Interview with Peace Oni

My name is Peace Oni. I am 22, and I started acting career in the a church drama group. I took many roles in various plays, before I worked professionally with Prof. Bode Sowande on his play “Circus of Freedom Square” in 2009. I studied Economics at The Ajayi Crowther University. The play was for school convocation ceremony. My work with him triggered the actor within and after that play, I knew I would go into the movie industry.

Did you study acting?
After college, I enrolled at the Royal Arts Academy, for a three months course in acting and screenwriting. I took dance classes, elocution and audition master classes. I learnt from the likes of Sukanmi Adebayo, Anthony Kehinde Joseph, Yinka Ogun and Uduak Oguamanam.

What acting technique do you use?
I use the method acting technique which involves reproduction of the emotional state of the character that I play. The technique involves recalling emotions or sensations from my own life. Sometimes this can be limiting, so I also use the Stella Adler’s technique. This is based on the idea that an actor should conjure up emotion not by their personal memories alone but by using the scene’s given circumstances.

Describe wrong impressions actors hold about acting
A common mistake actors get involved in, is they read out their character lines and ‘act’ like their characters. But that isn’t what acting is about. Acting involves becoming your character. Understand your character and live their life off the script.

What acting books do you read
I read any acting book I can lay my hands on. I workout and do the acting exercises. I also do voice exercises.

When you’re offered a role, what do you do next
When I am offered a role, I read the script repeatedly to understand the story, the scene’s, the emotional demands of the script, my character and the other characters in the story.

How do you take a character in a script to a honest, believable and breathing person
First, an actor has to understand her character and that is what I try to do. I analyze my character, try to understand why she does the things she does and I empathize with my character and place myself in her shoes. This way, I become the character and live her life. I try to read my scripts over again and even when there is a cut, I’m still in character.

What actor or director do you long to work with
I think a director must be creative and open to advice and opinions. I would love to work with Tyler Perry. I think Tyler Perry is the total package (Actor, Director, Screenwriter and Producer). He is good at everything he does and he inspires me in many ways.

What advice would you give actors
An actor needs to learn more about the craft. She must read books, study movies, study actors, and keep learn. The more you know, the better you become.

Write about your career
My career started professionally in a few years back. I have made appearances in a T.V 1-hour drama and in a feature length movie. I have written 5 1-hour movies for T.V. I am very excited about the things I have achieved and the things I will achieve!