On a podcast (Teju Babyface Deep Dive) with Nigerian comedian Teju Oyelakin popularly known as Teju Babyface, Nollywood actor, Joseph Benjamin who is known for his versatility in the media space revealed how failed movie gigs turned him into a cab driver after he moved to the U.S.
Joseph disclosed how he relocated to the U.S. in 2016 after someone had promised him movie gigs but on getting there, the individual didn’t live up to the promises. He was disappointed in the end.
As of 2016 when he relocated, Joseph was quite popular. He was known for co-hosting MTN’s Project Fame, a talent reality show, and starring in the movies Tango With Me, Mr. and Mrs., and Murder at Prime Suites. Also, at the 2012 African Film Awards, he won the African Actor of the Year. He won the Best Lead Actor at the 2012 Best of Nollywood Awards for his role in Married but Living Single.
This shows to what extent he was famous, and then taking up a cabbie job in the U.S.
In the latest episode of the podcast, The actor narrates his ordeal of how he got to America on the promises of gigs waiting for him. “So I thought I was going to have a soft landing there. I packed everything from Nigeria, bought a one-way ticket, and came to America.”
On getting there, there was an issue and the person who he was supposed to book the deal with told him the financiers pulled out. He didn’t know what to do at this point, either to go back to Nigeria or remain. According to him, he had only $1,500 at the time.
The actor had to take on several menial jobs to make ends meet including working in a cold room Publix, a delivery man in Amazon trucks, and driving Uber and Lyft cabs. While he did the cabbie work, he said he met a lot of Nigerians who even requested to take pictures with him. He said he got lots of affirmation words like ‘Boss you will make it”.
In his narration he said;
“I got to America on a promise that I had some gigs waiting for me. So I thought I was going to have a soft landing there. I packed up everything from Nigeria, bought a one-way ticket, and came to America.
“I was put in a well-furnished house and all of that. Then two days later, the person who I was supposed to book a deal with said to me, ‘Those our financiers have pulled out. They have an issue.’
“So, I said, what do I do? He was like, ‘From next month on, you will have to start paying rent in this house.’ The amount of the one-month rent was equivalent to a one-year rent in Nigeria.
“I’m like, ‘I’m not earning any money so what do I do?’ I don’t know what to do. So, shot into that life, I had to figure out what to do. I had nowhere to go. Nothing to turn to.
“My phone was buzzing, like, ‘When are you coming back to Nigeria? We have this gig for you.’ $1,500 was all I came to America with. How do I buy a ticket to go back to Nigeria?”
“I got connected to my church. And then someone gave me a car. I’m like, What do I do with the car? And they said Uber. I was driving for Uber and Lyft to pay my bills.
“I carried a lot of Nigerians, my name on the Uber App was Joseph. The moment they get in or three minutes into the journey, they know I’m the one.”
“One woman even had to call her husband, and she ended up taking pictures with me. I even had some people say to me ‘Boss you will make it.”