STEPHEN DAMIAN IS TAILOR PAPI
Friday, March 22, 2019
Hey beautiful people , HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
How have y'all been? I know...... I know we're literally in the month of March and this is the first time we're connecting but I've had my hands full but most importantly i'm here now and i'm back with a brand new interview with Actor Stephen Damian.
Stephen and I previously had an introductory interview about his life and career as a Nigerian actor and you missed that post you can check it out by clicking HERE but this time around we're going to be discussing one of his latest projects, a TV series called Tailor Papi. Have a lovely read guys.
DVF: Welcome back to the DvfStyleCollective Stephen
Stephen : Thanks for having me once again Davis
DVF: The pleasure is all mine, okay so first things first, tell me.... what you've been up to since our last interview
Stephen Damian: I’ve been busy working on lot of stuff, personal stuff as well as TV/movie projects like The Washer-man movie and the Powder dry series as well as my latest project the Tailor Papi series
DVF: Two TV series , that definitely has to take a whole lot of your time, how have you been able to cope with such time consuming projects in such a short period of time between each one?
Stephen Damian: It’s wasn’t hard because it was fun all the way, the vibe was positive and I happened to work with one of the best in the game, Charles Uwagbai, the director of Tailor Papi and director of Powder Dry
DVF: So you seem to have done quite a number of projects with this particular director, so far what's different about working with him in comparison to other directors you have worked with?
Stephen Damian: It’s really about how well we click, I’ve been so blessed to be able to work with a lot of amazing directors, so I can't compare because every director has their own brilliant way of interpreting the script and bringing out the best in actors but I definitely enjoy working with Charles Uwagbai
DVF: That's true, so tell me about your latest project, the Tailor Papi TV series, I see you have been posting some behind the scenes photos from the set on your social media
Stephen Damian: Tailor Papi is a middle aged guy who makes living a fake lifestyle his top most priority, as he's steady always struggling to measure up to certain high standards .This young man who also happens to be a comedian basically tries skimming his way into fame and wealth with the help of his "supposed" tailoring skills as well as through lying, deceit and not wanting to go through the right processes of things
DVF: Oh so the character really is a comedian and not that his actions alone are funny
Stephen Damian: Yes, it’s actually extremely funny even when we were filming we all couldn't stop stop laughing It’s a lot easier because the script is already funny. I was laughing while I was reading it
DVF: Your last few roles seem to be very playful and comedic, have you always had interest in doing comedy?
Stephen Damian: Yes I love comedy, I’ve always loved challenging roles and for me, playing comedic characters are definitely challenging. It's really hard to make people laugh
DVF: How did you prepare yourself for this role?
Stephen Damian: There wasn’t much preparation that went into it honestly, because it came at a point in my career where I was ready to take on comedy I had done quite a number of comedy skits for my Instagram and that had already set the tone for me.
So I Just read the script and came on set with a ready and positive mindset. So I basically just focus on the script and try my best to bring the character to life as best as I can
DVF: What resonated with you the most about Tailor Papi, that got you to think " I have to play this character " ?
Stephen Damian: It’s a very situation that I believe almost every Nigerian knows about or has experienced directly, it's a known fact that tailors disappoint people on a daily basis, I guess that’s where the writer /producer Chinwe Egwuagu got her inspiration from
I have definitely experienced it, the tailor delayed giving me my clothes way longer than we agreed and still ended up making total rubbish and so with it being such a realistic story, I immediately connected with it and I knew that I had to do it
DVF: Have you in anyway found any similarities between the character and yourself in real life?
Stephen Damian: No, I definitely have no similarities with this character at all, I take my integrity very seriously and I have always had the right values instilled in me right from when I was a kid by my parents so that's a no but I can relate to the fact that he wants to become successful quickly and climb up the social ladder in life because as humans we all want that but the reality of it is that we have to work hard for it.
DVF: What's your favorite thing about the story line of Tailor Papi?
Stephen Damian: The script is organic and extremely funny but what I liked the most about it is the fact that despite the story being so stereotypical of tailors in Nigeria and being a general knowledge, it's never been made for TV, it's a TV first and that's really exciting to be part of
DVF: Asides from the comedic relief it provides, what is the important message that this show teaches?
Stephen Damian: It teaches us that success comes over time not over night and true success can not be attained through lies and deceit. Because at the end of the day you get caught up in those lies
DVF: How many other stars are working with you on this project ?
Stephen Damian: We had lots of celebrity guest appearances, stars like Senator the Comedian, Annabel Mbonu, Munachi Abi, Efe Irele and many more actors
DVF: So you got to Rap the soundtrack song of Tailor Papi ? How did that come about ?
Stephen Damian: Well it was my idea to give it a try and see how it turned out and like we discussed in my previous interview I’ve always had passion for music, so this was a perfect opportunity for me to merge both of my worlds.
I discussed it with the producer and director and they gave me a go ahead and I worked on it.
They both actively took part in the production process of the soundtrack but I wrote the song and just based it off what happens in the story line of the series
DVF: What's been the feedback you've gotten so far from friends and fans about that soundtrack especially since most people didn't really know that you had that side to you ?
Stephen Damian: People are mostly surprised and also impressed
DVF: I'm guessing the song is also going to used as the official soundtrack of the show? 
Stephen Damian: Yeah, it is and I believe it's also going to be used as the intro to the show when it begins to air on TV because we made a video for it and so it'll kind of make sense for that
DVF: Yeah, that'll make sense, what do you think differentiates Tailor Papi from most comedy series out there currently? What's it stand out factor?
Stephen Damian: It's based off events that as wild and shocking as some of the stories are have actually happened, we all have experienced it or know someone who has so it is extremely relate-able
DVF: Approximately how many hours a day did you guys spend shooting?
Stephen Damian: It depended on the amount of work that the scenes we had to shoot per day demanded but it was mostly between eight (7) or eight (8) hours a day
DVF: How many episodes long is it ?
Stephen Damian: We shot about thirteen (13) Episodes
DVF: Is there any of the episodes that's your favorite?
Stephen Damian: Actually all the episodes are my favorite because they all have what makes them unique and stand out from the other episodes, it’s really hard to choose but I enjoyed how each episode had their own unique thing, it's hard to choose.
The audience would easily feel a sense of familiarity to the character
DVF: Did you learn to sew at all for this role?
Stephen Damian: No I didn't, at first when I got the script and was beginning to through it and realized that the character is going to be a tailor I thought that I would need to have a little bit of tutorial on how to sew or at least work a sewing machine and I was a bit worried about that but then I got to the point in the script when I learned that the whole tailor image would be a scam and the character never even knew how to make clothes, he hires other people to do the job for him
DVF: Oh no! , I thought we'd get to see you working that sewing machine (laughs)
Stephen Damian: (Laughs) Sorry to disappoint but don't worry there's so much more that the character does to make up for that
DVF: I hope so (laughs) . So when can we expect to be watching the show on our TV screens?
Stephen Damian: There's still a lot of work that going in regards to that aspect that I don't want to give anything away but i'd say that it'll be quite soon and on one of the best TV station in Nigeria
DVF: That's awesome, can't wait. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat and give me this exclusive about Tailor Papi
Stephen Damian: You're welcome
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