ACTOR INTERVIEW: Interview with Celine Loader
My name is Celine Loader. I’ve been blessed with a distinguished over 20-year career as a corporate executive in various organisations (Microsoft, Aspire Media, UBA, FirstBank, Central Bank). I’ve never had any interest in acting as a career, but my passion for creative expression through writing and interpreting stories goes as far back as school dramas, church plays, end of term skits, etc. Aged about 16, I wrote a 45-minute stage play, scripted it and played the main character. It was a huge buzz.
Explain one creative choice you took on set?
Last Flight To Abuja is my first film role and Emelonye’s directing style gave us the freedom to express the characters as we felt them. I play the Co-pilot, Seye. She didn’t have much of a back story; she was interesting only to the extent that she was a lone female in a male-dominated profession. To give her a bit more dimension, I imagined that she had a secret crush on her colleague (the Pilot), thus introducing intrigue and more chemistry between the characters.
How would you describe acting? What is your most memorable screen character
It is the ability to inhabit the ‘skin’ of somebody else and seamlessly portray the behaviors, emotions, expectations, etc. that go with that person’s character and the situation (less ‘acting the part’, more ‘being the person’). Seye, the Co-Pilot in Last Flight To Abuja is my first acting role in a movie.
Do you get offers from other film industries like Hollywood & Nollywood
Won’t that be fun?! I look forward to that!
Merci Brazzaville, pour la 1ere Festival du Films des Femmes Africaine, avec opening movie #LastFlightToAbuja. Cool! pic.twitter.com/uVzEhnTDqv
— Celine Loader (@loadedceline) January 12, 2014
What do you think it takes to get Hollywood to hire Nollywood actors
A good hard-working agent, improved craftsmanship from the Nollywood actors and a generous dose of lady luck (being in the right place at the right time).
Did you study acting
I have never had formal training in acting because I’ve never considered acting as a career option for me. It has always been just another outlet to express myself creatively. I’m an intense movie buff. I watch movies with more than just a passing interest, always keenly observing great actors and trying to understand the kind of choices they make in effortlessly becoming these different characters in various movies. It’s fascinating!
Do you take acting courses to improve your craft as an actor
None. If I decide to take on more complex acting roles, I’ll have to go hone the craft, perhaps some Masterclasses at any of the renowned film training institutions.
What do you want most from a director?
A great script and clarity of the Director’s expectations. Also helpful to have on-going feedback on whether those expectations are being met, particularly for novice actor – you don’t want to be left to improvise or second-guess what the Director wants.
What acting technique do you use?
Instinct. But a clarity of the Director’s vision helps.
What helps your character on set
Again a great script as well as great rapport with co-stars.
When you are offered a role, what do you do next?
I have to get a clear sense of the whole overall story. Then I read the script a few times to get the flows and see where my character fits in. I may then research the character further if necessary, but rehearsals are vital!
How do you take a character in a script to an honest, believable and breathing person?
If the script is fully descriptive, including back-stories and sub-texts, then it makes it relatively easier to imagine yourself as that person, immerse yourself in their condition, and portray, as naturally as possible, the behaviors, emotions, personality, etc.
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