When you meet this young actor, the first thing that strikes you is his confidence. Although, he tries to stay humble.
Alex Ekubo is a young actor who is steadily becoming the most popular face in movies. Last year, he was named the most promising actor. Before then, he featured in both movies and television dramas. Asides his talent, what also works for him is his good looks and a body to-die-for.
“I am not the most talented actor out there”, he says, “neither am I the best looking. There is a biblical scripture that says ‘the race is not for the swift, neither is it for the strong but of Him showeth mercy’. It is humbling and encouraging that God has set me apart from my peers,” he said.
This response certainly tells a lot about who Alex is. One wonders if he is only pretending like most of his colleagues do. Ask him if his handsome face has contributed to his swift rise to stardom, and Alex is quick to answer, “I cannot take away the fact that this is show business and people would like to see people that are easy on the eyes on TV. It has but it is more of talents than good look because there are a lot of people that have got good looks but they do not all make it as actors. Talent is paramount. You see a lot of people that are not good looking and are great actors and you see them winning awards and getting endorsement deals. It helps if you are good looking as well. It’s a good complement to talent.”
Any average man would like to be in Alex’s shoes, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. Ladies flock around him anytime you see him. However, Alex reveals he plays it cool adding that God has been helping him in his struggle against distractions. “It takes the grace of God. I am not distracted or carried away. I try to be as calm as I can be. I make sure I let the word of God guide me, so that I do not fall into pride because a lot of women are chasing me,” says Alex.
That however does not mean that crazy fans will not try to break through his defences. Alex reveals that he had been mobbed many times by ladies. “They have done a lot of things that I cannot say here. Ladies have sent me all sorts of messages; I have received all manner of nude pictures. It has been very crazy. It could get distracting when you are in the middle of work and you check your phone to find the picture of a nude lady in it. But by now, I am getting used to it. It all comes with the job. It is not embarrassing to me again. I am used to ladies’ attention right from when I was a young boy. I learnt something from a senior colleague. He told me that ladies are in love with the image of me on the TV and not with me as a person. Until you find the one you love, the rest are just snowballing.”
In the next few months more of Alex’s works will be out. He featured in the TV drama called Married to the game where he played a married doctor. He is in the just released movie, Lagos Cougar. He is also in the yet to be released movie called Gold digging produced by Rukky Sanda.
Despite his passion for acting, one would not know that he is actually a lawyer. He never practiced, but went straight into acting career after school.
“Acting is my passion. I studied law and I also have a diploma in mass communications but somehow what the heart wants, the hearts wants. I found my way back to television, which is what I have always wanted to be in my life,” he says.
So what are his plans for the future?
“I don’t like to make plans for the future. Getting to where I am now is by the grace of God. When you start planning you find out that things change. We don’t know tomorrow. Tomorrow you might wake up and get hit by a bus. You can also wake up and win a million dollars. What I can do is to wish myself more success and more growth in the industry. The sky, I believe, is the starting point,” Alex said.
[Independent]