Nollywood actor Jide Kene Achufusi (Swanky JKA) speaks out about a challenge he has with the Nigerian film industry; typecasting or stereotyping as he called it.
In an interview on Rubbin Minds with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, the Living in Bondage breakout star spoke about how actors in Nollywood get boxed into playing particular roles in different movies.
“If I had come to Lagos before the time I did, I would probably have done more roles well; everybody else would put me in that kind of role,” Swanky JKA said. “That usually is the case when we look at veteran actors usually; we do not have anybody who has done a lot of things.”
He said there were no diverse roles for actors and “if you’ve been doing ritual money films, you stay in ritual money films”. This usually results in the fans conflating these repetitive characters with the identities of the actors themselves; so much so that veteran actor Kanayo O. Kanayo had to make it clear that he is not a ritualist.
Swanky JKA, who had already starred in a number of films before Living in Bondage; also said the Nigerian film industry follows a pattern of what is trendy at the moment because it’s easier to make money that way.
“If it’s ghetto movies that are going on right now, everybody will go into ghetto movies. If it is love and comedy, let’s go! We don’t really have a plan. We don’t have a structure. It is all about the money.”
Swanky JKA, who formerly resided in Enugu revealed that this was one of the pitfalls of having just one central entertainment hub. According to him, “the saturation” in Lagos leads to “everyone moving in uniform lines. The actor said that this is why movies from Enugu often show more diverse characters and approaches to storytelling.
