Sam Uche Anyamele

What's the difference between a role and real life?" somebody asked, "when a young actor is harassed in the streets for playing a TV role; the virtual repercussions of being the 'bad guy' come to life in the hiss of the market woman and a smack from another with child. "The strongest reactions have come from the women," he exclaims rather helplessly, 'sometimes I can't understand where all the belligerence is coming from." That's hard to believe, coming from a playboy and a heartbreaker with a dead conscience.

Born Sam Uche Anyamele in the late 1970s, the bass guitarist's first love is music, but somewhere along the line he discovered that there was more he could do as an artist in the roomy boundaries of the art and entertainment industry. His talents were, according to him, greatly enhanced through the mentoring of Chimoziem Odimba, his erstwhile band leader from way back in church. "Chimoziem showed me I could do anything; achieve anything. I owe a lot to him," he says.

In case you don't already know, Anyamele is the man people love to hate from the Super Story series No Pain No Gain. The characters here are wrought from the famed comic characters Richard and Ronke. And Richard is the deceiver and trickster who makes away with a rich girl's poor heart and fortune and leaving audiences across the country livid and outraged.

Like most in the movie and TV business, he didn't just wander into the set of Wale Adenuga's Super Story but started with small roles in TV and home video. According to him, even though he was not tipped to play the role, being number 171 on the list of auditionees, he put his trust in God who saw him through. Of course, in such an industry, anything is possible, but landing a major role "the first time was, for him, a divine move of God. Again, while many attribute this to his looks (sly and furtive), his incursion into the industry with such a role has definitely brought a new meaning to the way he sees himself. "You know, sometimes it gets to my head," he says, but I thank God for people like my director, Antar Laniyan, who is always at hand to keep me in check."

Speaking of director Antar, Anyamele says: "he turned out to be a father to me, sitting me down and telling me strong truths about the industry. I learned so much from the time I spent with him and the rest of the actors and crew on camp. One needs to constantly stay focused and not be tired. At some points, he had to beat me into form. It was challenging and every bit enjoyable. There were some nights when I would be up till three in the morning trying to perfect my lines for the next day and on the whole I think I performed well." Before then, however, the actor says that his first days on TV are quite memorable. "My first role on television which I can really relate to is a small role I played in an NTA soap called Schemes. The role was minute but I needed it." He laughs. Further before coming to Wale Adenuga he had dreams of being an actor in Super Story. "Before I ever came on Super Story, I had always considered it the best soap opera on air." He calls it the 'mega soap', and according to him, "God fortunately arranged it and here I am."





Speaking of the role of Richard in No Pain No Gain, the actor confirms that it took some getting used to. "I know acting is make believe," he says, "but that guy did so many nasty things that was hard to swallow at first." Then he said the words, which the director uses to keep his actors on the spot 'you gotta see yourself in the role you're playing,' he said, 'and at the end of this soap, if people don't hate you then you're not a good actor." So do people hate him now? "You don't know the half of it," he says.

Apart from Antar his best actors on screen are Ramsey Nouah and Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, some of the most popular acts of the day, and in molding out his future, he hopes to become as good ¤ perhaps even better ¤ than them. "In five years I think I see myself among the top five in the movie industry, and I'm working towards that already. I believe in myself and I know that it'll all turn out as planned."

Curiously, the lover boy has values and viewpoints that tend toward a strong Christian background, and probably come from his days as a guitarist, (not that he's giving up music anytime soon). "God is omniscient," he says, "so anyone who wants to be successful should hook up to him and seek his direction." He crowns it all by saying: "get your grace functional, and remember that God is the source." Now, coming from one who has been branded 'ashewo oshi' by a fellow passenger on a bus, it couldn't get any more grand than that.

Sam Uche Anyamele, is also into modeling and performing the role of MC in special occasions. For him, this year is definitely one in which he breaks forth on every front. And Wale Adenuga and Super Story have set the ball rolling already.

Filmography: Just 4 You, Sincerely Yours, Two brothers, Songs Of Sorrow