Page 33 - Winter/Spring 2015 Issue

HM: What was it like growing up in the 1970s in the Ajakwe household?

Growing up in Los Angeles was great. At that time, most of the families on the block were two-parent homes. My parents were immigrants from Nigeria so my three siblings and I grew up as first-generation Americans. I had a great childhood. We played sports in the street, rode bikes and skateboards, cut lawns and dug flower beds for money. My siblings and I were teased in the neighborhood and in school because we had a funny last name, which is an Igbo proverb that means “People will underestimate your potential, but in the end they will know the truth”, which is a great message to have in your name. But when you’re a kid, you don’t care about “great messages”, you just want your name to sound like all the other kids in school: Smith, Jones, Johnson, Washington. My mother always told us to ignore those kids, that one day we would appreciate what our last name stands for, and she was right. I love my last name and the fact that it actually means something. I am the only Michael Ajakwe in the United States and the world. That’s a very special feeling. But more than anything, my last name essentially defines my path in life and my career. A lot people have underestimated my potential ‘til this day, and many are surprised by what I’ve managed to accomplish with and without them (laughs).
HM: How old were you when you realized writing was your calling? Do you see yourself working in the entertainment industry for the rest of your life?

I’ve had a passion for writing since elementary school. I would write essays or book reports and my mother and some teachers would suggest that maybe somebody else wrote what they had read of mine. I didn’t even know what plagiarism meant back then. I just knew that people would read my stuff and think I lifted it from a book or magazine which, I guess, was their way of saying I was a good writer. I didn’t realize it was a gift until later. But even with the praise, when I would read novels I noticed that I could not write like that mainly because I didn’t have the life experience and I didn’t have command of the English language. So, when I was 12 years old, I spent the summer reading the Little Brown Handbook and learning how to use commas, periods, colons, semi-colons, quotations, question marks, etc. That was one of the best things I have ever done because punctuation and grammar are the foundation of a writing career. Those are your tools of the trade. I wasn’t aware of it at the time, but what I learned during the summer of ’78 helped prep my writing career. As far as entertainment goes, I’m not sure if I’m going to be in this industry my whole life, but I know I will be writing until my last day. That’s another great thing about writing. It has no term or age limits or health restrictions.
HM: What kind of dreams did you have as a child?

Like most kids, I dreamed of being rich and famous and being really good at something like baseball or tennis. But as time went on, I realized I was not good enough at either of those sports to go pro. The only thing I have really ever been very good at—better at than most folks—is writing.
HM: What early influences inspired you to become a writer?

What inspired me to write is the fact that you can literally go anywhere in or out of this world with your imagination.
It’s a way to live vicariously through other people who don’t exist. A big part of my growth as a writer has come through mentors. My interest in writing started when I was in junior high. Around that same time, I met an older kid from my neighborhood who had just finished high school and was embarking on an acting career. He lived next door to my best friend. Watching him book roles on TV and going to see him perform in live stage plays and just hearing him talk about show business every day while he worked on his car and what he was learning made me believe that it was possible to live your dream. That he actually made it as a working actor and has become a familiar name in film and TV just makes this story even more special. He’s been in a bunch of stuff that I’m sure you’ve seen over the years, but you probably remember him best as Tom Hank’s Army buddy, Bubba, in that blockbuster film Forest Gump. My childhood friend and first writing mentor whose success as an actor propelled me to pursue a professional writing career is Mykelt Williamson. And we are still homies ‘til this day. But prior to meeting Mykelt, I wasn’t interested in the industry. I wasn’t aware of TV writing and screenwriting or that you could make a living at it. I wanted to be a poet, a novelist. I can honestly say that if I didn’t meet Mykelt as a kid, I would not be a writer today. He inspired and encouraged me that much.

Photo to the right: Mike on a fishing trip with childhood friend/mentor actor & Forest Gump star Mykelt Williamson