Cynthia
Agholor will tell anyone who cares to listen that she has been having a
wonderful time in Nollywood even though she started acting as a child
many years ago.
What has not been kind to her, as Cynthia
is certain to tell you, is the media who have continued to spread
negative stories about her.
Beautiful, busty and brainy, Cythia is
a simple woman who will rather have a glass of wine instead of going
all the way even with the man of her dream, out of wedlock. In this chat
with Showtime Celebrity, she opens up on variety of scandals trailing
her career and why she prefers dating a white guy to a black man.
Where did you grow up and what was it like growing up?
I grew up here in Lagos at Ebute Metta. Though I can’t speak Yoruba
fluently but I understand the language. I didn’t get to mingle freely
with Yoruba people because we lived on Herbert Macaulay Road where we
don’t have many Yorubas. I attended St. Jude Primary and Secondary
Schools, in Ebute Metta. During my Secondary school days, I travelled to
Aba to sojourn briefly with my aunty. I sat for my JSCE in Aba before
returned to Lagos for my SSCE.
Within this period I have been into
acting. Then as a child I was in “Tales By Moonlight”, “Kiddies Vision
101”. I have been doing all these kiddies stuffs with NTA since my
Primary School days. The only period I had a break from acting was when I
went to Aba to stay with my aunty. I also stopped acting for a while
when I got an admission into Federal Polytecnic, Oko, in Anambra State.
When
I was in Oko, I did a bit of modelling because modelling was a lot
easier than acting. While acting takes you from one place to place, you
can do modelling within the area you are based. After my education and
the National Youth Service Corps in 2006, I came back to Lagos and since
then, I have been doing one job or the other. Now, I am an actress and a
producer.
There is a belief that some stars worked their
way through; while others either slept their way through or simply got
lucky. What worked for you?
Right now I wouldn’t even
call myself anything. Whatever happened to anyone in this life God must
have allowed it to happen. I only thank God for taking me where I am
today. When I was growing up in the industry I had friends that are now
bigger than I am. Someone like Genevieve Nnaji, we all grew up together
in the industry and we were like friends, moving around from one place
to another, looking for jobs but today she is everywhere in the world.
That is how God has decided to bless her. Because I am not like her
today doesn’t mean anything to me. To me, the way I am now is the way
God wants me to be. Whatever anybody is in the industry; whether you
worked your way, slept your way or got lucky it is the destiny God has
fashioned for you.
One actress once told me that it is impossible to go through the industry without being sexually harassed. How true is that?
Yes,
it is not exactly untrue but it all depends on how you conduct
yourself. s*xual harassment is always there, not only in the movie
industry but everywhere. Even though it is always there it is not a must
that everyone must experience it. Maybe, she was unlucky to have met
those randy producers and directors but there are decent people also.
In your own case, did you ever encounter such ugly incident?
Well, in those days when we were growing up in the industry there is no
lady or young girl that would say she didn’t encounter s*xual
harassment in one form or another.
Even me, I had my experience
but I shrugged it off and made the person understand I didn’t come into
the industry for that. When the person wouldn’t budge I left that
production for another production where I knew they were decent people.
Thank God, I met some decent producers and directors who featured me
without harassing me.
As a well-endowed woman, would you say that has helped your career?
(Laughing) I really don’t know but judging from some of the roles I
have played it could be as a result of my endowment. Like the recent
movie I did the producer actually wanted me to show off my b**bs, he
said to really compliment the role of a husband snatcher.
Even the
one I’m doing right now in Ibadan I’m playing the role of a seductress.
Anyway, most producers have featured me in roles that portrays me as a
sexy character. But really I don’t know, maybe if I’m not well-endowed
they wouldn’t have been starring me in such roles.
What do you really think enriches one as an actress, beauty and talent?
I will choose talent over beauty or appearance. There’s no way you will
look as a human being that you will not have a role to play. Regardless
of your looks, if you are very talented they might create a role for
you, from there you can be a big star. And I will not call appearance
into it now and I will not say beauty because there are many beautiful
girls out there who are not talented and they are just there, not making
it. And there are some ladies who are disadvantaged by their looks but
are making it because of their talents.
Have you ever had a romantic relationship within the industry? No.
Why? I just don’t want to.
So, you have never been approached or what?
Of course, I have had several approaches but in the film industry where
we are I see everybody as my brother. Maybe, it’s a principle, I just
don’t want to date anybody within the industry.
There has been many scandals about you. How have they affected your career?
At
first, when I started reading untrue, scandalous things about me, as a
human being I was depressed. I would feel so bad that I would want to
know the person who wrote the piece but at a point when I realised it
wouldn’t just stop , it just didn’t bother me any more. I am who I am
and whoever knows me know who I am. It has not affected my career in any
way and I am consoled by the fact that God knows the truth.
