Veteran Nigerian actor Segun Arinze has shared intriguing insights into the origins of his stage name and the beginnings of his illustrious voice-over career. In a recent conversation with Biola Bayo on the ‘TalktoB’ podcast, the esteemed actor recounted the events that led to the adoption of his iconic moniker and his entry into the world of voice acting.
Originally named Segun Aina, the actor disclosed that he transitioned to the stage name ‘Segun Arinze’ in 1991 during his pursuit of a music career. Reflecting on the pivotal moment, Arinze revealed, “I was also singing. In 1991, I was told someone wanted to sign me… The album came out – ‘Dreams’. Everywhere was ‘Segun Arinze, Segun Arinze.’ That was how the name got changed from Segun Aina to Segun Arinze in a nutshell.”
The 58-year-old movie star also reminisced about his foray into the voice-over industry, a journey that began with a fortuitous encounter with renowned radio broadcaster Soni Irabor. Arinze fondly recounted his introduction to voice acting and the humble beginnings of his voice-over career, sharing the story of his inaugural gig in 1987.
“Soni Irabor walks in someday and he was looking for voice-over artiste. There was nobody around that day then he heard me speak,” Arinze recalled. “Then he said ‘You can do the voice.’ Really? I cannot, he said ‘Yes, you can and I will see what you do.’ And I did the voice-over. He paid me N1000. That was 1987. N1000 for just doing (voice-over). I said this is big.“