Philip Asaya, known for his roles in Enakhe (2020-2021), Slum King (2023), and Cake (2022), has delivered one of his most memorable performances to date as a debt-ridden father in Courage Obayuwana’s directorial debut, Kill Boro (2024). In this exclusive interview with What Kept Me Up, the actor breaks down his titular role and shares his thoughts on the topical film that peaked at Number 1 on Prime Video.
Spoiler alert if you are yet to see Kill Boro.
You are an actor, a poet, an artist, a scriptwriter, and a Web3 expert. As someone who is into so many things, how do you introduce yourself to people? Which one comes first?
Generally, I describe myself as a creative. Since I do a lot of things, I need to do them very well so that if the movie industry wants to introduce me, they will say, “This is an actor,” and top producers will agree. If the spoken word or poetry world wants to introduce me, they will call me a poet. But I want to be known as Philip Asaya. For example, when we use the word “God,” you do not need to add PhD or B.SC; you just know this particular person is all-encompassing.
How did you get into Nollywood as an actor, if you don’t mind me asking?
Acting has always been part of me. There was a time, when I was growing up in the early 90s, that our TV got bad. My dad had gotten into bad debts because he wanted to go into this fish farming business. It was a really tough time for us. But my younger ones wanted to watch TV, so I started telling them stories out of thin air. Then, in church, I would act. I was always either the drama leader or systems leader.
People I coached would go to audition rooms and get roles. My chance came when Africa Magic came to Benin to start a TV series called Enakhe (2020–2021). It was my wife who actually encouraged me to audition, because I’d already tried out for Africa Magic a long time ago—back when Tinsel was still reigning—but it didn’t pan out. So, I’d told myself, “All these people are just scam.” This time around, Victor Sanchez Aghahowa (Jemeji, Man of Her Dreams) was the one in charge. I went to the audition, and voila! I got the lead role.
How did that make you feel?
When I got the lead role in Enakhe (2020-2021), I think people were scared, “We don’t know this guy from anywhere, are we sure he can carry the show?” But I am so grateful to God for the favourable reviews. I’m also grateful for all those years of training and honing my skill before coming out there. It made doing Enakhe (2020–2021) almost feel like a breeze; like I had been shadowboxing for years, waiting to knock my opponent out with one punch. And I did.
And now you’ve played the lead in a feature film, Kill Boro (2024), the 4th of 12 films championed by Steve Gukas and Dotun Olakunri’s First Features Project. What’s that experience like?
Kill Boro (2024) is my second time working with the First Features project. The first time around, I played the role of Theo in Cake (2022).
Steve Gukas (93 Days, A Place in the Stars)—I call him Uncle Steve—is the one who gave me my first lead in a feature film, and believed that I could play that character well. I’m very thankful to him. He builds stars. That’s why he’s making 12 films with first-time directors. That’s evidence of men who have created platforms for making other people great. We rarely see that in our older generation.
What was it like working with first-time director Obayuwana Courage?
“First time director,” what’s that? Courage knew what he wanted to direct, and he did very well. If you’re doing it for the first time and you’re not doing it well, then you can be excused with a term like ‘first-time director’.
Initially, he didn’t want Elijah (Kosisochukwu Ogboruche) and me to have any interaction on set. The first time we spoke was when we had that scene in the mechanic workshop when I asked him to bring me something. Can you imagine me speaking to someone the first time on set in that kind of setting and how it would be captured on screen? No, Courage was a beast. He’s here to tear down the industry.
In the film, we saw so many sides to Boro (and not just because he was the main character). Were there any challenges in portraying such a complex personality? (e.g., are you an original “Port Harcourt Boy,” and how were you able to slide into that scene?)
You see, when I received the script, some of the lines were in Pidgin. I just had to ask, “Are we going to Port Harcourt?” They said, “Yes, and it has to be Port Harcourt pidgin.” But I was only used to South-South pidgin.
So I called my cousin, who was in Port Harcourt and started asking questions. “What do you guys call these things?” He started teaching me, I also started watching clips of Port Harcourt slang and started speaking pidgin in my house. I started trying to be that character.
