Exclusive Interview With Ben Lugo Touitou

We all know about Ben Lugo Touitou right? The half Israeli and half Nigerian actor who’s slamming Nollywood right into the faces of non Nollywood viewers.

Well, Social Spy NG had an interview with him seeing there are so many people, ladies especially, who can’t seem to have enough of the mulatto bobo, to answer some of the questions they’d probably be itching to have answered.

As for those of you who think he’s taken, he’s not oh!… The dude is very single as the interview will tell. Don’t believe that?…

Read excerpts from the interview below….

Beside the actor people see on screen each day, who is the man hidden within no one knows about?

In reality I’m sort of shy. I’m shy actually, very introverted. I really don’t like going out much. It takes a lot of energy to go out, hang out with people and stuff. I’m shy, down to earth… Well, I respect people but i do not let my self to to be stepped on. I’m not a fool so i have a very strong opinion about everything. I know what I want so i don’t allow people step on me but i’m very respectable. I respect people. I try not to force myself on people or impose. If we have opposing views and have to work together, them we should be focused on our aim.

One of the first gifts I’ve ever had as early as i remember was the gift of observation. I was one of those children that would look at things and map them exactly in my head and draw them just the way they are. Or i could watch TV shows or cartoon and I would mimick every word, actions and expression as it was. Even the way it was said.

I have the power of observation and it’s very strong which helps me pick up some of the facial expressions, emotions and triggers which makes people act the way they do so i was able to evoke some of those emotions that makes me seem more confident with people and outgoing. But really, I’m a shy person. Not really a people person.

I can be very confident and speak very well, but I’m really not that person all the time. I’m also very blunt in the sense that there are times when you have to be honest with the situation especially when you’re fed up with the whole facade and pretences. I really don’t have patience for pretences much. However, its not all situations I’m blunt cause with certain people you have to be careful since they are verbally sensitive You respect that. Or when the situation in general is something affecting a lot of people, I tend to be more open about it only, in a constructive manner giving solutions and suggestions. Not in undermining the problem, that would be redundant.

Another thing is that I’m a geek. I geek out a lot of things. Games, internet stuff, computers… A lot of things lot of people will find weird o tend to geek out on. So yeah, I can be a geek. I don’t let people see that part of me cause that’s not being an actor but, I really don’t care anymore. Being an actor is one thing I do, I have other things in my life that are part of me.

What can I say?… I think every being has more than one ability so why focus on just one?… Its like having your body, arms, legs and the rest. Why would you work out just your legs and not your arms as well?… So while working your arms, work your legs so you can have that balance between top and bottom.

Where are you from and what are your other interests besides acting?

Okay, where I’m from… I have roots here in Nigeria. My mom is Ibo from Imo state. My dad was from Isreal, he’s late now and was a Jew. Apart from Isreal, my father and his family before they went back to Isreal lived in Tunesia. So yes, I’ve got a bit of Tunesian roots as well as Israeli roots. But I’m pretty much from Israeli and Nigeria. A Jewish Christian.

My other interests apart from acting are business, entrepreneur, events and various activities. I’m a very busy person, I like to stay busy, I love being busy, love to work, like money to flow and come in.

I also have my eyes on business opportunities here and there as well as investments as much as I can be a part of. Its a step by step process. You can’t leap twenty steps from step one. It all depends on what I can financially carry. I like to invest in businesses here and there and also entrepreneur things. I’ve got a few start ups I’m working on though. So yeah. I also do modelling, TV commercials, editorials, billboards and stuffs.

What are your hobbies?… What do you do to take the edge off your day?

My hobbies… That sort of changes from time to time. At some point it was drawing. I loved drawing so much i was addicted to it. I was so good at drawing back in secondary school that I actually made some money out of it cause people paid me to. I could look at something, keep it in my head, draw it and it would look exactly the way it was. I like to write songs and… Singing too really takes the edge off.

 Sometimes just going out to a beautiful place, calm, with a lot of trees helps. I love nature, something refreshing. Swimming too really helps to take the edge off. Watching movies… I love to see a really good movie. A massage too really helps me, especially my hair. I like it when I get a really good massage, it sort of takes the edge off too.  Sometimes just a good sleep also is very necessary. A good sleep, a good conversation, there’s lots and lots of things.  Sometimes its playing games with my friends, Ps4, Ps3… There are actually lots of things I can do to take the edge off, relax, enjoy and just chill.

So yeah. I’m a very solitary person too. I like being alone, on my own, cause there’s lots of fun things I can do. But with friends there are fun things like great discussions, great minds, talk about really great stuff like innovations, business… I love those those too.

Would you like to go into music sometime?

Heck yes! I would like to go into music but that’s not now. Acting and music are two very strong careers that requires lots of mental and spiritual energy. I think I will focus on the acting career now, then when i get to the point where I’m comfortable, I could step in and out anytime I want, I would go into music. I’ll do a few things in music and stop, I won’t do it fully.

I have so much to give in the music world and i hope to do something with it. I’ve done things from sound engineering to composing beats, to writing songs, even composing poetry.

