Julius OkorieVeteran Nollywood actress Stella Damasus has revealed reasons Nigerian movie stars struggle to get roles in the American film industry otherwise called Hollywood.
The barrier according to her is not because the Nigerians actors are not good enough, rather it is the Hollywood stereotype of Africans that has served and continues to serve as stumbling block over the years.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAccording to the Damasus who hit the Nigerian movie industry with a bang with movie Breaking Point, produced by Emem Isong and directed by Francis Agu, opined that the Hollywood stereotype of Africans is that all Africans have East African accents and are as dark as Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o.
This notion she said, makes Nigerian actors misfits for Hollywood roles. She explained that most Nigerian actors who have bagged lead roles in Hollywood were raised abroad.
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In a conversation with Arrow House, Damasus explained, “Hollywood filmmakers insist that there is a particular accent that Africans who want to act in their industry must have. So, that’s why they forced our people to put it on.
“I’m like, we [Nigerians] don’t sound like that, maybe one or two small countries in East Africa. I’m Nigerian, they are Ghanaians. We are different people and we all sound different. We [Nigerians] don’t sound like this. That’s what Hollywood wants. That’s what they are used to.
“Most of the Nigerians who have done big screen movies in Hollywood are people who were raised in England. Most of them have a different type of accent. And they [Hollywood filmmakers] said to me, ‘We want an African to be very dark.
“That’s the kind of African that we are used to. We are not used to your kind of African. We want Lupita dark. You are not dark enough and you are not white enough to be half-caste, so it would be hard to place you.
You are not mixed race. Then your accent, you don’t sound American or British, neither do you sound African.
“And I’m like, ‘How do you think Africans sound? Because Africa, is full of a million and one countries. And inside those countries, we have different dialects and different accents. “
She urged African filmmakers and casting agents in diaspora to push back against these stereotypes by telling more authentic African stories with diverse voices. “We have the talent. We need platforms that don’t demand we dilute our identity to be visible,” she submitted.
Despite the barriers however, Nigerian movies and music continue to make waves across the globe. The said stereotype some say, could equally be fear of domination by foreign stars.
Recall that the United States President, Donald Trump only recently called for control foreign films inflow into the country, noting that it is affecting the films produced at home.
Damasus who has been in the movie industry for close to two decades, was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2009.
She won the Award for Best Actress at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards in 2007. In 2012, she won the award for Best Actress for the movie Two Brides and a Baby at the Golden Icons Academy Awards in Houston, Texas.
The Theatre arts graduate of the University of Lagos first appeared in the Nigerian film Abused in 1992. She has featured in scores of movies including ‘when God Says yes’, Desperate and Dangerous, Burning Desire 1&2 and Yankee Girls to mention just a few.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
