Michael
Obiora
Ben Trueman
Receptionist
Since filming
series two and three of Hotel Babylon Michael Obiora has been
busy writing a film script, moving house and decorating two places at
once.
"It's
always good to get back to work though I have exhausted myself on the
decorating front," he says. "I've done the majority of it
myself and whilst I obviously have builders it's still quite a full-time
project – I'm quite exhausted by the whole thing and I want to
concentrate on acting and writing now that the house is all done."
"I
want as varied and balanced a career as possible. I am writing a lot
now and I find it much easier to write when I'm busy. Writing is such
a discipline that you need to set yourself deadlines and it's very difficult
to impose deadlines on yourself. So if I'm on set and I know I've got
half an hour, 45 minutes before my next scene I will just go and write.
I'm on draft two now of my script and I've had some really good and
helpful feedback and I'm at the stage of sending it out so fingers-crossed."
Michael
Obiora's girlfriend noticed some distinct changes to his character during
the filming of Hotel Babylon.
"Playing
the gay character of Ben really brought out my feminine side and my
girlfriend really liked it," he declares. "She said I smiled
a lot more and in particular gesticulated and used my hands more when
I spoke as well as being more considerate to her, so she really liked
my camp side," he laughs. "She also thinks I take more time
over my appearance now which I wasn't aware of, which is really interesting.
"The
whole show is heightened in every sense and I must admit I was tempted
to really 'Will And Grace' it but I had to pull back from totally
camping it up.
"I
remember when I first read the character of Ben I had my concerns. It
was only an issue for me at the beginning because I'd never played a
gay character before, so I was obviously excited, but anxious,"
he laughs.
"And
furthermore it is great to be a black actor playing a character who
doesn't have a gun in his back-pocket. Of course television has to reflect
reality, but we do need to put alternative images up there, as these
images are real too. There are young, black, gay and straight men living
and working in this city that aren't involved in gang warfare or gun
and drugs cultures and I think as a viewer I would like to see an alternative
image to the stereotype," he says.
Ben gets
on with most of his colleagues, but his ultimate partner in crime is
Anna, who constantly irks him with her one-liners and obsession with
finding a rich husband.
"He
is a great character to play and has a lot of fun on reception particularly
with Anna. He really respects Anna's bitchy side and as a gay man he
can totally appreciate where she is coming from, her sense of glamour
and her ambitions to be rich and adored."
Series
three sees Ben get into all sorts of difficulties and interesting situations
including dressing up in gold-coloured body paint as a Cupid, hanging
outside a hotel balcony and being accused of stealing from his colleagues
to name a few.
"A
guest hires Ben as a sort of Cupid statue to hold the engagement ring
as he proposes to his girlfriend. I was covered head to toe in gold
body paint wearing the tiniest costume and believe me I found gold everywhere
for days afterwards," he laughs.
"Another
interesting storyline is when Ben, Gino and Tony are trying to find
out if there is some sort of pornography being filmed in the hotel.
Ben, as usual, draws the short straw and has to be lowered by a wire,
Mission Impossible style, to spy on this couple through their
balcony window, which really hurt," he explains. "Ben also
gets accused of stealing tips from his colleagues but the good Ben won't
grass up the true thief – he really is a misguided fool at times!"
Michael's
love of acting began early when he landed a role in the much-loved children's
drama Grange Hill. "I have been acting now for 12 years,
since I was seven, and working professionally from the age of nine when
I got a part in Grange Hill as Max Abasi who played the tuba
in the school band and he was a real geek and I ended up there for five
years."
However
it is his role as Ben in Hotel Babylon that Michael is now
recognised for not just here but around the world.
"I
was lying on the beach in Mexico last year with my girlfriend when I
realised that people were staring at me...it turns out that Hotel
Babylon is huge there and they recognised me from the show. I was
asked for my autograph and pictures which was bizarre. I have also had
fan mail from Australia and it would appear it is loved over there nearly
as much as it is here which is fantastic," he adds.
Though
interestingly very little of his fan mail is from gay men. "You
would think playing such an overtly gay character that I would get letters
from gay men but that's not really the case. Strangely I have had a
number of men asking for signed photos saying that their girlfriends
love me!" he muses.
But it
was watching Michael Jackson's Bad world tour that really cemented
his love for performance.
"I
was three years old and I remember asking my mum why Michael Jackson
had to jump over a fence to get away from all the people chasing him
– they were fans – and mum said, he does something that
everyone likes...which stuck in my head," he explains.
"I remember
going to Nigeria where my family come from and I jumped at the chance
to perform on stage. Afterwards the villagers pressed money upon my
skin which stuck to me and my mum immediately sent me to drama school
when I got back to the UK."
Hotel
Babylon
Series three
Staff profiles
Guest star profiles
Max Beesley
- Charlie Edwards
Dexter
Fletcher - Tony Casemore
Emma
Pierson - Anna Thornton-Wilton
Ray Coulthard
- James Schofield
Martin
Marquez - Gino Primirola
Natalie
Mendoza - Jackie Clunes
Alexandra
Moen - Emily James
Lee Williams
- Jack Harrison