Words with me is understandable. I can craft words to achieve certain kinds of emotions so, I’ll like to use that in music and in a very sensual way too. Yeah.

Do you write emotive or inspirational songs and poems?

Actually, both. Emotive, inspirational, sensual… I like anything that can move people, push people. Things that are sentient. If music doesn’t move you then why are you listening to it?…

I’m very selective of the kind of songs I listen to, it has to have the power to move me. It could be emotionally, inspirationally or sensually touching you know.It could make you fall in love, make you look at your partner and want to make love… Yeah. Its got to have force.

You sound like the emotional kind, are you?

Emotional… Yeah. I am. But I’m very much in control of my emotions. I let it go when I want and hold back when I choose to easily. So yeah. I have emotions, otherwise how can I be an actor?…

Do you play any kind of musical instruments?… Which, and who are your favourite musical artistes?

Growing up I used to play the piano and guitar. There were other instruments i was learning to play back then, but it was mostly the piano and guitar. I stopped because I had school work and my teacher was in Abuja and I lived all the way in the east at Enugu state so, it was sort of far except when i went to Abuja for the holidays.

As for music and musicians, I’m very selective. If its on the international scale… Thing is, my taste for music varies a lot. I can tell you some generals like pop, hip-hop, no RnBs. Rock music, classical… There are lots of artistes like Eminem I really really like and people like Justin Timberlake, Usher, and many other artistes. It all depends on my mood. In Nigeria well, few like 2face, Runtown… I think he’s doing really well, Wizkid. Just a few of them.

Arts, poetry, drama and computer, which is your first love?… How and why did it get to you?

As far back as I can remember, my first love has always been music. Yeah. It has this power, this driving force that you know… Pushes me and has this… Effect. It can make me sleep, keep me awake, drives me… It’s very strong. Potent like a drug you know. The feelings I get now, when I was a child, only music could do that to me. Take me places I’ve never been. Its like you know, space travel.

And then growing up later on, it gradually moved into arts and I started drawing at an early age. I was very good. Gradually it moved into drama, poetry and computer came last.

All of them actually had their phases but music always came first. Why it got to me I don’t understand. There’s just something about music. The melody, symphony, that gets to me. It’s… I can’t explain it. But music, it talks to me in ways that I don’t know if other people can feel same way but literally its like… I can see sounds, hear pictures, you know, when it comes to the way I see arts and music. Its very very powerful to me. So yeah.

What’s MMA Mr Lugo?

Huh?… Send the link. Ooh… No, that’s not me. Another sports guy named Ben Lugo.

Are you in a relationship Mr Lugo?

Not at the moment. No.

Grail Graphic X, what is it about?… How was it born?

Started it in my second year at the university. Wanted to he making money while I was at school. So I learnt graphics designing and branding and  started the company. It was born out of being tired of being broke and a taste for adventure, independence and freedom.

What was your graduate university and what course did you study?

Valley view university, Accra, Ghana. A premier private university. I studied computer science.

Nollywood, how did you find yourself there?

Well, Nollywood happened to me and I made the best out of it. But what made me give it that go was and still is vision. There’s a big picture to it all and soon every one would know by God’s grace.

Have you had any challenges or problems with and in Nollywood?

Well, all challenges are a beautiful opportunities to be better. Without adversary we cant evolve so all has been to my good and I’m loving it all. Even the so called competition “turns me on” and as long as God is first in all my affairs, it will be well.

How many awards have you had since your rise in Nollywood?

Mostly nominations. Hopefully the awards are coming soon. Had numerous, both local and international.

Dr Monica Watts Baldwin. PRNOB hints at a relationship between you two. In their own words “they found sparks in each other”… What’s your take on that?

Lol! All I can say is that we are friends. Good friends. She was just being funny.

Have you ever been involved in a scandal since Nollywood?

Nah. I’m one of the most private persons I know in Nollywood. I don’t breed a scandal to blow. I run from that.

Talking about mentorship, who is your mentor both in Holly and Nollywood as well as outside the entertainment circle?

Hmm. I’ve got different interests and goals in life which are all connected. I’m an actor, that’s what many people know me by. To some who know me further beyond that, who’s known me for a very long time, I’m an entrepreneurial as well as business person.

To some other persons, I have this thirst for knowledge. I like knowing things ane how they work. I have a rather voracious appetite for reading all kinds of subjects. From science to stuff about history, the bible, discoveries, inventions, innovations… So my mentors vary.

There’s that in the acting world and another in business and entrepreneurial world as well as family. There are lots of people I look up to. In business there’s Steven Jobs who impresses me so much with his innovating prowess.

There’s Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Elon Musk… There are a couple of others in the business world that inspires me.

For acting… On my top list… There’s Johnny Depp, Liam Nelson, Robert D’nero, Marlon Brandon, Dustin Hoffman. They’re very deep classical actors that know how to get themselves into their characters and do it very well.

 I’m not here to joke. I really want to be the best in everything i do. If im not, then my efforts are wack and there’s no point.

