RMD: Clocking 60 is a big deal for me… my parents didn’t live to be

Richard Mofe-Damijo, the Nigerian veteran actor better known as RMD, says attaining 60 years of age is a big deal for him.

The actor and trained lawyer will be marking his birthday on July 6.

Speaking when he featured on #WithChude, RMD reflected on his parents’ inability to reach the age before they passed away and his expectations ahead of the occasion.

The movie star revealed that his parents died before 60 because they were hypertensive and diabetic at the same time.

He also recalled being so apprehensive when he clocked 59 that he asked himself if he would be able to break the cycle.

“None of my parents lived to be 60, so life for me is just about to get started. There’s been a specter of death around my life, that’s what I’ve been dealing with last year till this year. When I turned 59, it was a big deal for me, big deal for me! My mom died at 59, my father died at 57/58,” he said.

“So, it was like, can I break it? When people see me and I go on a weight loss, people think that… you know, it’s health. Both my parents were diabetic and hypertensive, I don’t want to be that.

“I don’t want to be diabetic and hypertensive, I want to be healthier. At least, give myself a fighting chance to change that whole cycle. Yes, I’m a Christian now, so I’ve broken that yoke but I have to also help myself.”

The movie star also spoke about his quest to take his career to another level by taking on new challenges as he clocks 60.

“Becoming 60 for me is even a bigger deal, so when July comes and I become 60. You know how the Bible says old things have passed away, I will truly truly become a new man because that is when I’ll make a bucket list,” he added.

“So, all these things that you think I’ve achieved or done, for me it’s nothing, like zero. So I’m going to now sit down when I’m 60 and do a bucket list … and then we’ll start.”

Joke Silva and Bolanle Austen-Peters, Nigerian movie stars, had earlier celebrated him ahead of his birthday.