Actor Richard Mofe-Damijo Full Biography

DATE OF BIRTH:    6 July 1961

OCCUPATION:     Actor, politician

MARITAL STATUS:  Married

INTRODUCTION  
Richard Mofe Damijo popularly known as RMD, is a Nigerian actor and politician. In 2005 he won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He is a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State, Nigeria.

EARLY LIFE AND BACKGROUND  

RMD was born in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. He had his secondary education at Midwest College, Warri and Anglican Grammar School. While in secondary school, Richard was a member of the Drama Club. After his secondary education, he got admission into the University of Benin, where he studied Theater Arts. He later studied law at the University of Lagos and graduated in the year 2004.

He took part in all dramas in school, especially the religious ones where he played Jesus or Peter and all that.  According to him In school, leadership was thrust upon him. In his secondary school, he was first a member of the dramatic society. He went to an all-boys school first and he started out playing female parts.

He had a lot of hair at the time and they thought he ooked feminine when he brushed his hair or when he let his hair grow and stuff like that, so it became a natural thing. When he got to form 4, he started doing a lot of martial arts and all of that so it looked just like a wonderful combination to combine martial arts and theatre.
See what he said in an interview below:
“And when it was time to fill my JAMB form, it was obvious. Everybody was like “Oh, you’re gonna do theatre arts”. That was the most natural thing to do and by the time I got to university, in my first year in university again, by some divine conspiracy leadership was thrust upon me. I remember the first departmental production where we were auditioned and all of that and the names for the parts came out the next day and I went to the notice board and I saw my name under the lead character, I ran straight to the Head of Department and said “I’m sorry, there’s a mistake. I’m a new student, but they put my name in the lead”. He said “no, you’ll play the lead”. I said but I just came in. I want to learn what… I thought acting was different in the university, but they made me realize whatever it is that I was doing then was what was needed. From my first production in school, I started playing leads. I guess I didn’t look back, as we say in Nigeria, I didn’t look back after that.
Same thing happened in Lagos. I came to Lagos…Ajo Productions was the theatre to work for and I got that… I went for the audition, I prepared and again, I got the lead character in that one. It’s just been… I guess when you’re humble that way, you can’t help but see some kind of divine movement in how things happened.”

CAREER AND LIFE  

After graduating from the university, Mofe-Damijo took part in a television soap opera in the late 80’s called Ripples. Before then, he had a stint with Concord Newspapers and Metro Magazine as a reporter. Out of Bounds was the first film for which he received a writer/producer credit. In 2005 at the maiden edition of the African Movie Academy Awards Mofe-Damijo won the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

Mofe-Damijo was the commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State, Nigeria.
RMD was married to one of the foremost Nigerian Journalists, late May Ellen Ezekiel, who was popularly known as MEE and they had one child. She died in the year 1996. Richard however got married again. He has a total of five children; four from his current marriage.

Filmography:

1997: Out of Bounds, acted with Bimbo Akintola & Racheal Oniga; Hostages.
1998: Scores to Settle, acted with Liz Benson & Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde; Diamond Ring, acted with with Liz Benson.
1999: Freedom.
2003: When God Says Yes, acted with Pete Edochie & Stella Damasus-Aboderin; The Richest Man; The Return, acted with Segun Arinze; The Intruder acted with Stella Damasus-Aboderin & Rita Dominic; Soul Provider acted with Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde; Romantic Attraction acted with Chioma Chukwuka & Zack Orji; Private Sin as Pastor Jack, acted with Genevieve Nnaji, Stephanie Okereke, Olu Jacobs & Patience Ozokwor; Passions acted with Genevieve Nnaji & Stella Damasus-Aboderin; Love, acted with Genevieve Nnaji & Segun Arinze; Keeping Faith: Is That Love?, acted with Genevieve Nnaji & Joke Silva; I Will Die for You, acted with Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde & Segun Arinze; Emotional Pain, acted with Stella Damasus-Aboderin; Ayomida.
2004: The Mayors, acted with Sam Dede & Segun Arinze; True Romance, acted with Rita Dominic & Desmond Elliot; The Legend, acted with Kate Henshaw-Nuttal; Standing Alone, acted with Stella Damasus-Aboderin & Tony Umez; Sisters’ Enemy; Queen, with Stella Damasus-Aboderin; Little Angel; Kings Pride, acted with Stella Damasus-Aboderin; I Want Your Wife; Indecent Girl, acted with Ini Edo; Indecent Act acted with Rita Dominic; I Believe in You acted with Rita Dominic; Engagement Night acted with Stella Damasus-Aboderin; Deadly Desire; Danger Signal, acted with Desmond Elliot; Critical Decision, acted with Genevieve Nnaji & Stephanie Okereke; Burning Desire, acted with Stella Damasus-Aboderin & Mike Ezuruonye; Critical Assignment; The President, acted with Hakeem Kae-Kazim.
2005: The Bridesmaid acted with Chioma Chukwuka, Kate Henshaw-Nuttal & Stella Damasus-Aboderin; Darkest Night acted with with Genevieve Nnaji, Segun Arinze & Uche Jombo; Bridge-Stone, acted with Liz Benson & Zack Orji; Behind Closed Doors acted with Stella Damasus-Aboderin, Desmond Elliot & Patience Ozokwor; Baby Girl, acted with with Pete Edochie.
2006: Angels of Destiny.
2007: Caught in the Middle
2014: 30 Days in Atlanta; Kimberley’s father.

AWARDS AND ENDORSEMENTS  
Has won numerous awards

SOURCES: wikipedia.org, nigeriansinamerica.com, www.takemetonaija.com