Ibrahim Jammal: Acting was a beautiful mistake for me | The Guardian Nigeria News

Ibrahim Jammal is a Nigerian actor and production manager. He is known for his roles in The Delivery Boy, Baba and Green White Green. With a background in Television Production, Jammal began his film career as a production manager. He later blended production role with acting and has featured in several films. In this interview with IJEOMA THOMAS-ODIA, he speaks about his sojourn into acting and his role in Showmax Original series, Crime and Justice.

Tell us about your sojourn into acting. Has it always been the goal or did you stumble into it?
Acting was actually not the dream at first, it was a beautiful mistake; I loved being behind the scenes. I had been doing production way behind the scenes more than in front of camera. The camera happened by mistake. But for me, anything worth doing is worth doing well. It happened and I said, if this is the path, why not, let’s just see how this goes. I put work into it just to make sure that I put my best foot forward and it’s not so bad.

Why did you say it was a beautiful mistake?
It was a beautiful mistake. I escorted a friend of mine to an audition. They were reading in pairs and when it got to his turn, there was nobody to pair with him and they said, ‘your friend is here, read with him’. When we started, I was asked to switch characters with him. That was confusing though. When we were about leaving, they said, ‘oh, you too, write your name down!’ So, I wrote my name down and we left. I eventually got the role and he didn’t. But I have always been behind the scenes, so I understand the acting process but I have just never done it.

In what year did it happen?
This was 2016. It was the movie, Green White Green. And that was my debut as an actor. Up till date, I am so grateful for the fact that he dragged me there.

What has it been like so far?
I am enjoying it. The best thing about being an actor is that you can be anybody you want to be. You can just live the life of different people. It is all about experiences. This is something like a gift. I am grateful for that opportunity and that is what I mean by beautiful mistake. I am enjoying my mistake.

Do you undergo any kind of routine in preparation before going on set?
I am very picky and very particular about the projects I work on. I am big on storytelling. Stories for me are the first and most important thing. Whenever I read a script and I don’t see myself in it, I don’t work towards it. For the rituals; whenever I read something, I envision how the character looks like; how they talk, how they behave. I go back and do my background check, I try to find out their back-story, who they are and what they have been through and I factor that into myself as the person. Most of my rituals are basically research on the character. If you don’t know who this person is, then you cannot be this person.

In your character in Crime and Justice, do you think there are any similarities with you?
One major thing that Danladi, which is the character I played, has that I also have is that I don’t make rash decisions. I am the kind of person that gets the joke later but getting it later means I have to think about it first. I am the kind of person that will sit down, let the moment marinate before I make a decision. Danladi is basically that person. He would never just say something. He would have to get all the details, facts and information before he answers. And he has this thing where his instincts tell him to stop when he is doing something wrong or going somewhere wrong. I think we have that in common.

Are you worried that crime dramas like this may skyrocket crime rate in the Nigerian society?
If people watch the news, are they going to end up doing what they see on the news outside? I feel like this show is more informative. This is more of you seeing what is actually happening around you and realising that since this can actually happen, what can I do to keep myself safe. How do I go to the police station, how do I approach the police, how do I protect the people around me? I think our thoughts should be more positive on seeing these things and finding ways to protect the people around us. I think that is why the lead actors are like the heroes of the film. They are humans, and they are the ones protecting the city. Then there are some cases where we end up losing. We win sometimes and then we lose sometimes. That is how life is.

Did you have to draw from any experiences of watching foreign cop-dramas to play your role perfectly?
I do enjoy crime dramas. The fact that you can’t really tell who did something till the end of a story is so interesting and intriguing for me, so I have always been that guy. I watched a lot of crime dramas; it is like I have actually binged on all of them. Life is all about experiences obviously and that is what makes you into a person. You never know what you are drawing from but it’s from what you have watched and stories you have heard. The funny thing about Crime and Justice is that these stories are from life experiences, they have happened. It is fictional but it is real with things that have occurred with a bit of storytelling to make it more interesting for people to relate with.