Ireti Doyle was too embarrassed to tell people that she wanted to act

She had the passion, but was shy to say it.

Ireti Doyle has disclosed that before she became an actress, she was rather embarrassed to tell people that she wanted to act.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Terms and Conditions podcast, the actress noted that in the early days of nursing a career for acting, she just couldn't bring herself to tell people.

She said, "I was embarrassed, I couldn't say it out loud for you long time. I don't even know why now that I'm thinking about it, but I was just embarrassed to say it. And I remember, you know, when something is gnawing at your very insides, all I knew was I just wanted to act."

At the time, Dolye who was already independent from her parents and living alone, said it took a friend asking her about it before she could vocalise the words.

Narrating the story, she said, "So I remember the the first time I would alter the words it was to a friend of mine. He said 'You have been moody. You've been crying. What is it?' You know, there's some people who see-see you and have more experience with you. So he was like 'What do you want? There's something you want.' And I was too embarrassed to say it out loud. I didn't say I want to act, I said something else. I said I wanted to be a star. That was the first thing that came out of my mouth and thankfully he didn't laugh at me. He then asked what I meant, then I said 'I want to act,' and he was like 'Now we know.'"

More than two decades later, Doyle, who also called herself "a late bloomer," has become one of the most sort after actresses in the country.