My interview with top Ghanaian actress – Yvonne
Nelson-was a revelation in so many ways. Of the
leading Nollywood stars, Yvonne is among those I had
not had a close relationship with
I had watched her from afar, seen countless number
of her movies and had always thought she was a great
and talented actress – someone who combined poise,
beauty and style. I had also heard of some unsavory
things ascribed to her – the rumors of sexual
orientation which some say verged between pure
lesbianism and bi-sexualism – all manner of
shenanigans that had been whispered and published
about her.
Some years ago, she came out with a movie, “Heart
of Men”, in which she seemed to have appeared in
frontal nudity– a development that set off a
firestorm of protest among Nollywood lovers –with
many condemning the exploitation of graphic sexual
images to promote and sell movies – which was a
deviation of what Nollywood had always been seen to
represent: a family friendly entertainment medium.
Added to an alleged
fight for supremacy
between her and
fellow Ghanaian
actress – Jackie Appiah
– a development that
was said to have
resulted in her much
publicized one-year
ban from Nollywood-
you begin to have a
profile of an actress
who may come across
as a diva and
somewhat
opinionated.
It was with mindset
that I welcomed the
chance to interview
Yvonne Nelson, when
her representative
called and informed
me that the pretty
actress was in New
York, and would love
to talk to me. And so, on the balmy and unseasonably
warm evening of March, 2012,
I drove to the Marriot Hotel located at the heart of
Times Square, Manhattan, where she was staying, to
do this interview.
Bad girl roles
The first revelation was that Yvonne Nelson is an
exceedingly pretty actress –far prettier in real life
than in her movies. Second, she is a far cry from
those bad girl roles she plays in movies. Yvonne
neither smokes nor drinks. An offer of drinks from
me was flatly but graciously rejected. Her depiction
as a diva also felt flat because the Yvonne that I saw
and interviewed was thoroughly grounded and even
shy.
So why all the misconceptions?, I asked her. In a
diction and vocal cadence that showed a highly
educated and urbane mind, Yvonne told me she had
been hugely misunderstood. “That is why I am willing
to address some of those misconceptions now. Even
though it pains me to have to talk about them, but I
will. I am nothing close to the roles I play in movies.
People should understand that I am an actresses and
I get scripts that expect me to act in a certain
manner. As a consummate professional, I am not
going to turn down those scripts because
I was expected to act in a certain manner,”she said. “I
am aware that some people took exception to the
role I played in the movie “Heart of Men” where
there appeared to be some form of frontal nudity,
but the truth of the matter is that there was no such
overt display of nudity. But let’s even for the sake of
argument say there was some nudity, why are we so
judgmental and somewhat hypocritical?
The same people who took issues with that movie
watch Hollywood movies where sexually graphic
scenes are shown in a most morally appalling
manner. We don’t condemn such roles; we, as a
matter of fact, celebrate such roles. I am not an
advocate of nudity or sexually graphic images in our
movies. I have actually spoken against some of those
tendencies; I will never appear frontally nude in any
movie no matter the fees promised.
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