Nkem Owoh Says His Acting Career Began by Accident

Veteran Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia, has revealed that he never planned to become an actor.

Speaking on a recent episode of the Selah Meditate podcast, the comic star explained that he started out as a scriptwriter and only stepped in front of the camera after colleagues noticed his talent for making people laugh.

My coming in front of the camera was an accident. I was a scriptwriter behind the scenes and people started telling me to start performing in front of the camera.

The actor recalled getting a seven minute stand up comedy segment on ATV in the 1980s after regularly entertaining people off camera.

They told me to come in front of the camera because I was making people laugh behind the camera. With much pressure, I came in front of the camera. And I saw that what I was doing people were buying it so that was how my acting career began.

The decision launched one of Nollywood’s most successful careers, but fame brought challenges of its own.

Fame took away my freedom. A lot of people want to be celebrities, they only know the benefits but not the downsides. When you become famous you cannot do a lot of the things you were doing freely before. You become restricted in a lot of ways.

Today, Osuofia remains one of Nollywood’s most recognizable faces, though he admits success changed the way he lives his everyday life.