In a new interview with Sunday Sun, Toyin Aimakhu Johnson talked a great deal about her mum who pastors five churches, her early life, movie roles she’s regretted playing, her newly acquired love tattoo and of course, her hubby! See excerpts below:
What is Toyin doing lately?
I just shot a move entitled, ‘Eta’. It is a story about a triplet and
I played the three characters. Also, ‘Alakada’ will be coming out by
July.
What was your growing up like?
It was sweet sort of though, I am from a poor background, it’s a past
issue now; I give God the glory. I grew up in a small community, like a
village but it was fun. Trust me because we were so healthy, we ate
fresh food and there was nothing to worry about.
Were your parents farmers?
No, they were not but that was what they could afford at that time.
Though, we did a little farming, my mum is a pastor and founder of
churches. My dad used to work with Ibru in Benin but has retired a long
time. He is also helping in the church as well.
What was it like being poor?
Well, I didn’t know we were poor; I just got to realize it. You know
there are some people who are poor and you look at them that they are
poor but they don’t see it. It was later I realized that we were poor.
It was later I realized that that was why we couldn’t eat spaghetti
because we couldn’t afford it, and we ate rice once in a week. But to me
it was fun and it was just a normal way of living. It was when I was
growing up that it really dawned on me. When I got to school, I also
noticed but really it was fun for me growing up that I hardly took
notice that we were poor.
When you were in school were you a popular kid?
Not really, but when I was in St. Annes Secondary School, I drummed. I
was a drummer girl. Then, I played handball and football. I was even in
the Oyo State team.
How is married life?
Marriage is sweet because I got married to my friend; we fall into
the same age range. But now things are different, you can’t do things
without informing the other person. Sometimes when I want to make some
decisions and he is not around or his phone is not going, I have to
wait. I also have to act like a mother but I am enjoying it all.
Which do you enjoy, is it being single or married?
Of course, I prefer being married. You can enjoy being single because
you don’t have anyone questioning you. But being married is sweeter
because there is someone out there who cares so much about you. You are
coming home to meet someone and there is someone out there who can go an
extra mile for you, and you know, it is every woman’s dream to get
married. So, it is better off than being single in some ways.
You are both actors, how did you meet him?
I actually met him on set.
Was it love at first sight?
No, he was my junior colleague and he is still my junior colleague
anyway. He just walked up to me and said he liked my movies and I said
‘thank you’. You see, I am a kind of person that is very free with
everyone. I don’t keep to myself, even if you are an upcomer, I don’t
care who you are. I am just me and I am free with everybody. When my car
was stolen, he had the opportunity to ask me about it, and we became
friends. At that time I was single, I had issues with my ex, so we
became friends and we got talking and I realized he was even three years
older than me. I also realized he is a fantastic guy and very
intelligent. I was like let’s give it a trial.
There is a tattoo on your hand, in the name of your husband, why?
Well, it is his name. I just did it. You know a lot of people don’t
know me; they just judge me from the screen. But the thing about screen
is that, when you see ladies, actresses or actors that kiss a lot in the
movies or that go extra length, they are always the calm and the decent
ones. I am not saying that others are indecent but it’s always like
that, a lot of people don’t know me, they don’t even know who I am. They
only see me on screen, well, that must be the mistake I made, being
real with my roles. For instance, now I am telling people who are
training under me that ‘most times you can’t get too real with some
roles because this is the mistake I had made myself’.
You have to cut down some things; maybe at that point I didn’t see
someone to tell me. So, they don’t even know me, they don’t know who I
am, a lot of people judge me from the screen. But I am not what a lot of
people think. I don’t even go out. I just started going out when I got
married. The reason I didn’t go out when I was single was because when
you go out a lot, you meet a lot of people and you get confused. That is
why some people, today they meet a rich man and tomorrow they meet
someone richer. So, at that time, I didn’t want to get confused. I just
wanted to stay at home and later meet a good man. Now that I have met my
man, I go out more often because even if you are richer than whatever
in this world, I have got my man and wearing my wedding ring.
What are the challenges you have been faced with in the industry?
A lot. You see, a lot of people see you in a movie and they judge you
based on the characters you played. You know, they deal with you
according to the roles you play in the movies. But it’s not like that
because I just did my job. Even when I got married they were like ‘isn’t
she an actress?’ There is a sort of stigma on us and they forget that
what some girls out there do is far worse than what we do. But we are in
the limelight. I am not a young girl. I am an adult. I graduated like
nine years ago.
So, I want what I want and I can tell you the guys I have dated. I am
a lover girl, when I am dating someone everybody knows because I don’t
know how to hide my relationship. When we have problems, people will be
like, ‘see, she is not dating this person again’. But sit down and count
the guys I have dated, they are not even up to five and I have never
dated any married man in my life. Let any woman come out and say I have
dated her husband. I have never done that. When people go on blogs and
say sh-t about me, some people just go on the internet and say rubbish
about people, let them come out and challenge me. Those are the things
we face; they say actresses get married to married men. What about
people who are not actresses that do the same?. I am not saying it is
right or wrong, I am just saying that everyone has his or her opinion.
However, I understand we are role models and a lot of people look up to
us.
Recently, it was all over the Internet that you were pregnant, are you pregnant?
Do I look pregnant? I think it is the dress, you can see I look slim
here. It is a positive thing and I am happy. I can’t wait to be a
mother. When you are married in Nigeria the next thing is getting
pregnant, but my husband is young and I want to be with my husband now.
When the kids start coming, the attention will shift, so let me love my
husband and we will have kids. But if I get pregnant now, it is fine.
It’s going to come, please help me tell them to chill.
What great lessons did your parents teach you that you couldn’t forget?
Do what makes you happy but think of people around you. And also pray.
You said earlier that your mother is a pastor?
She is not just a pastor; she is also a founder of churches. She has like five churches.
What was your parents’ reaction when you told them you were going to be an actress?
They didn’t like it at first but my mum just called me and gave me
some words of advice, that I should hold the family’s name in high
esteem. They don’t watch movies but sometimes people watch and they tell
them, and when they ask me about some roles I played, I try to explain
to them or sometimes I just tell them that’s not me. I won’t lie to you;
I have played roles in movies that I regret. Trust me. But what will I
do? Will I kill myself? Of course not. I just smile over it and look the
other way. You know, it is because of the passion I have for this job, I
play some roles and I want them to look real. When I leave the set, I
will be like ‘why did I do this?’ Or when I watch some of my movies, I
will ask myself ‘why did I play this role like this?’ Often times I
wonder why I have not met my husband long time ago to correct me about
some things. Was I dating the wrong people back then? Why is it that
some of my senior colleagues didn’t tell me about this?
How did he propose to you?
He proposed on a cheap canoe (laughs). We were coming from Ikorodu
and there was this mad traffic. We were running late and we had to do a
job quickly. We had to park our car at Badore and hop on the canoe. He
proposed right there. When we were coming back and even if I wanted to
say no, I dare not because we were on the sea (laughs). But I was happy;
I knew I was going to get married to a young man because I told God ‘if
I don’t get married to a young man, I would rather remain single than
marry a married man’.
Was there a time you wanted to pull out of acting because you got so overwhelmed with the challenges?
No, there was no time like that. I have never been harassed. As a
matter of fact, I dated someone in the industry, that was some few years
back and it was because I wanted to date him. We liked each other and
we decided to date. We had a relationship, so I was never abused, nobody
asked me for sex. When some people say that, I am like maybe it’s
because of their appearance, because when I get to location, I greet
everyone with respect.