By Abigail Sitenge
RUMOURS of celebrated Nollywood actor Ramsey Noah having married top actress Genevieve Nnaji spread like wildfire in recent years.
However, the Nigerian movie star denies ever dating Nnaji.
Speaking to Post Lifestyle during the pre-awards cocktail of the Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards at Eko Hotel in Lagos last weekend, Ramsey explains that the duo are just professional colleagues who are very close.
"I'm not married to Genevieve. We are just colleagues and my relationship with her is like brother and sister. We are close like
really close but nothing of that nature has gone down," Ramsey who first laughs responds.
The multi-award winning actor says he has been married to Emilia Philips-Noah for 12 years now.
Emilia is into commodity business but spends most of her time with their children at home. Asked on how he has managed to keep his marriage for 12 years considering his celebrity status, Ramsey says actors too have the right to family and that his wife has kept their marriage going.
"My wife has made marriage easy for me, and she has kept me going. Without my wife there will be no me, no children, no family. She's the one that has held on strongly and made our marriage to be the way it is," he adds.
The father of three reveals that his first child is out of wedlock, and that his wife and children are a blessing to him. Born 40 years ago to a Lebanese father and Nigerian mother, Ramsey grew up in Lagos with his mother.
He found himself acting at a time he needed money for school fees way back in 1990.
Ramsey narrates that he auditioned for a TV project which came with some prize money and that is how he began acting.
The actor was actually one of the very first actors to star in Nollywood movies and explains that society in the West African country at the time looked down on actors.
He says his mother initially thought he was going in the wrong direction, but that after seeing the good part of it, she accepted her son's decision to pursue his dreams.
Ramsey, who describes himself as a practical person, says he would not groom his children into acting because he believes they should become what they want to.
He explains that being a celebrity is not easy as female fans throw themselves at him. "Fans would call me on my mobile because even if I don't give them my number they find it, sometimes I just change my numbers. The most important thing is to draw a line between one's profession and real life. I chat with fans but when I smile with a girl, it doesn't mean that I'm hitting on them," the actor says.
And while many actors dream of staring in Hollywood blockbusters, Ramsey feels fulfilled in Nigeria. "I am very happy where I am. I have had independent producers that I have worked with in London, California, Denmark among other countries but I love home," he shares.
Within Africa, Ramsey has shot movies in Tanzania, Ghana and Kenya. The actor has featured in a movie about a student graduate which is set to premiere in Texas this July.
With so many awards to his name, Ramsey admits it is difficult for him to remember the exact number he has received because his children broke some.
Besides acting, the Nigerian celebrity does a lot of humanitarian work revealing that he helps the less privileged in various towns of Nigeria and abroad.
"As actors you tend to do movies that reflect the society, hence you have a privilege to see critical suffering, see a lot of things going wrong. Between 2011 and 2013, we visited places where people's homes were destroyed and helped in whatever way we could and for me it's not about showcase, no! Sometimes I travel and help anonymously, no media, no what,'' he says.
Ramsey has meanwhile advised people in the film industry to learn to do clean business. He says some event organisers in Africa particularly have a habit of inviting him to grace their shows without planning adequately and later blame the actor for not turning up.
On a number of occasions, event organisers in Zambia have advertised the Nigerian film star on making appearances for certain events yet he does not show up. The actor says last month, a certain production company approached him to go to Zambia and that three quarters of the negotiations were done, but the organisers suddenly cut communication.
"What if they dupe me, because I can't come to a country where I do not even know the legal system? For me one has to give me 80 per cent of the agreed money before I travel. So, you give me that then we have an MoU Memorandum of Understanding. Event organisers usually mess up actors. Believe me, I have been there. I know what I'm talking about; it's not just in Zambia alone," he says.
"This guy from Zambia suddenly goes mute, he does not explain anything or apologise to say 'okay the deal has been cancelled or something.' He doesn't reply to my texts. It's very disheartening because it's like our brothers do not adequately plan for such events.
