I don’t mess around with women — Majid Michel

Ghanaian actor Majid Michel’s experience on the set of his first epic movie, Ayamma, which was shot recently somewhere in Akwa Ibom State, has left a sweet-sour taste in his mouth.

The actor, in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos, described the experience as very challenging. He said, “Leaving home to a very distant land to shoot a movie in a forest full of insects and darkness was quite challenging for me. We didn’t put on tops while the shooting lasted. Even if we did, it still would not have prevented all kinds of insects — not just mosquitoes — from biting our faces, bare feet and hands.”

The experience also exposed the religious part of the award-winning actor, which many movie fans had never known. Asked if he learnt any lesson from his stint in the ‘forest’, he replied, “I have just realised that the authority of Jesus Christ must be asserted in every culture and tradition. I believe that Jesus came to purge these cultures and to take them away. Also, He came to take away our traditions and to replace them with His kingdom on earth. I believe that the real culture is the way of God.”

Majid’s statement, no doubt, contrasts sharply with his image on the screen as a male sex symbol.  Reminded about this image, his appearance in several amorous movie scenes and asked if he had always kept the Christian part of him aside when going on location, the actor said, “When I am on the set of a movie, I am a completely different Majid. The character that you see on the screen is somebody else who tries to convey the message in a movie to an audience. This person’s goal is to educate the people on the things that are happening to the society in real life. I am Majid Michel, but I play different characters in the movies. So, in a movie, you see a character, not Majid.”

Although it is common knowledge that he is adored by many female movie fans, the Ghanaian told our correspondent that he had never been obsessed with women, as portrayed in most of the movies that he has been featured. Then, admitting that he was often drawn to women for different reasons other than romance, he said, “I like women a lot, but I don’t mess around with them. I am not a womaniser. I am just drawn to a lot of women and it ends there.”