Mutual Feeling Issues

Nollywood actress Oge Okoye has stayed relevant in an industry crowded with stars, often by making brave and controversial choices to further her career.

The competition in Nigeria’s film industry requires players, particularly the actors and actresses, to give their best, one production after another. It is a tough battle for survival, especially when the same faces and names are being used over and over.

She, like most of her colleagues, has become a household name that readily comes to mind when producers and directors take decisions on who would best appeal to an audience. She’s come far in what has been a successful career that has won her a strong viewership base. Okoye’s journey started in 2001. Growing up, she relished the glitz and glamour that came with being a
superstar. She grew up in England; however, she had always wanted to act so she took part in auditions for some of Nigeria’s leading production houses. After persistently pushing for acknowledgment, she landed her first major title in the move Sister Mary. Produced by Great Movies Production, Sister Mary shot her to the limelight, and got her career off to a strong start.

It was the kind of start she needed to announce her arrival onto the Nigerian movie scene. Around that same year, the industry had taken off, somewhat, and was making inroads in other parts of the world. A fine opportunity it was for her to feed off the popularity at home, she became a known on-screen face in the sub region.

Okoye’s love for acting met so many obstacles but the support by her mother, who had always believed in her, helped to spur her on. As a young child, she would parade around their Nigerian home in fanciful clothes, strutting off her lanky legs in typical modeling style. Okoye also took part in drama sessions in her family’s local church, showing off a lot of skill, even at that young age. Those traits grew with her, and decades after, she became the star actress her mother had predicted she would.

She later starred in the comedy movie Spanner, alongside the likes of Chinedu Ikedieze and Nkem Owoh. She’s since starred in over 60 others, some of which include Lady Gaga, Blackberry Babes, Beautiful Faces, I want Your Wife, Little Angel, My Desire, Forever Yours, Separate Lives, Blood Sister, Hadsome, and Trinity.

Her taking up a role in the 2011 Hollywood produced movie Turning Point, directed by London-based Nigerian Niyi Towolawi and co-produced by Egor Efiok, also earned her some headlines. Okoye only found out about the production two days before shooting started. She thought it was out of place to get involved in such a major production with little or no preparation. Her manager thought otherwise, and she gladly accepted the part.

Weeks later, Turning Point, which also featured the likes of Patience Ozokwor, Jackie Appiah, Todd Bridges, Joe Estevez, Igoni Archibong among a host of other Nollywood and Hollywood stars, became a hit and her credibility soared. A big career credit she still boasts off, Okoye can only get better with time so long as she remains relevant, and a dominant Nollywood feature.