Yul Edochie talks award organizers and nepotism, feminism and his political career in Pulse Interview

Nollywood actor Yul Edochie speaks to Pulse about his recent love for Twitter, Nollywood's growth in the last few years and his political career.

A decade and a half and over 100 movies unarguably solidify Yul Edochie’s stand as one of the most respected actors in the Nigerian film industry.

In 2017, he announced his intention to run for political office and while things didn’t go according to plan, Edochie has continued to embrace the idea of serving the people.

The actor was recently a guest on Pulse One on One where he got candid about his views on the Nollywood’s Home Video and Cinema film industries (a distinction we coined in the course of our interview), his political and acting careers, family plus his newly discovered love for Twitter.

Yul Edochie talks Nollywood industry, political career in Pulse interview [Pulse]

Acting is no accidental venture for Yul Edochie. For as long as he can remember, acting has been a part of his life so much that he reveals he was named after Russian-American actor, Yul Brynner. Being one of the sons of Nollywood veteran Pete Edochie also helped shape his acting career. “Because of that background”, he admits, “I and my brothers all wanted to be actors”.

After his breakout film, 'Sleek Ladies' in 2007 where he starred alongside Ini Edo, the celebrated thespian has become famous not just for his acting skill but his deep-throated bass.

Yul Edochie's breakout role was in 2007 Annex merchandise film 'Sleek Ladies' [ YouTube]

But, it’ll be a mistake to assume the actor lets the thrill of female fans derail him. The espoused actor’s conspicuous purple coloured rosary adorning his neck is the very first hint that Edochie takes his religious beliefs seriously. Further, into our conversation, the actor emphasis how undeniable the ‘God factor’ is to him and how it’s helped him stay scandal-free.

Yul Edochie talks Nollywood industry, political career in Pulse interview [Pulse]

His moral standing might also be the reason he won’t be willing to play some certain roles. He said “of course you would never see me doing a lot of sex scenes in films or going naked no matter how much you are willing to pay me. A lot of people who do not know you, judge you from what they see. The characters that you play”.

Yul Edochie believes actors are judged by the roles that they play [Bigtymeboss]

The home video industry birthed the Nollywood that we now celebrate and export. Edochie is a strong advocate of promoting this industry with its capital largely in Delta and Anambra states. Edochie isn’t one to leave an industry hanging especially one that has brought him the fame he currently benefits from. It’s the reason he isn’t excited about making a full-blown transition despite the piling cinema film scripts yearning his attention. So, while he has featured in a couple of cinema films like Inkblot’s ‘Moms At War’, he insists that his loyalty lies with the home video industry.

“I am very much engaged in the home video industry and trust me, I am not leaving any time soon. Why is this? I love the fact that I am contributing to the growth of that industry. The home video industry is an industry that has raised a lot of people”.

Yul Edochie talks Nollywood industry, political career in Pulse interview [Pulse]

Now that the cinema industry is pushing for global acceptance, Edochie says he knew these strides were inevitable. A lot of filmmakers and actors currently making waves left home videos because they got tired of the monotonous filmmaking style that saw the rise of quantity over quality. Speaking on the quality of home videos in terms of growth, he stated,

“The quality is not so good at the moment. We have very few people who are striving to improve quality. A lot of them just want to make films, quantity. For them, rather than use a certain amount of money to make one film, they’d rather use it to make 100 more films. So, there are people like that. Unfortunately, I think you have people like that in every industry”.

Yul Edochie was recently a guest on Pulse One on One where he got candid about his views on the Nollywood’s Home Video and Cinema film industries

In recent times, local award organizers have been accused of nepotism. This has seen the rise of arguably untalented and under deserving actors take home awards while the actors putting in the work remain unnoticed. On the rumoured pattern, Edochie admits that it breeds “artistic vacuum”.

“People who actually put in the work, those people should be awarded not people who don’t put in much work but because they are close to the people who do these awards, somehow they get themselves to get these awards. It’s not the best.

“Not just that it makes the whole thing you guys are doing look not so nice, Again it affects the actors that you give these awards to. They don’t finally get to that peak where they are supposed to be”.

In 2017, Yul Edochie ran for the gubernatorial seat of Anambra state

Losing out on his gubernatorial pursuit in the last election clearly hasn’t dissuaded the actor from politics. Edochie remains positive and hopeful about his political ambitions. He shared,

“I ran for political office, Governor of Anambra state and although I didn’t win, I like to believe that I won. Why I say that is that I gained experience that I couldn’t have gotten if I didn’t try”. He added, “It is either I win or I learn. It taught me a lot about how Nigeria works. So yes, I am in politics and I am not leaving anytime soon”.

Lately, Edochie has been quite vocal on Twitter. His verified Twitter account has in the past months made major headlines for his views on a number of issues. When the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola reportedly accused Nollywood filmmakers of promoting insecurity with their movies about ritual killings, the actor was ready with a Twitter response.

Yul Edochie also weighed in on his father, Pete Edochie's viral video [Allure]

However, he wasn’t so vocal when a video of his father trended a few weeks ago. The viral video showed the veteran actor calling out Nigerian men who kneel to propose to their ladies. When queried for his thoughts, a clearly amused Edochie confessed that he didn’t take the video seriously especially as his father had some valid points.

“To a large extent, the man is right. You know, it’s not our culture. It is foreign for people to kneel. But it is really no big deal. It is not that serious. Whether you kneel down to propose or lie down to propose, it doesn’t change anything. A woman who is going to leave you would leave you. The woman who doesn’t respect you would not respect you and the one who loves you and respects you will be with you whether you kneel or you lie or you fly”.

Did you Kneel?

“I didn’t kneel cause, well I didn’t have to. My wife didn’t ask me to kneel for me to propose. We got married many years ago in 2004”.

Although not certain if he subscribes to the social media style of feminism, the actor admits that he is a strong advocate of equal opportunities for both genders.

The future looks good for Edochie who reveals that he intends to do more stage plays while being actively involved in politics and sharing his views on Twitter.

Watch Interview:

My Wife Didn't Ask Me To Kneel- Yul Edochie | PULSE TV ONE ON ONE

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