“My father didn’t want me to be an actor” – Chidi Mokeme
In an interview, Nollywood actor Chidi Mokeme revealed that his decision to become an actor was met with disapproval from his father.
He explained that before pursuing acting, he had a career as a model. To fully commit to his acting aspirations, Mokeme shared that he had to leave his home.
During a conversation with media personality Chude Jideonwo, the actor humorously recounted, “You couldn’t even say you want to be an actor before you will hear that he [my father] didn’t want you to be an actor [laughs].”
Mokeme went on to describe how he would sneak out of his house to participate in movie shoots, TV productions, and modeling commercials. He recalled his early days as a model, engaging in activities such as commercial modeling, runway shows, TV commercials, and calendar shoots.
This allowed him to pursue his passion while minimizing the chances of his father discovering his activities, as his father was not involved in that particular industry.
“But on many occasions when I came back late from shoots, he asked me to go back to wherever I was coming from. From all the sneaking out and of course, there was passion. I just knew that I was happy when I was in this [entertainment] space.
“And I think what broke the camel’s back, eventually, I tried to read pharmacy but it wasn’t happening then I eventually went into computer science.
But when I got to school, there were no computers. There was just one computer in the entire department and that computer sits on the table of the lecturer. So I left because it wasn’t interesting anymore.
“Then, I decided to leave home. I didn’t just pack my bags and leave, it was from all the experiences of ‘go back where you are coming from.’ I started committing more so that my dad would say I should go back to where I am coming from.”
