INTERVIEW: What God told me about our unborn child – Stan Nze

Like Veteran actors Olu Jacob and Joke Sylvia, fast-growing Nollywood star Stan Nze and his wife, Blessing Obasi, an actress and producer, have become fan favourites since their surprise wedding two years ago.

The lovebirds, often described as Nollywood’s Beyonce and JayZ, got married on 11 September 2021.

Despite a notable age difference, this power couple, affectionately known as Mazi and Lolo Nze, are crafting an enchanting narrative that resonates deeply with admirers and fans alike.

Celebrating their second marriage anniversary, the couple recently revealed they are expecting a baby.

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In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the award-winning actor shared how he discovered he would be a father and his preparations for this new phase of life.

Excerpts:

PT: How did you discover your wife was pregnant?

Stan: I didn’t know we were expecting a baby, but I found out on my wife’s birthday after returning from a shoot.

That day was the 12th of March, and my wife and I had booked a hotel to celebrate her birthday, so some of her friends came around. I thought they came to celebrate with her, but they gave me a wrapped box; I never knew what the box was all about.

I thought it was an early birthday gift for me because my birthday is three days after hers, and since I would be shooting on my birthday, so I felt it was an early birthday gift, and it was the strangest gift I got; it was a card that read ‘from a baby’, and some drawings and cloths accompanied it.

Even after reading the card, I did not understand it, and they started explaining the card’s content to me, that my wife was pregnant. I broke down in tears. I was confused. I thought it was a faith profession, but I never knew it was real. Already, we were almost 19 weeks gone.

PT: Fatherhood, how does it make you feel?

Stan: It makes me feel amazing, more responsibility, less sleep, and more work to be done. It is a great feeling, especially knowing that you will be responsible for another life, and you have to nurture that life from the womb till the day you leave this earth.

As exciting as it is exciting, it is a new terrain for us, and we are taking it one step at a time.

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We have not done this before, and I remember sometime two weeks ago, I was asking God how I would do this. I have not been here before, and you know how it has been for me all along; I am still on the journey of training my siblings; how much more a new life.

And I know that he said to me, in that small still voice, ‘You are a good man, the things you know already about life, just instil it, integrity, faithfulness, telling the truth, all those things that you already know that are good, just impart them, and I will be with you all through’. And that was what I found solace in.

PT: You are one of the actors, married to an actress; share how you met your wife.

Stan: Well, I met her at a film festival initially, the Eko film festival. The first time, I didn’t make a remarkable impression. It was Rotimi Salami who introduced us together. She, of course, already had an image of me. She had said my lips were big, not like she liked me, nor did she hate me then.

But that was when I noted her; it was on my birthday, May 15, 2017, and we met again at the African Magic Office. I came to sell one of my movies to them, ‘Colourless’, and she also came to sell one of her movies to them, ‘Clueless’.

And then Tunde Olafuya, who used to work in African magic at the time, introduced me to her; he said to us, “You don’t know Blessing, she is a producer oo”, and he told her, “he is an actor oo make you na meet na.” And I told her, ‘Madam, give us a role, na.’ That was the first time I took note of her.

But when things sparked up, it was at the Picture Perfect premiere, and then we were meeting often at premieres, and we began to call ourselves to know whether we were coming to the premiere; the first time I asked her out, it was on December 1st. We became very good friends, from friendship to dating to marriage.

PT: You broke into the movie industry in 2016; what has the journey been like?

Stan: I like to think that my career has had different peak moments; in 2016, it was the film ‘Just Not Married’, even in 2013, one of my best significant movies. Just Not Married went to the International Film Festival, Toronto, and it did what it did at the time.

In 2020, I had some outstanding movies even when it was lockdown, ‘Imela’, which was amazing online and of course, that was the year I had a significant break, ‘Rattle Snake; the Ahanna Story’.

PT: And after Rattle Snake, the Ahanna Story?

Stan: It has been a whole new level; it has given me my most awards, the best actor in a movie or TV series AMVCA 2021, and got me an award for African best actor. That feels like one of the biggest, and it’s been a growth from back to back. Since then, every film has contributed to the brand we know as Stan Nze, and I am grateful to God for it.

PT: You featured in a recent movie, ‘The Weekend to Forget.’ What about the film and your role?

Stan Nze: I played the role of Tito; in the movie, Tito is a Nollywood influencer and a bad boy energy of the film. The weekend to forget was supposed to be a weekend for him and his friends to remember, as they came to have fun, but they didn’t want to remember.

I had a lot of fun with underwater scenes, and whenever I have to do a film, the script is the primary thing that I look out for, and this script is fantastic. Directed by Damola Ademola, he brought the best out of each character through his directorial debut, which was the icing on the cake.

PT: What are your thoughts on the recent death of Nigerian singer Mohbad?

Stan: I like positive vibes; if you are in a place where the vibe is negative, you need to leave as soon as possible, surround yourself with people who encourage you, and when things are not going well with you, speak out, do not bottle it up, and do not just speak out, take relevant steps to solve the issue, get people who would understand you.

Above all, be prayerful. There is so much happening on earth, and you can never predict what will happen next, so always strive to connect to your maker and get refreshments. And he will strengthen you, and you will be whole.