For many years, her face has graced many movies churned out of Nollywood. With decades of experience in the movie industry, she has continued to make a mark, and has now revealed how she made her daughter a star.
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Rita and her daughter, Regina
While speaking in an exclusive interview with Oge Ezeliora, a Nigerian actress-turned politician, Rita Daniel, who is a mother of four, opened up on how she has been able to nurture one of her kids, Regina Daniels into becoming a rising movie star.
Here are excerpts from the chat;
Aside acting ma, what else do you do?
I am a very busy woman. I am into so many things. First, I am the chairman of Actors Guild of Nigeria, Delta state chapter, (AGN). I am a politician; presently, the majority leader and counsellor, Aniocha South Local Government Area. I hail from Ogwashi-Ukwu town. I am also the managing director of Last Point Resort; the CEO Reginal Daniels Children Foundation; the CEO, Chris Daniel Nigeria Limited; an officer in Director Guild of Nigeria; and a producer.
People feel you pushed your daughter into acting because of money and that you want her to take after you as an actress?
Not really; nobody makes one a star. It’s only God that has the power to lift from nobody to somebody. Yes, I am a good actress who is also talented. But my daughter started when at the age of seven. She loved watching movies and acting at home. Though I didn’t allow her to watch Nigerian movies because of her age, she followed me to locations and made friends with a lot of actresses and actors. Anytime she saw little children on locations, she would beg me to allow her be part of the cast but I would refuse. She kept on pestering me until one day, I allowed her to act in a movie. She was very happy. She started practising at home. Everything my daughter knows about acting I taught her. I encouraged her not to be nervous and she listened to me. She started as low as N5,000. She still acts for free to date if I want her to act. She is humble and very obedient.
How often does she get movie roles?
She is a lucky child. She is always on set. I just thank God for everything. As soon as she is concluding a particular movie, they are calling her for another one. It got to a point that I had to plead with some of her directors and producers to allow her concentrate on her studies. If not, there is no week that she will not be on set.
Has your celebrity status deprived you of anything in life?
I believe it is a normal thing for you not to be everywhere as a star. But, I am not mindful of that. I have a business I run. So, I still go to the market to public places like every other person. I am not affected by celebrity status. If you don’t go out how will you meet people? Even when my fans are screaming, ‘Mama Regina! Mama Regina! Mama Regina!’, I will just smile and hail them back and continue what I am doing. I am a politician and I am used to crowd.
Are you married or a single mother?
I am a proud mother of four children and my children are everything to me. I hate to discuss my family in public. Can you ask me another question?
How many of your children are into acting?
For now, only two of them are in Nollywood. But one is a musician while others are still in school.
What is your view on s*x-for-role?
When you talk about s*x-for role, it has to do with an individual. There’s nowhere that it does not exist. In the entertainment industry, people do a lot of funny things to get what they want. I believe it is an individual thing. If you feel s*x is what will take you up there, fine, go ahead. But know that whatever takes you up there that is not God’s will, will certainly crash. Definitely, when you are up there with God’s help, nobody will pull you down. Anything you get from an illicit affair does not end well.
Who should be blamed for this?
Nobody is to be blamed. If producers ‘toast’ you, maybe it’s okay but sometimes the girls are the ones ‘toasting’ the producers. So, who is to be blamed then? A man has the right to say ‘bring your body’; a woman has the right to say ‘no’. It is a two-way thing. If it is rape, it is a different thing.
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