Richard Tuwangye still getting tips from his P4 classmates

Fun factory’s Richard Tuwangye has been an all-rounder in the game. He was an artiste, a TV and radio presenter and also a commercial voicer until he settled with comedy.

First thing you do in the morning..
I thank God for another opportunity to make him proud then I go to the Toilet..(it’s veeeere important)

First thing you do when you get to work…
There is not a fixed thing because my nature of work doesn’t allow routine.

Earliest childhood memory…
I don’t think it’s the earliest but it’s memorable because I thought we were going to die. I remember bullet sounds disturbing an empty silent Masaka town trans-night. The following day my Dad “stole” one of the pickups in his custody and drove us to safety in Mbarara. It was a long journey.

First best friend…
A guy called Ssesimba. We met in boarding school, Molly and Paul, in P1. I have no clue where he is now but I would love to see him again.

First kiss…
Yiiii...how does that change the direction the locusts are flying?

Well I don’t think it was a kiss. My lips slowly brushed with a girl’s lips as we danced ‘squeeze’ at our S.4 prom party at St Henry’s College Kitovu. Ho. I had stopped believing there was a God, that moment made me realize we didn’t just evolve.. we were designed.

First book you read….
A Bible stories book. From that book came the 1st script I ever acted. Today though, I believe 99% of those stories were not real life occurrences. But that’s a story for another day.

First job….
My mom owned a Nursery school in Masaka. When I was in P4, she assigned me the job of helping some kids who had difficulty with reading. It worked for the kids but me, am still waiting for my payment hehe. However, some of those kids find me in town and tip me.

First salary..
Came in the year 2000. I used to print T-shirts in Mbarara.

Current job..

I apply myself in more than one Job but its adequate to say am a Performing artist.

What do you like about your job…
The fact that I imagine something and I bring it to life to the satisfaction of 10s of thousands of People is fascinating. I think it’s the best time for creative artists to be alive.

Most memorable experience…
My life has not seen the best or worst moment yet. But if I must pick one; in 2012 in the deep of the night, I stood in a hospital ward looking at my hours old son smiling in his sleep and the mother in deep sleep too. I was financially challenged but I was alive and well in the middle of the “richest moment of my life”. I was a father.

Biggest regret in life…
I have no regrets in life whatsoever. God lives in me, so the bible says. So how does a God regret? Regret is the devil’s tool.

Best advice….
I found it in a book, I forget the author: “90 percent of your life is a result of how you react to 10 percent of the things that happen to you”.

About Richard
Richard Tuwangye rose to prominence as a cast member on TV show Hand in Hand alongside Nancy Kalembe, Veronica Namanda, Phillip Luswata and Jacqueline Kizza among others.
He went on to joined UBC as a presenter of The Beat, a show whose priority was promoting emerging Ugandan talent at the time. At about the same time, he ventured into music as a member for dance troupe turned musicians VIP, as well as comedy outfit Fun Factory.