Audio By Carbonatix
British-Nigerian actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje says African actors who are aiming for Hollywood should be ready to face a lot of rejection.
According to him, 99% of the time, people of African descent are not really welcomed with open arms in Hollywood.
"Often the characters that you would be cast as are caricatures, and then it was up to me to bring some humanity, range and texture to those characters."
"Anybody that is thinking of getting into the acting game, it is 99 per cent rejection and one per cent victory," he told Lexis Bill on Personality Profile.
Recounting his experience, Mr Akinnuoye-Agbaje said he used to go for auditions week after week sometimes on bicycles, put so much time into his craft, prepare and study, only to be rejected.
The ‘Deadly Voyage’ actor said many people in that position keep questioning if they are not good enough or something is actually wrong with them.
He said going through that becomes tasking which is “really demoralising.”
Mr Akinnuoye-Agbaje revealed that there were times he would star in movies and not get paid adding that “sometimes you’d chop your hands off to be a part of that particular movie.”
However, after his breakthrough, he has gone on to star in great Hollywood movies.
Some roles he has played include Simon Adebisi on ‘Oz’, Nykwana Wombosi in ‘The Bourne Identity’, Kurse in ‘Thor’: The Dark World, Killer Croc in ‘Suicide Squad’, Mr Eko on ‘Lost’, Malko in the fifth season of the HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ and Dave Duerson in the NFL biopic drama ‘Concussion’.
His feature directorial debut, ‘Farming’, wrapped production in 2017 and had its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
Mr Akinnuoye-Agbaje advised actors to have thick skin if they are aiming for a higher place like Hollywood.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Portugal had over 40 staff in Qatar 2022 – GFA justifies expanded Black Stars Technical team
19 minutes -
NHIA donates GH¢800k to Ghana Medical Trust Fund to support NCD patients
31 minutes -
NDC begins nationwide membership registration today with new party register
40 minutes -
NDC’s Ayawaso East vote-buying probe committee set to submit findings today
46 minutes -
Ghana Medical Trust Fund assesses regional hospitals ahead of NCD care rollout
53 minutes -
Offinso MP blames Mahama gov’t for cocoa sector challenges
1 hour -
Baba Jamal’s recall not targeted, decision based on allegations – Kwakye Ofosu
1 hour -
Ayawaso Zongo chiefs caution NDC against cancelling Ayawaso East primary
1 hour -
COCOBOD failed to deliver over 330k tonnes of cocoa in 2023/24 season – Randy Abbey
1 hour -
Baba Jamal denies vote-buying claims, cooperates with NDC probe into Ayawaso East primary
1 hour -
COCOBOD in its most fragile state in nearly eight decades — CEO Randy Abbey
1 hour -
The dichotomy of living with mental and chronic illnesses
2 hours -
Offinso MP urges COCOBOD to be frank with farmers over cocoa sector challenges
2 hours -
Ghana shifts debt strategy towards multilateral, bilateral funding in 2025
2 hours -
Projects with extractive-sector funding: Civil society groups raise alarm
2 hours
