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Popular actor, Zack Orji has said that he supports his son, Leo’nel’s music career because he believes that everyone has their different gifts which they must utilise to succeed in life. According to him, he didn’t even try to persuade his son to follow in his footsteps as an actor.

In the words of the veteran actor, ‘Everyone has the skill and talent that are embedded in them from God, the creator, and the only way we can achieve the purpose of our creation is by fulfilling the purpose that God created us for, which is to make use of what He has put in us and then bring it out for the benefit of our community. So when my son, Leo’nel said he wanted to go into media, I said fine I will give you all the support as long as you work hard to be the best.’

Speaking on his first reaction when his son told him of his plans to go into music, he said, ‘I welcomed his decision.  When he finished secondary school, I asked him what he wanted to do, and he said media; that he would like to study media enterprise. He eventually got admission into the University of Bradford where he studied Media with Television. Even before then, he said when he finishes, he wants to do music. At the end of the day, you cannot force your child to be what you want him to be.’

Hinting that another of his children is also delving into entertainment, he said, ‘I have three children; a son and two daughters. My first daughter is already showing an inclination towards music. In the last Kids Got Talent Awards that was held at the Muson Center, she won two awards: Best Creative Act, and People’s Online Choice award. My point of view is that we should encourage our children to be the best they can be. Whatever it is your child shows a special skill in, you should encourage them because anything can raise a child from nothing to something, and bring glory to the family. The Bible says a man’s gift will make a way for him and bring him before kings.’

On his perception of actors then and now, he stated, ‘We have good actors now just like we had good actors back then. The quality of acting has improved, and don’t forget that some of us are still around.’

On whether  Nollywood is paying attention to the technical aspects of filmmaking, he quipped, ‘We are already paying attention, but it takes some time; it is not an overnight thing. Don’t forget that we all have our strong points. South Africa is doing well when it comes to media, and technical aspects of movie production, and when it comes to performance, Nigeria is there. I’m glad to say that an award like AMAA has created a certain convergence of various aspects of motion picture practice to the point that when we see work coming from other African countries  that are better than ours, we strive to gravitate towards that level. It is already happening; not only in movie-making, but also in in the music industry as well. I can assure you that we are definitely working towards it.’