But Boro’s personality really took a toll on me. He was an angry man, so I frowned throughout. Even after we finished shooting, I started asking myself, “Why am I sad? It’s over, nah!” But that’s what happens when you do not act. I tried not to play Boro. I tried to be him. I just wanted to be a very good Boro. I wanted to kill the role.
On the bright side, since you did such a good job of “killing” Boro, what do you think about Boro’s redemptive arc? Do you think the change in his personality is realistic?
Well, yes. To an extent. Because this is a feature film, they can’t really show everything. The most important question here is actually, “Why was Boro so angry?”
Why was Boro so angry?
Boro wanted to take his family away from Azuama. Boro was stuck in that place.
In reality, we shot in a beautiful village. But on screen, the place transformed into Azuama with all its violence and ghetto feels. Then, being a gangster—or a former gangster—was part of it. I grew up in Benin, so I have seen how people can be violent. I know if someone like Boro has gone down that path before, there’s a way his life is supposed to be. It will affect the way he relates to people, and you saw it in his dealings with Bossman (Gregory Ojefua), people in the community, and even his family.
Another reason Boro was angry is that a lot of men describe their love to their family by duty: “I pay your school fees,” “I give you food,” “I give you shelter,” and “I protect you.” But Boro couldn’t make those kinds of claims. Bossman was the one protecting Elijah. Boma (Ini Dima-Okojie) was the one feeding him with boli. His school fees had not been paid, and at home, there was no light. That sense of duty was hitting Boro hard, so he lost his sanity and started attacking his family. Unfortunately, that is what a lot of men in the 90’s did. Even till now.
So, what changed Boro?
Boro loved his family. And when he saw that Jaguar (Yibo Koko) was about to take the reason why he had been struggling all this while, he was willing to beg. Honestly, that bullet was needed to reset his brain. And so, is Boro’s redemption arc possible? Absolutely. A lot of people who say it’s not realistic have never been in a situation where you just need something to take your brain back to factory setting.
When the character was getting close to redemption, it was very easy. There’s a particular scene Ini and I played—the place where he sold the wristwatch and was telling Boma about it. There was this genuine joy that I felt, and so we couldn’t say anything. We just had to do this expression of us being so happy. You know, acting is acting and reacting, and Ini is a very fantastic actor, so she was able to give back. We did that scene six times, and we were catching our breath when they said “cut.” I understood what Boro was going through, so I knew he would be extremely happy here. If you know someone’s pain and struggle, you will know how to appreciate their triumph.
Coincidentally, Kill Boro, released at the end of May, was in general conversation in June, which is Men’s Mental Health Month. Having portrayed such a complicated character, what do you think about the need for men to seek support in today’s world?
I think men need to support men more. There’s a school of thought that says that men should cry; I’m not totally for that, nor will I be completely against it. Now, I’m not saying men shouldn’t cry or show weakness; I’m just saying we should never celebrate weakness in any man. “Supporting men” shouldn’t start when they are already down or broken. We can’t just wait for a time of trouble; then we’ll go to the broken man and start saying, “Sorry ehn, let us cry with him.” We need to teach our men right from the cradle, okay? When a man says, “I will be here,” he should be there. So, when a boy says the same thing, we should help him keep his word. It’s a matter of principle and discipline. If we start there, the boy will grow into a man with such characteristics, then he can adequately stand by another man when adversity comes.
The movie touches on patricide, which is taboo as well as a crime. Some would say Boro deserved it. Would you agree? And what is your perception of Elijah and his terrible decision to kill his father?
It was not justified on every level. Elijah was on the path of becoming a much more terrible Boro. Bossman was his mentor, and he couldn’t control his emotions. A man who cannot control his emotions is not a man. So, imagine you coming to Elijah and trying to reason with him while he’s trying to kill his father. “Oh, you want to kill your father because he beats your mother up?” “Oh, let us support you.” You see that you’re actually creating a worse man in Elijah.
Do you think there’s anything Boma should have done differently to resolve the problems in her family especially when Boro started hurting their son?
