Friday, May 14, 2010
Today, many Nigerian actors
and actresses are mega stars
in Hollywood. Many of them;
men and women, have
withstood different
challenges fighting for what
they believe in, their dream.
Faced with stiff competition
and at times, racial
discrimination, these worthy
Nigerian embassadors are still
making the country proud
with their talents abroad.
Daily Sun spoke with some of these
artistes recently on how they have
been faring and making their marks in
the American motion picture, known
as Hollywood.
Rick Famuyiwa- Director
Famuyiwa is a Director who was born
on June 18, 1973. He made his debut
as feature film director with The Wood
from an original script he developed at
The Sundance Institute. Recently,
Famuyiwa served as one of the writers
on the upcoming film, The
FightingTemptations and he is
currently writing a script entitled
Feeling Aretha for Fox Searchlight
which he will also direct.
Famuyiwa played Division I basketball
for USC where he was a double major
in Cinema/Television Production and
Critical Studies. During his senior year
at USC, he wrote and directed his
critically-acclaimed thesis film
Blacktop Lingo, a 12-minute short film
about basketball. In 1996, the film was
one of only 29 films selected from
1,500 submissions to be screened at
the Sundance Film Festival and it
earned Famuyiwa the distinction of
becoming the first undergraduate from
USC to ever have a film shown there.
His movies include Brown sugar and
the wood, and Our family wedding.
Hakeem Kae Kassim - Actor
Kae-Kazim is a Nigerian. He grew up in
South Africa as an actor. He lives in Los
Angeles, California, US. Born on October
1,1962, Hakeem is best known for his
role as warlord and terrorist Colonel
Ike Dubaku on the television movie 24:
Redemption (2008) and Season 7 of
the action series 24 (2009). He also
made a notable guest appearance as
Emeka in the 5th episode of Season 3
of the television series Lost, entitled
“The Cost Of Living”, in 2006. In 2007,
he was seen in the movie Pirates of
the Caribbean: At Worlds End, The Jinn,
Hurricane in the Rose Garden, and Big
Fellas.
Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje - Actor
Agbaje was born in August 1967. He
has a Masters degree in Law and speaks
Swahili and Yoruba. Agbaje’s first time
on camera was in Mary J. Blige’s Love
No Limit in 1993. Almost at the same
period, he appeared in the video for
the Pet Shop Boys’ hit song “Jealousy”
in which he played the part of a
roguish adulterer. He is best known for
portraying the criminal Simon Adebisi
in the HBO prison series Oz, and Mr. Eko
on ABC’s survivor drama Lost. He has
numerous films to his credit since he
began acting in 1994.
He has appeared in many top movies,
including The Bourne Identity, in
which he played a deposed African
dictator, Lock-Nah in The Mummy
Returns, and Heavy Duty in G.I. Joe: The
Rise of Cobra. He also said he would
direct a movie on himself. On Friday
August 14, 2009 Adewale starred in
the second episode of season 8 of
Monk. He also acted in Get rich or die
trying.
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Actor
Ejiofor was born in London’s Forest
Gate to Nigerian parents who hailed
from the Igbo ethnic group. He was
born on July 10th, 1974. His father,
Arinze, was a doctor, and his mother,
Obiajulu, a pharmacist. He started
acting plays in school at the age of 13
at Dulwich College and joined the
National Youth Theatre and played the
title role in Othello at the Bloomsbury
Theatre in September 1995, and again
at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow in 1996
when he starred opposite Rachael
Stirling, who played Desdemona
Movies. His movies include Dirty Pretty
things and American gangster. He
equally acted alongside Denzel
Washington in Inside Mani (2006).
Carmen Ejogo - Actor
Born and raised in London, Ejogo is the
daughter of Charles and Elizabeth
Ejogo Douglas. She was born on
January 1, 1974. Her father is a
Nigerian entrepreneur and her mother,
a Scottish tour guide. During her
childhood, Ejogo said her mother was
very active. Her younger brother, also
called Charles, was the first successful
candidate on the British version of the
“business reality” television
programme Dragons’ Den.
Sophie Okonedo-Actress
Born in London to a Nigerian father and
a British mother on January 1, 1969.
Okonedo was 18 years old when she
came across an advertisement for a
writer’s workshop in Time Out
magazine. It didn’t take long for
Okonedo to realize that she was more
proficient in offering dramatically
rendered readings of her fellow
classmate’s stories than penning her
own, and with the encouragement of
writing coach Hanif Kureishi, the
aspiring actress was busy honing her
skills at the Royal Court Theater.
A scholarship to the Royal Academy
was quick to follow, and in the
succeeding years, Okonedo would earn
glowing reviews for her many other
roles, her stunning performance in
Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida.
Some of her television productions are:
The Governor, Deep Secrets, Hotel
Rwanda (2004) and In Defence. She is
also Jewish, her recent movie is Skin
(2009).
Ene Oloja - Actress
She was the no-nonsense, stern
looking elder sister of Nosa in Behind
the Clouds, a Nigerian soap in the
1980s. She was recently in the Brave
One alongside Jodi Foster. Ene Oloja
migrated to the United States in 1991
and her career has been largely quiet
since 1993 when with other
professionals, she staged a theatre
production entitled, Echoes from the
Diaspora, telling a powerful story of
the experiences of immigrants of
colour in the West. She is the first
home- made Nigerian actress to be cast
alongside an Oscar Award winner. The
likes of Ene Oloja who were
forerunners of the booming Nigerian
film industry, could play a bridge-
building role by drawing the attention
of Hollywood to the avalanche of
Nigerian theatre practitioners and film
professionals.
Yemi Ajibade - Actor
A lot of people might not have heard
of him but he has been acting in
Hollywood for a while. His movies
include Flawless in 2007 and Dirty
pretty things.
Ebbe Bassey - Actress
Born in the Bronx and raised in Calabar.
She is also making her impact felt in
Hollywood. Her movies to date
include: Snitch, Taboo, and the series
NYPD blue and Law and Order.
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