RMD: The Nollywood legend who wants to ‘play God’
RMD’s major wish at the moment is to play the role of God in a film or major television series.
At 58, Richard Mofe Damijo - widely referred to as RMD - has achieved so much after leaving Warri in Delta state with high hopes of making it big in Lagos.
A young RMD looked up to major Nigerian TV stars - Jide Ogungbade, Jimi Solanke, Sola Omole - and just wanted to emulate their brilliance matched with fame. Little did he know fate had so much in store for him until 1988.
In his early days in Lagos, RMD worked as a reporter in newspaper houses that include Concord and Guardian.
Though he studied Theatre Arts at the University of Benin, he didn’t get the chance to show his skills until he featured in a popular TV soap opera, ‘Ripples’. The soap opera ran for five years on NTA and laid the foundation and making of a Nollywood legend.
In 1991, RMD’s acting ability was yet again called upon by the late Amaka Igwe for a role in hit soap opera, ‘Checkmate’. For three years - 1991 to 1994 - RMD held Nigerian audience spellbound as Segun Kadiri, the most notable enemy of the Haatrope dynasty, who later fell in love with Ann Haatrope.
ALSO READ: RMD and Ego Boyo are the most memorable Nigerian TV couple of all time
28 years after leaving an indelible mark in the memories of viewers and fans across the globe, RMD feels though the audience is the same and are now more spoiled for choice, he has gained more fans.
He said, “I think viewers are the same. They are spoiled for choices now. So that's what has changed from the days' world to now. The TV has left the screen, the wall, the big screen TV has lifted since or I would like to say content has left the big screen, it's now on the phone. So YouTube, there are all kinds of things, you know, people are just there is complete disruption. So people are spoiled for choice about the audience. They like what they like, and how have I been able to sustain it? Or do I still think that I have the power to attract people to watch what I do? I think I've gained more audience if anything, and I'm grateful for that because I never take my audience for granted.
“For me, every encounter every chance to be on stage you're to be in the film or to be in TV series is a chance to say thank you to the audience and once you operate how this theory of acting that it is not about stylistics, is not about being a method actor or being .... It's about, you know, the sincerity of purpose, it's about love for what you're doing and true commitment to what you do.
“So if I'm playing a role, once there is a sincere approach to the role then people can connect, there is no magic to it, you know, call it whatever name you want to call it, people will empathize with you, once you are able to connect with them. It's almost spiritual. And so once the circle, once you have been able to reach them, that circle continues and the energy just grows and grows and grows and grows and never diminishes, you know, so because I do that all the time, I contact my audience all the time, and I express how grateful I am to always be able to stand in front of them. They give me back giving me back means just applauding, you know, and that that that is always something that I will forever be grateful about.”
It’s been over 30 years in the world of make-believe and RMD has acted in a little over 60 films but currently, he dreams of acting God.
“I wanna play God, it is one of my bucket lists. I have played the devil in another film, ‘Made in Heaven.’ I missed the chance to play God recently, so but I want to play God, I want to play God. I played I think I played the president. I want to play God. Yeah. I just want to play God, I want to play God's character. It’s funny, but since I watched ‘Oh my God by this old actor and then when I saw Amitabh Bachchan, the Indian actor in (God Tussi Great Ho), now that I have some grays, so by the time I'm probably 60 something and the greys are little bit greyer, like snow white, I would probably get a role to play God or I write one myself,” he told Pulse in an exclusive chat.
For a man who enjoys love from millions of fans for being imbued with the ability to interpret roles convincingly, his filmography would have been expected to be higher than a little over 60. However, the ex-Special Adviser and ex-Commissioner in Delta state say ‘it’s not about the number of films you do, but the quality of the films that you do.’
“In the prolific period of Nollywood as it were, I didn't jump on every bandwagon or on every film that came my way. I've always tried to be very selective about the kind of films I did. And in a lot in a lot of ways I feel very blessed that you know, my, my little body of work can kind of compare with any other person's body of work. For me, it is not about the number of films you do, but the quality of the films that you do. I didn't see a lot of films that I did at that time,” RMD says as he explains reasons for appearing in a little over 60 movies in over three decades.
The lawyer, PR consultant, actor and politician says not many of his fans and colleagues know that he has an aversion to watching himself because he is own biggest critic.
He says, “Apart from few films like ‘Violated’ and ‘Out of bounds’ and maybe any other film that had a premiere, most of the other films that came out them, I didn’t watch. I cringe when I watch myself, so when I’m in a premiere, I watch others watching me because it's like there are a thousand and one ways I could have done it. If I do something twice, I'll do it differently. So I have this serious aversion to watching myself.”
RMD believes that actors don’t retire, hence, he believes roles will always come as long as people breathe. He goes to say people will always want to escape or want to be entertained or want to be taught a lesson or something, so roles will always be there for any good actor to interpret.
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