I’ve got different mentors for different things and there are those I still meet one on one and can’t mention their names cause they’re high profiled people in the society. I’ve been blessed by God to meet them and so I can ask them questions about life and business. They are very spiritual people too, political and business inclined which makes them cut across in some areas.

What keeps you going when things get to that lowest point of your life and what or who would you say you owe your successes in life to?

What keeps me going is the big picture, the vision I have for my life. I strongly believe I will achieve greatness. I’ll be wealthy, happy, where i want to be, who i want to be… By God’s grace. I have this picture in my head and it’s been there for a very long time growing up as a child and that vision keeps motivating me. I strongly believe and know God put it inside of me, because before I could even realise what it was to dream big I’ve always known and felt this sense of greatness, a sense of being something special, chosen for something big and that drives me. Each time I fine me in a rather difficult situation, I ask God what I’m there for, why I’m there… In that situation, what I’m supposed to do I’m not doing and what I’m supposed to learn. I see everything negative as a reason to learn and move ahead which always works for me.

 I’ve never been in a situation and stayed there. I always move, break out, eventually. My mentality is always forwars thinking and is inspired by God in the sense that it’s something that helps me grow. Without adversaries we can’t truly evolve or find our truest selves. Adversaries are like fires that purify us as gold… Diamonds, we become better with them.

So, what motivates me really is the big picture, and the person I owe it to God jot humans. He only uses them for our end, our good. Every blessing comes from him. There are lots of people who like and support my talents but the truth is, only God gives us that talent, inspiration, strength and whatever else.

Another thing I owe my success to is the word of God. I read it so much, both the old and new testament. I literally read it to understand, commentaries and all that stuff and I sometimes i study them to really get the full meanings. Those words from the Bible really inspires me. When you see what God has done for people in the past… See Isreal for example, Isreal went through one of the most hellish experiences of all time and its years later, they’re one of the ruling countries in the world.

Who are your designers and how does it feel to be one of the center of attraction in Nollywood?

I don’t have designers for now, I have a couple who wants to work with me. I however don’t want to just wear anything, I want to put on something that really defines who i really am. I’m working with a few though, but i don’t have any official designer.

 And how does it feel to he the center of attraction in Nollywood… I don’t know about that but i can tell you one thing, I’m really not a fame crazed person. When people come up to me ninety percents of the time, it’s thank to my work. It’s virtually always “i love your work, I love how you acted. It was so good”. I met someone some days ago, she was up and going about how “extremely” good i was in desperate housewives Africa series. That’s what I really love, for people to enjoy what I do. I don’t want them to see me, let them see God possibly in what I do.

 It ain’t about me, but if you like me, you think I’m good looking, sexy… Whatever, that’s fine. I’ll say my thanks, be nice about it, cause it really doesn’t drive me crazy. I’m only enjoying it as it comes but its not something I’m proud of or let get to my head. It has a value. Yes. But not something that gets to me.

Do you have any regrets at all so far in life?

Regrets… No i don’t have any regrets because for any and everything that happens in life there’s a reason. So far no regrets. I thank God for everything, his blessings, the experiences, for they’ve made me a better person.

What are your favourite quotes and how do you feel about your upcoming merger with Dr Monica Watts?

Merger… It didn’t work out. The terms and conditions… So no merger for now.
Fave quotes… I have tons of quotes that inspires me and one of the few that runs deep is… “Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, our greatest fear is that we are more than able” it talks about how powerful man is. We’ve got lots of power and somtimes that scares us. Another is…”I wonder what you’ll do if your knew you wouldn’t fail at anything you do?”

That really gets to me. I’m imagining if anything we did in life we would succeed, what we’d do. What great mountains and achievements we would conquer.

What would you say to those ladies out there crushing on you?

I’m just a regular guy next door… I guess. I’m not the proud kind and if you want to come for a selfie, please do. Feel free, be nice and I’d be as well, it’s no big deal. I love you all. I believe women are God’s gift to men. Literally they’re are, and i also believe they help make us who we are in the movie industry for us the male actors. In my opinion, they are amazing.

One thing you ladies need to understand though is you need to always strive for gold. Never settle for less, be the best you can be and don’t let culture or society tell you what your limits are. Go beyond it.

You are pushed to go get married at a certain age and that’s stupid. Build yourself to be successful, travel out. You don’t need to be stuck to a Nigerian man  if that’s a problem because most are stupidly terrified of successful women. Travel out, do things, great things. Life is beyond you. When you get bigger and better, you get to affect lives beyond you positively. Its a ripple effect.

What would you say to those who look up to you as some sort of inspiration or mentor?

Truth is, I’m always open to mentor and inspire people. No one is perfect but one thing is certain, if you see someone having fire in their eyes for positivity despite how imperfect they are, know they’re constantly working on themselves to he stronger and better.

 

So regardless who they are and how flawed I am as well as you, one fact is I’ll never leave anyone same way I met them if they’re truly willing to learn. I’ll teach cause I’m full of many things  and I’m ready to let on what I’ve learnt and have. So hit me up anytime on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram… Wherever. @bentouitou. I’m always ready to respond and I love you all.