.