Miss Tilii:Oh i am doing great, I guess after phone tagging and all that, we finally get to speak. Alexx Ekubo: Yes and I want to apologise again for not contacting you earlier after we last spoke when I was in in Jo’burg and said I will. I just totally forgot and that is so not my style at all. Once again I am very sorry. Today- no matter what we have to get this interview done this time. No more postponing (laughs).
Miss Tilii:Yes, and I totally understand Alexx, I kinda figured it out. And I so appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to do this interview, considering its so late back in Lagos now. I promise this will take no more than 45mins. I will make it quick and like I said before in my email – I will make this as comfortable as possible and if there is any question you don’t want to answer, that’s totally fine with me. I am just doing this for your increasing female fans that are yearning to know more about you. Ok Alexx Ekubo: Ok
Miss Tilii:So tell me a lil about yourself – how would you describe your personality to us Alexx Ekubo: I will describe myself as a level headed guy who is very family oriented, Pro Nigerian, Loves Jesus, likes to hang out with my family and friends etc
Miss Tilii: We all know you are Nigerian, but tell me a lil about yourself, What is your background, where you born and what state are you from? Alexx Ekubo: I am from Abia state (Arochukwu), Born in Port Harcourt, Lived in Kano and Raised in Lagos. My dad’s job took us around quite a bit.
Miss Tilii:What is your family background – you have any brothers and sisters? Alexx Ekubo: I am the 2nd born of four. I have an older sister, a younger sister and a younger brother.
Miss Tilii:What is your educational background and what was your major in university? Alexx Ekubo: I attended Federal Government College of Daura in Katsina State, gained a diploma in Mass Communication from Calabar Polytechnic and studied Law at University of Calabar.
Miss Tilii: When you were a child do you remember taking part of any school plays? Alexx Ekubo Yes, growing up, almost every kid in my neighborhood and/or church took part or participated in either school or church drama and play –so to me that was a normal activity. And in university my friend and I use to plan events for entertainment/award show and stuff. We use to get a lot of great compliments for our well organised & successful events, as well as my hosting skills. So that’s when the whole entertainment thing sparked a light in me somewhat.
Miss Tilii: Honestly until I saw you In Ladies Men – I hadn’t seen you in any other movie before – Tell me about that movie and how it came about - did you audition for the role and how challenging was it for you (if any). Alexx Ekubo: Well it’s interesting that you asked because it was kinda funny how it happened. See what happened was, it was the last day of shoot for a movie I was working on, and coincidentally one of the marketers for “Ladies Men” came on the set and had observed me. He later got my number somehow and called me out of the blue a week later asking me to fly to Abuja (all expense paid) for a movie shoot. He caught me off guard cos I didn’t know anything about the script – neither did he tell me on the phone, however I always feel whenever an opportunity rises – whether big or small you have to take chances, so without hesitation I flew to Abuja (with no script in hand ahead of time for me to prepare) and went on straight on set.
I was given the script the night before the shoot and that was the only time I had to familiarise myself with the role. When I read for the role, I was kinda shocked cos I was not expecting that at all, and I asked the producer why he had confidence in me that I could pull such an intense role off and especially without much preparation. He said he just knew I could do it and so I should just give it my best shot. And so I did. I didn’t ask more questions I just tuned my mind to do the best that I can to impress and let God do the rest. My first scene was the love scene with my co star Halima Abubakar’s role in the bedroom – and also my first time meeting Halima – so you can imagine how challenging that must have been to be put on the spot like that. But I got in the zone – and I nailed it. I hate to be stereotyped or pigeon holed and always like different challenging roles and that was why I took this role in Ladies Men. I felt it was different.
Miss Tilii: Describe your first experience in ever acting? Do you remember? Alexx Ekubo: Well, when I was younger I got an opportunity to play as an extra in a movie titled “Sinners In the House” by Lancelot Imaseun, who was (and still is a close family friend) and neighbour - so that was my first experience in movie. The experience was awesome and I learnt a lot. I later on got an opportunity to be featured in soap opera called Secrets & Scandals (Season 3) and was also was featured in TV promo ad and Billboard adverts for Chivita. I still currently have a role in Africa’s most popular TV Soap Opera Series by M-NET called “Tinsel”,where I play bartender by name of “Edet”. All these exposures have been great experience to being in front of a camera.
Miss Tilii: How do prepare for roles such as what you did for Ladies Men? Alexx Ekubo: I always try and get in the zone. Acting is all in the mind and tuning your mind to the role at hand at that very moment. I am also a very emotional & passionate person. I love hard, play hard, and I work hard. I believe in never cutting corners. I always go in neck deep in my acting – and just act to the best of my ability leaving no stone unturned. Also I always pay very good attention to the director who is directing me.
