Today we’d like to introduce you to Emmanuel Okeke.
Emmanuel, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I knew at some point that there was another side of myself people needed to see in terms of being creative. I would watch television shows like Martin with my family and would talk at the TV saying “They gotta see me on TV, I bet I could do this!”. Growing up, I always had an entertaining personality especially with friends or just making people feel good when I come around.
My passion for acting and entertainment came later when I started to do funny skits with other creatives. I would also do rants and funny clips on social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, etc. I truly believe that being expressive in my content and constantly hearing that I had something special pushed me to pursue acting full time. Acting and entertainment have become an inner drive and passion of mines throughout my life. I started to know that my true purpose on this planet was to showcase the world of what I’m capable of doing and being free doing it.
Acting and being in entertainment became so important that I focused less on school. This was strange considering school always came first because of my upbringing. Being in a Nigerian household, education was important, yet, when it came to acting, I didn’t really put the devoted time into it. After I graduated from Kean University with my bachelor’s degree in International Business Management, I was really contemplating what I should do after college. Having that gut feeling that pursuing entertainment would make me happy gave me a burning desire to give my all into my passion. I started to change my content by doing rants on social media called “Hear Me Out Tho” which would help me find my niche. This was also designed to display my expressiveness in discussing different topics among society.
My first acting accomplishment came in March 2018 when I was on the front cover of Miami New Times website. This opportunity came from a cold reading of the Valentine’s Day Massacre by Joey Weisler at FilmGate Miami. Doing cold reads and meeting different actors, directors, and writers in Miami set the tone for me to attack acting full throttle. After this, being in Miami gave me the motivation to always move forward while loving the process of acting. I started attending more acting workshops and events, after a while, I noticed the constant grind I put in for my acting which leads to positive results and success. Seeing myself put the work in for my dream and making it a reality, whether it be difficult, was bittersweet.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When following your passion, the path of success will be difficult especially taking a leap of faith like I did. It’s an uphill rollercoaster of both good and bad experiences that will mold you into the person you need to be. Starting out in Miami, I received a lot of “No’s” at castings and auditions which discouraged me for a while. I never let the slammer doors force me to give up, I kept at it constantly making acting content and putting myself out there to be recognized. In spite of it all, I kept moving forward and put out content whether people liked it or not. Having the thrill to make content just because you are passionate about the field is a great feeling.
People eventually saw me for my content and cold reads, but I had to keep grinding towards accomplishing the groundwork for my goals in entertainment. I had to immerse myself in my craft and find more ways to put myself out there to be taken seriously as an actor. I quickly learned from my obstacles that your ambition would be tested to be successful in any field you chose.
My biggest struggle was (and still is) over-criticizing my own work and being too much of a “perfectionist” because of that want of being the best in any film I’m in. I began to become my worst enemy criticizing my work to the point of being overwhelmed. With acting, it’s all about being in the moment to express how you’re feeling in the scenes for a film. I’ve learned a lot from previous films to understand the mindset I should be in doing the scenes and learn to do better for my next role. As an artist, you are passionate and somewhat sensitive about anything put out. This is because you are proud to be part of a project that showcases emotions in a character. I always wanted to make sure that I expressed the character’s development thoroughly so the viewers understand the emotions being displayed in a film.
Another struggle I have is not being able to express certain emotions on command during the film. I want to learn how to cry on cue, which would aid me in having the ability to fluctuate through various emotions. Having this skill would definitely my skills as an actor on an even higher level. Emotions are keys for an actor to showcase depth within the character they are playing; it’s also gives a look to what the character is going through internally. Because of this, I practice daily with acting classes and YouTube videos to display those particular emotions so someday I can master them.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Right now, I am currently a full-time actor while tapping into modeling and fashion. My main purpose is trying not to place myself in a “box” venturing out in other fields with my acting being my top priority. For acting, I work on monologues, collaborations with other actors, demo reels, improv, acting techniques, etc. With that being said, I love every aspect of acting within the arts and cinema.
I love seeing the progression I made as an actor in two years and seeing how much content I have released. I take extreme pride in everything I do because it shows my versatility as an artist. My greatest accomplishment thus far was being the lead antagonist in my first feature film called “The Last Stub Master”. I truly thank Jonathan Gill and Ethan Goth for trusting in me to play the role; it was truly a blessing. The film was nominated in many film festivals and recently premiered on Amazon Prime.
I feel what separates myself from others is my ability to manipulate reality in my characters and give them their own identity in the film. When I get on board to do a film, I read for the character development on my role, the whole purpose of the film, finding life lessons, reality checks and so forth.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Being unpredictable has given good luck to me in terms of success because I always want to keep people on their toes on figuring out what I will do next. Putting my luck in the universe has challenged me to play different characters in different genes and not typecast myself on a certain look. My goal as an actor is for people to see me for my work and not assume that I’m only capable of portraying one kind of character. Therefore, luck on my shoulder has blessed me with opportunities to display my versatility in film. People are eager to see what my next move will be; if they know I have the potential or are just really good at what I can do from previous projects.
Challenging myself, along with having great luck, are great qualities to obtain because my only competition is myself. I have always wanted to take my acting to the next level by doing something out of my norm such as theater. Having social media brings me the luck I need to apply for castings for different forms of acting and receive great feedback from professionals. I’ve been told by others in the industry that I have a great presence and voice to do theater. Theater is much different from film because in film, you can mess up and start over after a cut.
Meanwhile, in the theater aspect, there ain’t no redos. Nevertheless, with luck and talent of course, I am blessed to step into a stage and perform a major production. I always want to surpass everything I did in the previous year or month in which gives me the confidence to take on different elements of films and acting.
Having a thankful mindset is very important with luck because there are many people in your field who are taking their start in the industry. For me, after every project, I give thanks to the casting director, writer, or producer for allowing me to be apart of their film. I do that personally because they could’ve gone another direction for casting but they gave me the opportunity to display my acting chops into one of their characters. Having positive vibes and being committed to the purpose will align me opened doors in perfect timing when luck is on your side. I said that to say this, I try my best to deliver a great performance while understanding the vision the director has for the character in the film. Thus far, luck hasn’t done me wrong for this year and I will keep moving forward with that thought in mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://imdb.me/EmmanuelOkeke
- Email: eokeke1@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eookeke/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eookeke/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eookeke1
- Other: http://www.backstage.com/u/emmanuelokeke
Image Credit:
Jeremy Alphonse
Instagram: @fashunwhoredur
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