Veteran Vioja Mahakamani actor Peter Sankale, who is better known as Olexander Josphat, has recounted how difficult it was to make a living when he started out as an actor.
Speaking on Churchill Show, Sankale, who quit his banking job to pursue his acting passion, said his very first paycheck was a measly Ksh700.
“I was paid Sh700 [first month]. Hio ni fare, rent ama nini?” he posed, adding: “There was no money. It’s very challenging and you feel like giving up. Everybody thinks that since you’re on TV you should be rich.”
Sankale said it took hard work and perseverance to be successful.
“I’ve persevered and waited long for this success,” Olexander said.
“I worked out of my passion for acting. We really never demanded to be paid more but the world was watching and people would say we deserved better pay, and KBC, without us even pushing them, increased our salaries,” Sankale added.
Before exiting ‘Vioja Mahakamani’ sometime in 2015, the actor was earning a salary of around Ksh.40,000 per month. He is now said to earn roughly Ksh25,000 per episode on ‘Hullabaloo Estate’ and another Ksh15,000 for his role in ‘Daktari’.
He also charges between Ksh20,000 to Ksh200,000 to emcee an event.
The comedy actor also said despite his popularity, he doesn’t want to be praised but instead, people should celebrate his achievements.
“We waited for our days and nights. Here we are, but I don’t like being called a celeb. As a believer in Christ, the only celeb I know is Jesus Christ; the rest are not, it’s just chances we’ve got. Ni kazi yako watu wanapraise.”
His advice to upcoming actors and artistes who want instant success is: “I would tell anybody that you will wait longer to enjoy the fruits of your labour.”
