Actress Doris Simeon would rather not entertain questions related to her estranged husband and the fruit of that liaison, David. However in this chat with ORUKPE NELSON, she spoke about her career, family and formative years.

Since you quit the scene after your role in Papa Ajasco, you’ve not featured in any Wale Adenuga movie. Is there an explanation for that?

They still call me for jobs but sometimes it could be that I was on location at the moment they called or I wasn’t in the country. But I just finished one of the Super Story series with them about a week ago.

In a recent interview, he insists that he pays actors who passed through him standard fee anytime he invites them for another job. Does he treat your case differently?

He’s a professional to the core; Wale Adenuga pays you the standard fee if you work with him on any project. He gives you the script first and asks you to go through it and then you return to discuss fee.

At PEFTI Film Institute, you studied production management, but you don’t seem to have done anything along that line aside acting?

I’ve actually used the skill in producing three movies and I’m on the fourth one which I’m finishing soon. I produced and managed my first movie titled ‘Onitemi’, the second one was ‘OmoIyaKan’ and ‘Asiri’ was the third one that was released in 2009.

So which is the one you’re currently working on?

The title is ‘The Victim’. That would be the fourth film I’ve produced. I’m still on location at the moment and I’m rounding off shortly.

You’ve won a couple of awards from your roles in Oloju Ede, EtiKeta, and The Ghetto Dreams, a biopic on the life and times of late rapper, Dagrin; how were you able to transit into the character of his girlfriend who you never met or knew?

I’m a professional actor first of all and that tells you that I can put myself into any character because it’s a make-believe world, people must view it as real. And before we shot the movie, we had a few meetings with the family, friends and neighbours and they all talked about the girlfriend he had, what she looked like, her characters and the things she did to earn Dagrin’s love.

Recently, a pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithkline renewed an endorsement deal with you. How many years would you be the brand ambassador and how much is the contract worth?

It’s actually a two-year contract in millions of naira, but I cannot disclose the exact worth of the deal.

You opened a beauty store months back. Is that what you do apart from acting?

I know a lot of people don’t know that I make hair, they think I just opened the store because others are doing it. I make hair, I was trained by a hairdresser who is my mum and it’s like a family trade. I’ve also had it in mind that when I grow up, I was going to venture into hair styling. It’s all about looking good.

Do you also sell human hair which has become a fad today?

Yes, I sell all sorts of the natural human hair at the shop located at Ogba, Lagos. The name of the salon is David Beauty Centre.

You started acting after late Yomi Ogunmola introduced you to acting. Did he give you your first role?

He did after the Papa Ajasco project. It was after the location experience that I was given a lead role in a Yoruba movie.

Which movie was that?

It was at first titled ‘Abanikedun’ but later changed to ‘Three Million Naira’.

Did Ogunmola produce or direct the movie?

He directed it. He wasn’t the producer.

Did you have any major quarrel with him before he passed on?

None at all, we had no misunderstanding. The only argument we must have had was perhaps that I heard he was in some locations and he didn’t carry me along on the job. You know I was a green horn then and I needed movie roles which he could facilitate for me.

What exactly was the first thing you ever loved to do aside acting?

To be candid, music is my first love. I used to sing in the choir. A while ago, one of my old mates in the choir crossed paths with me and was asking if I threw away my musical talent. He asked if I ever tried to be a chorister in any other church that I’ve attended and I said no. Maybe because I just love entertainment generally, I felt if music didn’t work for me, I would go into broadcasting.

Your colleagues, Dayo Amusa, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Stella Damasus and Genevieve Nnaji have all tried their hands in music; why haven’t you given it a shot?

Maybe because my brother also sings, he has his own group and they do some reality shows and they’ve been performing around. And it may also be because I realized that all of the actresses who had ventured into it didn’t last.

Is it true that Nollywood producers still pay much higher than their Yoruba counterpart?

The fee for Yoruba and Nollywood movies is now almost at the same level. Nollywood used to pay better, but I don’t think they do that anymore. That’s why you find Uche Jombo, Desmond Elliot and the rest going to produce their movies too. Especially if you watch Africa Magic, that’s where you’d find their secrets.

They use the upcoming actors too because they cannot afford the A-list actors unlike before. I say it a lot that the scripts that come to me more are from Yoruba movie producers, Nollywood scripts come as well but they don’t want to pay as much. The Nollywood guys believe you’re a cross-over artist and so you’re not like their A-list. If you cannot collect their fee, they move on to engage the up and coming acts in their circuit. And I call their bluff because I’m not looking for fame anymore; I’m looking for money now.

Are there things you wished you had done differently?

I wish I had started making money earlier. At 25, the world would have tagged me as the youngest and the richest.

You’re an Edo lady but you speak Yoruba fluently. How come?

It’s because I was born and bred in Lagos. I’ve lived all my life here. I had my upbringing around Ojota area of Lagos.