Award-winning Ugandan Film Actor And Director Mathew Nabwiso said that patience is one of the values that have enabled him to succeed as an actor.
He revealed learning the lessons from his past when he tried music in the late 90s and dropped out of the industry because of how tough it was at the time. Seeing most musical artists fly out of the country in search of greener pastures even discouraged him more.
However, he noticed that the musicians who persevere became successful and eminent, making him wish he had stayed.
“15 years later, when the film Industry picked up, I told myself that since the other ship left me, I'm sticking to this one,” said Mr. Nabwiso during an interview with RX Radio's Crystal Newman on the Groove Cafe.
He explained that the journey was similarly rough at the beginning. He recalled earning 150,000 shillings per film and making a total of 450,000 shillings a year.
Today, he is glad the industry has changed tremendously with actors and actresses having full-time paid jobs. As the Director and Producer of the Sanyu television series, he revealed that he employs about 75 permanent cat and crew members while 100-150 people are acting as extras.
“Things are so much better, all the 75 people signed contracts and are on the payroll for a whole year. They signed contracts for 2 seasons and were paid every month for two years. Also in Season 3 they are assured of a salary every end of the month for this year. So, I’m glad I stuck in there and jumped to the ship because it has really evolved,” he said.
Mr. Nabwiso first appeared in a television commercial for a carpet store advertised by Ugandan filmmaker and director Matt Bish. He later called for auditions for the Film Battle of The Souls (2006) where Mr. Nabwiso auditioned and got the leading role.
From Mr. Bish's interesting conversations about making films in Amsterdam with other directors, Mr. Nabwiso got inspired to become a film director, which took him 10 years of preparation.
As a director, he says, “I like to work with raw talent. It feels good to see someone who came in raw become an amazing actor/actress and everyone is wowed by their performance. It is fulfilling to know that I did a good job obviously, even though no one remembers the director behind the scenes,” he said.
Mathew Nabwiso has acted in films like Rain, Kyaddala, The Hostel Series, Mpeke Town Series, Mistakes Girls Do, State Research Bureau, Mercy Of The Jungle, and Bella, among others.
He is directing the ongoing famous television series Sanyu, Prickly roses (2020), and produced Rain (2016). He is married to a renowned film actor and director Mrs. Eleanor Nabwiso.
The Groove Cafe with Crystal Newman airs every Weekday from 4-5 pm on RX Radio.
Download the RX Radio app:
Comments