" Ramsey, however feels Zambian film actors can thrive if they embrace creative partnerships with already established actors. In his free time, the actor loves to watch movies and also enjoys adventure. Meanwhile, Genevieve is reportedly dating Nigerian music star, D'banji.
According to naijagists.com, the musician confessed his undying love for the actress five months ago in Nigeria.The Post Newspaper
Emilia is into commodity business but spends most of her time with their children at home. Asked on how he has managed to keep his marriage for 12 years considering his celebrity status, Ramsey says actors too have the right to family and that his wife has kept their marriage going.
"My wife has made marriage easy for me, and she has kept me going. Without my wife there will be no me, no children, no family. She's the one that has held on strongly and made our marriage to be the way it is," he adds.
The father of three reveals that his first child is out of wedlock, and that his wife and children are a blessing to him. Born 40 years ago to a Lebanese father and Nigerian mother, Ramsey grew up in Lagos with his mother.
He found himself acting at a time he needed money for school fees way back in 1990.
Ramsey narrates that he auditioned for a TV project which came with some prize money and that is how he began acting.
The actor was actually one of the very first actors to star in Nollywood movies and explains that society in the West African country at the time looked down on actors.
He says his mother initially thought he was going in the wrong direction, but that after seeing the good part of it, she accepted her son's decision to pursue his dreams.
Ramsey, who describes himself as a practical person, says he would not groom his children into acting because he believes they should become what they want to.
He explains that being a celebrity is not easy as female fans throw themselves at him. "Fans would call me on my mobile because even if I don't give them my number they find it, sometimes I just change my numbers. The most important thing is to draw a line between one's profession and real life. I chat with fans but when I smile with a girl, it doesn't mean that I'm hitting on them," the actor says.
And while many actors dream of staring in Hollywood blockbusters, Ramsey feels fulfilled in Nigeria. "I am very happy where I am. I have had independent producers that I have worked with in London, California, Denmark among other countries but I love home," he shares.
Within Africa, Ramsey has shot movies in Tanzania, Ghana and Kenya. The actor has featured in a movie about a student graduate which is set to premiere in Texas this July.
With so many awards to his name, Ramsey admits it is difficult for him to remember the exact number he has received because his children broke some.
Besides acting, the Nigerian celebrity does a lot of humanitarian work revealing that he helps the less privileged in various towns of Nigeria and abroad.
"As actors you tend to do movies that reflect the society, hence you have a privilege to see critical suffering, see a lot of things going wrong. Between 2011 and 2013, we visited places where people's homes were destroyed and helped in whatever way we could and for me it's not about showcase, no! Sometimes I travel and help anonymously, no media, no what,'' he says.
Ramsey has meanwhile advised people in the film industry to learn to do clean business. He says some event organisers in Africa particularly have a habit of inviting him to grace their shows without planning adequately and later blame the actor for not turning up.
On a number of occasions, event organisers in Zambia have advertised the Nigerian film star on making appearances for certain events yet he does not show up. The actor says last month, a certain production company approached him to go to Zambia and that three quarters of the negotiations were done, but the organisers suddenly cut communication.
"What if they dupe me, because I can't come to a country where I do not even know the legal system? For me one has to give me 80 per cent of the agreed money before I travel. So, you give me that then we have an MoU Memorandum of Understanding. Event organisers usually mess up actors. Believe me, I have been there. I know what I'm talking about; it's not just in Zambia alone," he says.
"This guy from Zambia suddenly goes mute, he does not explain anything or apologise to say 'okay the deal has been cancelled or something.' He doesn't reply to my texts. It's very disheartening because it's like our brothers do not adequately plan for such events.
" Ramsey, however feels Zambian film actors can thrive if they embrace creative partnerships with already established actors. In his free time, the actor loves to watch movies and also enjoys adventure. Meanwhile, Genevieve is reportedly dating Nigerian music star, D'banji.
According to naijagists.com, the musician confessed his undying love for the actress five months ago in Nigeria.The Post Newspaper
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