Hakeem Kae-Kazim, one of the few Nigerian Hollywood stars, who became famous from his role in the Oscar nominated movie “Hotel Rwanda”. He has featured in other prominent blockbuster movies like “Lost, Pirates of the Caribbean, 24, King Solomon’s Mines.
Exclusive Interview by Bode Ojo for Golden ICONS.
Golden ICONS: Thank you for giving Golden ICONS the opportunity to Interview you, and I want to personally congratulate you for your achievements thus far, you’re such an inspiration to many others.
Hakeem Kae-Kazim: Thank you very much; it’s also a great honor to be talking with you and to be able to share some of my experiences.
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Golden ICONS: From our past conversations while you were here in Houston, you come across as a very humble being, and a good family man, could you please tell me, how you would describe yourself?
Hakeem Kae-Kazim: Yes I think a bit like you have said, I am a family man and I hope down to earth as a person
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Golden ICONS: I definitely will start with your biggest accomplishment thus far. An Oscar nominated movie “Hotel Rwanda”, in which you played the opposite role to “Don Cheadle”. How was it like shooting that movie with him, and how did you get that role?
Hakeem Kae-Kazim: I had a fantastic time working with Don Cheadle who was a very lovely, humble and down to earth man, very giving as an actor.
I actually got the role when I was in Cape Town South Africa where I was living at the time, I was lucky enough to arrange a breakfast meeting with the Director Terry George after which he offered me the role.
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Golden ICONS: You have featured in other great movies like “Lost, Pirates of the Caribbean, 24, King Solomon’s Mines”, which of those movies would you say was the most challenging and why?
Hakeem Kae-Kazim: They all have different challenges so I couldn’t really point out which was more than the other.
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Golden ICONS: What would you say has attributed the most to your success thus far?
Hakeem Kae-Kazim: Perseverance, hard work and a beautiful family.
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Golden ICONS: You mentioned that you went to one or two acting schools, if I remember correctly, what schools did you attend? and from your experience, why would you strongly recommend these school/schools to those that wants to follow a similar career path?
Hakeem Kae-Kazim: I went to drama school in the United Kingdom and had a very classical training, lots of Shakespeare and Chekov, so it was mainly a theatre based training. Theatre is a great way to get a grounding as an actor and also open yourself up, increase your artistic versatility. If you can do Shakespeare, then nothing feels as difficult afterwards.
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Golden ICONS: Who inspire you and what are your future inspirational goals?
Hakeem Kae-Kazim: People like Sydney Poitier, Mohammed Ali, Nelson Mandela, Ophra Winfrey.
My future goals are to win an Oscar and to be able to tell the African story from the African perspective on the world stage of cinema.
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Golden ICONS: I’m not sure if you watch Nollywood Movies, but if you do, could you please give your opinion about that industry?
Hakeem Kae-Kazim: I applaud Nollywood and those people who have been instrumental in, firstly making this the 2nd largest film industry, in terms of turnover, in the world, behind Bollywood and now ahead of Hollywood, and secondly for bringing part of the African story as told by Africans to Africa and the Diaspora. This has allowed us to know that we have a huge audience out there that want to see themselves and their stories reflected on the screen. Our job now, is to improve in everyway the telling of these so we can compete internationally, so that the rest of the world will want to see and understand and enjoy our perspective.
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Golden ICONS: When you’re not working, what do you do in your spare time?
Hakeem Kae-Kazim: I spend time with my wife Bronwyn and my two little girls, Ayesha and Shadha, for me that is such a joy, as I miss them all so much when I am away from them.
More Exclusives on Hakeem Hae-Kazim coming soon!!!
Interview by Bode Ojo for Golden ICONS Inc. Golden ICONS is a celebrity, lifestyle, inspirational and entertainment magazine tailored to embrace and highlight the outstanding deeds of ICONS and Citizens of Africa, America and Europe.
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Hakeem Kae-Kazim’s Interview by Shahid Manning in the clip below.
Hakeem Kae-Kazim’s Inteview by Shahid Manning.
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