I love looking SEXY in pictures—Nollywood actress Cynthia Agholor

Nollywood actress and producer, Cynthia Agholor, started out as a kid actor in Tales by Moonlight, among other TV drama series. Since her emergence on the movie scene, she has acted in a number of movies, thereby making a name for herself. She speaks with FIRSTCLASSNEWSLINE on the controversies surrounding her career, among other isues.

YOU are always in the news over one controversy or the other…

(Cuts in) It is the work of the press! If I say one thing, other things will be written about me; so, sometimes, I avoid these things. There is nothing one can do about it.

Sometimes, you come across as one who enjoys controversies.

(Laughs)Nobody enjoys controversies. It is just that I am an open person and a realist. I don’t like mincing words. I say it the way I feel like saying it. I am just that kind of a person who is straightforward.

But you once said that you would rather marry a white man than a Nigerian?

That impression is wrong. That is why for a long time, I avoided granting interviews. It was not what I said. People misunderstood me, but there is one thing that keeps me happy: that is the fact that I know myself. People who know me understand my kind of person. They know what I can do and what I cannot do.

What I said was that, I like the character of the white man because I have dated a white guy and I prefer his character to the character of the black guy I dated. He asked me why and I said because he was more straightforward and truthful than the black guy I dated. I used myself as an example. I never said I would prefer to marry a white man.

Are you saying that white men are better that black guys?

When he asked me for other comparisons, I said Blacks  could not be compared to the white guys because they are more endowed and more real. I, however, added that when it comes to character, I prefer the white. That was all I said and then the next thing I heard was that people were blasting me that I said I was going to marry a white guy. But it doesn’t really matter who I marry because everybody is the same. We are all created by God. But that is not to say I don’t have the right to know someone with good character and otherwise. Are you in a relationship at the moment?

Yes!

How does he feel reading all these controversies surrounding you?

That is why I said I am happy because if you become my friend today, you will see a different Cynthia. Tomorrow, when they write something about me, you will laugh because you would have known the Cynthia they are writing about. I am quite different from what they write about me. Anybody who is close to me knows that. It might take a lot of courage for people to come close to me; but once they do, they will definitely change their attitude because I am very different from what they write. My happiness is that my spouse knows the kind of person I am; knows me in toto and can even vouch for me. That is why when these things happen, I laugh because I know myself and my family and friends know me. Above all, God knows me.

How do you react when you read these stories?

What do I do? Sometimes, when I read it, I get so upset. At some point, I just let it go. The least I could do is to call the person and ask him or her why. There is nothing else I can do rather than just ignore. I know God is watching.

There are those who believe that you give room for the controversy because of your sultry photographs all over the Internet

Those are people who just stand up and write. Most times, people just wake up and write things without interviewing me. I love photographs; I am a model and an ex-beauty queen. I love to take those kinds of photographs. I hardly send anybody my photographs. But you know, there is no way people can’t get your pictures, if they want them. There was a time I had photographs all over my Facebook page, but if you check it now, you will notice that I removed all of them. I had to do that because some people were using them for fraud and all that. I only added just two pictures because some of my fans got bothered and they started reaching out to me.

What beauty contest did you win?

That was back then. I used to be the Miss Campus in my school and I was one time Miss Lagos.

It seems you have let that part of your life go?

It is still in me. I used to do runways and I still do it. Right now, I even train models and organise beauty pageants. I am the organiser of the Miss AGN Beauty Pageant. I also have my own pageant called the Little Queen of Lagos. It is a pageant for kids. I have not done it this year. I actually wanted to do it, but I had some little challenges here and there. I am planning to do it next year. I have done my first edition. I am just about doing the second edition.

Who exactly is Cynthia Agholor?

Cynthia is an actress, producer and model. I grew up in Lagos and had my primary and secondary education in Lagos. I went to the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, where I studied Banking and Finance. I am the only child of my mother, but I have other siblings from my late father. I am from Agbor in Delta State.That is about all.

Is there any truth in the saying that anyone who is the only child of his or her family is bound to be spoilt?

I don’t know about that, but it doesn’t apply to me because I have an elder sister from my father. It was later that I got to know that she was not actually my mother’s daughter. We bonded together and I wasn’t raised as an only child. My mother wouldn’t take that. She disciplines when it calls for it. She doesn’t want to know if I am an only child. At a point, I even left my mum to live with my aunt. There was no special treatment given to any child in the house. My cousins lived with us too and we were all like one big family. We were raised together.

At what point did you decide to be an actress?

I was quite young when I started acting. I actually started acting when I was six years old. I started with NTA’s Tales by Moonlight. As a kid, when I saw people acting on TV, I tried to imitate them. My mum noticed my talent in time and by the time I told her that I was interested in acting, she took me to NTA. They auditioned me for Tales by Moonlight and I was accepted. That was how I started acting. I got into acting proper was when I was introduced to Chico Ejiro. All the while, I was in NTA doing kiddies shows on Tales by Moonlight, Kiddies Vision 101 and other children programmes.

I am sure a lot of people haven’t heard this part of you…

(Cuts in) It could be because I was a small girl. I was still a teenager back then, so I wouldn’t have made so much impact then. But I was always there. So, there was nothing to make me big because in our movies then, it was either the producers featured small kids or adults. Teenagers were hardly noticed. I did a movie, Sergeant Okoro, with Opa Williams, back then and I played a major role in it. I played the teenage daughter of Sergeant Okoro played by the late Sam Loco. The role was something that sold me to people. There was one other movie I did in 2000; it was Lancelot Imasuen’s first film. I played the lead character as a teenager. That was the movie that really gave me recognition. I had to grow up for people to notice me.

So far, how would you say the industry is treating you?

As I said, I started early in the industry and everything about me is about showbiz. I grew up in it. Everything I know, everything I have and everything I’m doing today is in line with the showbiz world because this is an industry I have known. I have stayed in it, come out of it, done other things, left the industry and gone to school. I even studied something that was not acting-related. I studied Banking and Finance. My intention was to come out and face other things, but I couldn’t do it. I had to come back to the industry, so everything I do is about showbiz. Right now, I do a lot of things concerning movie production.

Are you working on any movie?

I just finished one that I co-produced with someone. He actually produced the European part of it, while I produced the Nigerian scenes, and we just wrapped it up a few days ago.

What is it about?

The movie is about the lives of Nigerians and Africans in Europe, how they live their lives, how Nigerian men and ladies get involved with one another over there in Germany and how they get married. The major character is Mercy Johnson. Some comedians like Gordons, Tony Akposheri, Comfort Okoronkwo as well as Germans featured in it.

What is the next thing for you?

I just finished the production we talked about. I have been in Abuja for some time. I went to do some movies for people. I just finished about three productions. There is another project I want to start; it is a beauty pageant. That is what I want to start right now. It is called the Miss Uromi Beauty Pageant, which I am organising for my friend.