He might be a little crazy, but Siv Ngesi isn't one to mince his words when something matters to him.
The triple threat (actor, presenter and comedian) has just finished shooting a comedy film; Finders Keepers that will be on circuit next month. While at it, he gave a frank rundown on the world of showbiz and what it takes to make it big.
Many people are under the impression that talent goes a long way and it’s all you need, Siv begs to differ on the matter. “For me the most basic thing, because a lot of people think this industry is about how talented you are, I think it really isn’t. I got into comedy because of a friend. I got my first presenting job because a friend said 'hey, we need a new presenter, come', and then I was a new presenter.
“Another friend of mine said 'hey, we could get you into comedy', and I got into comedy. It’s not really how talented you are. It’s about who you know and how hard you hustle and I think that is the saddest part about our industry, because a lot of people are talented. They think they are going to succeed. It’s the same as clever people thinking they deserve to succeed because they are clever. No, you don’t! You have to work hard and you have to hustle."
Two things that motivate and drive Siv are the love he has for success (because it turns him on, he says) and making his mother proud.
In Finders Keepers, he plays a supporting lead role. "It’s about this guy who finds something, and then ends up keeping it, and it’s about someone who actually ends up stealing something of someone who is actually a dangerous man,” he explains.
“I play a guy called Espezz. He is a gay cockney undercover guy, who is actually all manly but is actually gay and he has these crazy outbursts all over the place and it’s one of the funniest characters I’ve ever played in my life."
To prepare for the role he hung out with a friend from whom he drew inspiration. “I have a friend of mine who is very gay, and very feminine, so I just started to chill with him for a while and I’ve known him all my life. It’s about being able to do the subtle things that come across very feminine. I’m reasonably quite big and I look quite ‘manly’, whatever manly looks like, and I made it as subtle as possible which I think is actually very funny."
Siv also has an organisation called dignity drive which is an initiative aimed at donating sanitary products for women nationwide.
“I want to make sure that every single young lady has pads and tampons to be able to last them as long as they need. I believe that if men bled once a month, there would be free pads and tampons throughout the country. I think it’s a disgusting injustice. Pads and tampons should be as free as condoms are in this country.”