The movie ‘ To Kill A Monkey’, produced by Nollywood filmmaker, Kemi Adetiba, recently stirred up much-needed conversation in the Nigerian movie industry: casting actors based on their social media follower count instead of their actual talent.
It is widely believed that in movie production, popular actors and actresses are crucial for attracting audiences, building box office success, lending credibility to the film, and making efforts to raise the industry’s professional standards.
Additionally, the use of popular actors helps connect the audience to the story, making the characters feel more real and engaging, while also elevating the production’s profile and helping it meet globally accepted standards.
However, in Adetiba’s recent movie, which focused on organised cybercrime, betrayal, and ambition, the lead actors were played by ‘not so’ popular actors, considering their social media presence.
William Benson: This actor has been in the movie industry for over a decade, featuring in a series of movies, but lacks enough spotlight. However, the embodiment of ‘Efemini Edewor’ in ‘To Kill A Monkey’ as the struggling Nigerian man, overworked by life, overlooked by society, and constantly persecuted by his mother-in-law, sparked many viewers to discuss his talent.
Bucci Franklin: Similarly, this movie star has been a force and real prowess since his Tinsel and Jemeji days, but gained more spotlight after featuring in Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story, where he carried the weight of the entire film as the main antagonist.
Now, in ‘To Kill A Monkey’ as Obozz, the Leader of the Monkey Gang, Bucci became a whole study, complex, rough, and refined in the same breath. He portrayed the embodiment of the classic grass-to-grace narrative: a street kid pulled into crime, climbing the ranks, earning his respect, and eventually buying his freedom.
Considering the social media followers of the actors above, it will be challenging for them to secure a lead role in a movie, as they possess the talent but lack the necessary spotlight.
To maintain a spotlight and increase followership, actors now feel pressured to become influencers, revealing their private lives online or creating scandals to stay visible in an algorithm-driven industry.
I Was Sidelined With Minor Roles
Nollywood actress, Lilian Afegbai recently revealed the difficulties faced in the Nigerian film industry.
The thespian, who also featured in the Netflix crime thriller ‘To Kill a Monkey’, spoke on how friends in the movie business repeatedly cast her as an extra despite her acting skills.
The 33-year-old actress explained that while playing a cameo role is normal, it became frustrating when those close to her in the production world regularly overlooked her talent and assigned her only background parts.
Stop Picking Actors Based On Social Media Followers
Veteran media personality, Emma Ugolee, recently called out Nollywood’s growing preference for social media popularity over actual acting talent.
In a strongly worded Instagram post, the seasoned broadcaster described the industry’s “unwritten rule” of casting actors based on their follower count as “sickening” and “unfair” to trained professionals.
Speaking about the two lead actors from ‘To Kill a Monkey’, Ugolee pointed out that despite having impressive acting chops and being well-respected by both male and female fan bases, the actors have relatively low follower counts.
Ugolee contrast Bucci Franklin, and Williams Benson with a popular internet content creator, Egungun, whose massive following stems from asking women to wiggle their bodies, mimic bedroom sounds, and share their favourite s3x positions all on camera, stressing they are the types of people Nollywood prioritises for casting, simply because they draw attention online.
He appealed to producers and casting directors to stop putting pressure on actors to “entertain with their real lives,” adding that many great talents have no interest in public scandals or online drama.
In an interview with Naija News, Nollywood actress, Cossy Orjiakor, when questioned on why some Nollywood stars are nameless to the audience despite having outstanding performances in movies, said, “Ohhhhh I don’t even know that some nollywood stars are hidden in the shadows. Well, some actors may be nameless to some audience, but not all.”
Cossy also stated that she is unaware of the Nollywood industry’s politics and the use of social media for securing movie roles.
She said, “Industry politics, I’m not even aware of such things. Don’t know that social media is used to cast and earn movie roles.”
In contrast, fast-rising actor, Funsho Davids, pointed out some reasons why some outstanding Nollywood stars remain hidden in the shadows.
He said, “Sometimes it might just not be your time, no matter how you try, because when visibility comes, even the least of your performance will attract the next job.’
“- Skill. You have to understand the skill dynamics that appease many filmmakers. Because what a director calls good, another director might call average.
“- Visibility: you have to be rightly positioned to be seen. This can be a little tricky. But in this era of social media, you have to keep looking for opportunities that showcase the excellence of your gift and that can attract the right people to see it. Even getting the numbers. Because non-actors that are social media influencers with good numbers can get roles actors won’t get because of the views and attention they can bring to the project.
“- Diversity and versatility: ability to master many languages, learn many skills and crafts, to be able to fit in to any role with proper interpretation of the character bibliography, etc.
“- Other factors include, height, skin colour/complexion, accents, body size and shape, looks, location, possessions like cars, etc.”
Speaking on why some actors are nameless to the audience or not in the spotlight despite having outstanding performances in movies, Davids said, “The industry is more driven by numbers now. So, who has numbers on social media, who can bring high conversion rates and revenue, are usually those sought after more.”
Asked if there are industry politics in today’s Nollywood, he said, “Politics in the industry is almost like politics in Nigeria. Lots of things happen, from godfather advantage, to money influence, to cancelling or blacklisting, to ridiculing other people’s projects, to rivalry. The list is endless.”
On the use of social media followers to cast and earn movie roles, Funsho Davids added, “This is advantageous to executive producers who want to make their money quickly, but a decline in quality and excellence in filmmaking. Because, except if the content creator or social media influencer is an actor in the first place, most times the project becomes a mediocre type, and it’s awful for storytelling and filmmaking in general.”
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