Oge Okoye is one of Nigeria’s A-list actresses. In a recent interview, she candidly shares her views about Nollywood’s issues.
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What’s the latest about you?
A lot is in the making for me. I can’t let you know them right now as they are still on the low key but they will all be unveiled gradually before the year runs out by God’s grace. At the fullness of time, all will definitely be in the open.
How many movies have you done this year then?
Well for this year, I guess I’ve done about 10- 12 movies already.
How many movies have you done overall?
Wow! Honestly, I’ve lost count of the number of movies I’ve featured in.
What can you say about the Governor Akpabio N50m donation to Nollywood that is presently causing problems?
Concerning that, my notion is that this goes a long way to show how supportive some of our leaders are to the things that concern entertainment as a whole. Same applies to our noble President, His Excellency Goodluck Jonathan who has been so encouraging and a fat h e r f i g – ure to our large Nollywood family. Opportunities like this are hard to come by so I’ll say it is an impressive, fascinating and motivational gesture from our present government.
Tell us your most memorable role.
My most memorable role is where I took up the character of a vampire. It was scary for me but at the same time enjoyable.
What do you like most about Nollywood?
What I like most about our large family is that Nollywood is a strong voice to the world showing the different lives of different people and different things happening in the world. A strong voice It is indeed.
What do you hate most about it?
Sometimes the negative criticism and judgmental attitude towards us.
Is it true that gays and lesbians are now in control of Nollywood?
I don’t know anything about that aspect. Rather, I’m hearing this for the first time from you. So since I think you’ve got a lot of information on this, please enlighten me more on this piece of news.
What is your advice to upcoming actresses?
My candid advice, as I always say, is that they should always follow their heart and passion of being an actress to achieve whatever and everything they want. It’s about being focused, working hard, making sure they are worth their salt. Never envy anyone, be yourself and make good use of your potentials.
Practice makes perfect. For me, I never knew the ups and down of being an actor but I got into it and I developed myself professionally. It’s not a bed of roses but always have passion and love for it and the Rest will be history.