There was a rumour some time ago that you fought with Cossy Orjiakor in public and got yourselves stri*ped?
That
was a very big lie but then what do I do. I heard it but had to
overlook it because that was a very big lie. Even at the end of the day,
the person that wrote the story came to apologise to me. The journalist
said she just wanted to make noise. For me, it’s a bygone, I wouldn’t
do that with anyone let alone Cossy. Cossy is my friend. I never had a
fight with even my enemy.
The report was trying to paint a
picture that you and Cossy were in competition with each other over
whose b**bs are bigger and finer…
(laughing): I never
knew that. I think I am hearing that for the first time. Cossy is my
friend. We never quarrelled even during the time we lived together. At a
time, she was staying with me and later moved into her own house. When
some people see two people being friends they just imagine things and
write stuffs about them. Me and Cossy are still friends till date.
Can you marry a married man like some of your colleagues in the industry are doing?
Oh,
what a question! I wouldn’t marry a married man because the man is
married. I can only marry such a man if he is divorced. If the man is
divorced he is no longer married, then I can marry him with or without
children. There is nothing wrong in a man having children. If the person
is nice and we are compatible, why not? I don’t mind
So, what will attract you to a man?
First, the man has to be very humble, God-fearing and truthful. I don’t
see why two people in a relationship should lie to each other. I like
people to always tell me the truth regardless of the situation. I think
that is the major thing that attracts me to a man. I like surprises.
Instead of telling me things to elevate yourself let me find out and be
surprised. I love men who are humble.
What do you first consider before picking up a role?
The story. I love good story-lines. If the story is not so good I can
call the producer and make suggestions because I am a writer too. If the
person doesn’t want to take corrections I could drop the script. I
really love doing something very interesting. It is not all about money
all the time, sometimes, it is just about giving people something to
remember you by.
What’s your idea of s*x generally. How often should it be done?
I think s*x is good when someone is married. You know, you do it
without fear of committing a sin or committing adultery. s*x is
something every couple , married couple, should do, probably, everyday, I
don’t know, probably every time they are moved to do it.
s*x has
the real pleasure when you are doing it without any form of fear. I’m
not saying unmarried people should not engage in s*x because there is
nothing I will say that will make them stop but somebody like me, every
time I do it I always feel bad that I’m sinning against God. Even before
s*x I feel frigid because there is always that looming fear that I’m
not doing what is right. That is for me, I don’t know about any other
person. If I’m married to the man then I will feel very free and enjoy
it very well.
You and Elvis Lamptey, a Ghanaian producer,
you are reportedly dating, what went wrong, they said you dumped him for
another lover? Yeah, I have never reacted to that story!
Who will believe me if I say I don’t know anybody called ‘Elvis
Lamptey’. I don’t know how they came up with that, maybe because I went
to Ghana to shoot a couple of films. Please, I don’t know anyone by that
name. The only Elvis I know is Elvis Chuks, a Nigerian director and
actor. He has been my friend for years and there has never been any
romantic involvement between us.
When I read the story online, I
was shocked. The only Elvis I know I haven’t seen for a long time. Even
at that, I don’t feature in his film because we don’t even get to see
each other. The last time, I saw him was at an event and he was like
“Cynthia, where have you been all these years?”. That day he introduced
me to the girl he wanted to marry.
The report said you dumped the Elvis Lamptey for one Udofia Ugoo, who is a US based entertainment promoter…
(Cuts
in): honestly, that is another big lie. I don’t know anybody by that
name too. What is bad about the whole thing is that I am in a big
relationship and if the man doesn’t know me very well, he might be
thinking I am doing something else somewhere. It is not fair. It is very
wrong for people to just concoct things that never happened and slam it
online to tarnish your image and disturb your life. The only Udofia I
know is Cornel, the publicist. I have never known any other person by
that name.
You once dated a White guy and there was an interview where you said you regretted dating a White guy…
(Cuts
in) that was years ago. Did I ever say I regretted dating the guy? That
was a long time ago and now that I am more mature I will say White guys
are better. For one, they wouldn’t break your heart unnecessarily. If
you want me to compare I will say White guys are better lovers because
of their truthfulness.
What if we look at the difference between the two in bed. Which would you say is better?
(Laughing) oh, what a question! Well, it depends on how you go about
it. A man is a man. I am not saying that Black men are not blessed
naturally more than the whites. They seem to be more endowed but then it
still depends on how you go about it. You can get whatever you want
from the white man depending on how you go about it.
So, what are you working on now?
I am still working on a soap opera that will be finished soon. Five
episodes have already been shot. Season one is already out, we are
working on season two and three and we are planning to release them
together. We are also planning another movie that will be screened in
cinemas. I have a partner I am working with. Those are the ones I am
doing on my own. I am also working with other producers on variety of
jobs.