It’s hard to paint it black and white. Boma was in her 100 level when she got pregnant. 100-level should be maybe 16, 17 years old. She had faith in Boro, and there’s something about faith that is really powerful. And that’s what most women have. Is it a bad thing? No. But it can be very toxic too.
So, I think it would have been very difficult for Boma to leave Boro. But personally, I don’t think a woman should stay where she is being battered and bruised. Anybody in that situation should run around and seek help. It’s totally wrong.
As the actor who played Boro, do you think Bossman is a good friend? After all, his promise to Elijah is a bit odd, if we’re being honest.
I think the term “good friend” is relative. A good friend is someone who stands by you when you are in the same belief system. If you guys are armed robbers, a good friend can take a bullet for you. After all, both of you kill people, so that’s all he knows.
It’s possible that Bossman was a good friend, but we didn’t really explore that. It’s true that he stood by Elijah, but Boro is no longer in the same belief system with him. So, that contradiction still happens; that’s why when he asked, “Wetin happen to you, brother?” Boro understood and told him straight, “You are not my brother. Your mama no born me. Don’t go there.”
If you could play another role in Kill Boro, which character would you pick? And are there any unique reasons why you wanted to play Boro in the first place?
I honestly don’t know what other character I’d pick, because every other person was amazing; Gregory and Ini were amazing. Working with Ini was so easy, right from the chemistry read. The same with Kosi; I didn’t even have a lot of scenes with Elijah, but our relationship on set was great.
One of the reasons I took on this project was the production house. Working with Steve Gukas is an amazing opportunity for people who know what they are doing. Also, I really liked the story. The character had range, you know. And I wanted to do something different. I had never been a PH boy before, so I wanted to try that. I can’t wait to be a Hausa man one of these days *laughs*.
Having worked on Cake (2022) and now Kill Boro (2024), you’ve gained a unique perspective on the First Features Project. Has anything changed since the first time you worked with them?
Absolutely. It’s gaining momentum. C’mon! Hitting Number 1 & 2 on Prime Video is huge; you can’t ask for anything better. Also, there are a lot of beautiful stories coming up, and I think you’re about to see the next crop of amazing directors in the industry. As I said before, we rarely see a lot of people in Steve Gukas’s age bracket mentor properly. Some would like to push people down, but here is a man putting himself in the shadows and pushing young people forward. He’s also looking for new faces in the acting industry. You’ll notice that you saw some new faces in Kill Boro. That’s because Uncle Steve is one of the few people I know who calls for auditions and actually gives people good roles, not just “waka-pass.”
Are there any lessons you’ve learned from the experience as a whole? Not just the character, but the movie itself? And was it everything you thought it would be?
Kill Boro taught me to treasure what I have, no matter how minute I may think it is. If Boro had appreciated his family more and focused on them, I think they would have been able to solve their problems a long time ago. As for the experience, it was everything I thought it would be and more. So far, the reviews have been fantastic, and I am loving it. I want more people to see the film and talk about it, but you guys should watch it in pidgin because I think it has a default English dub on Prime Video. To enjoy the full experience, just change the default to Nigerian pidgin.
In 2022, you were nominated in the Spoken Artist of the Year category of the African Podcast and Voice Awards. You are also the founder of a Spoken Words venture called The Mannequin Mode. How would you say your work as a poet has impacted you as an actor?
I think if you want to be a very fantastic actor, you must be willing to move in the dirt. You should be able to experience everything. If you can’t do that, you should be able to learn and listen; look at the way everybody is behaving, and watch their tone. That’s very important in poetry as well. Boro is totally different from who I am. But all my other art forms have helped bring him out. Not just by acting, but by becoming in a way; I know Boro, I’ve smelled Boro, I know how he talks, and how he thinks. So, that’s it.
So, what’s next for Philip Asaya?
You guys have not seen anything yet. There’s Son of the Soil. Then I think I have about 3 more movies on the way. One of them is coming out on Prime. I have so many things in my tank that I want to release. I just can’t wait. I just hope people get the right roles for me.
Kill Boro is currently streaming on Prime Video.
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