“Actors Should Be Cast Based On Ability, Not Numbers Of IG Followers” – John Njamah Asserts

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“Actors Should Be Cast Based On Ability, Not Numbers Of IG Followers” – John Njamah Asserts

Nollywood filmmaker John Njamah has voiced his concerns about how actors are chosen in Nollywood. He believes that casting should focus on an actor’s skills rather than their looks or social media popularity.

In a special interview with Pulse Nigeria, he shared insightful views on the current and future landscape of filmmaking in Nollywood.

John Njamah is an experienced actor, producer, and director known for his role as Rabiu in the TV series Fuji House of Commotion. He has also appeared in shows like Tinsel, Living In Lagos, Solitaire, Casino, Emerald, Tide, and My Flatmates.

One of the key points from the interview highlighted his dedication to the industry and his hopes for its development.

“What is fuelling me is beyond passion. There’s that knack and need to grow with every month, whatever year. There’s that need to.do something different. This industry of ours is for you to do whatever you want to do and not join the bandwagon. So for me, it’s the originality in me and the need to do something right that is fuelling me Basically, it’s the ever-creative venture in me,” he said.

Njamah talked about the changes in African stories, highlighting both the good and bad developments that have occurred over time.

“There’s a positive aspect and there’s a negative aspect. There’s a technical input. We’re telling our stories better technically. We’re telling better and bigger stories. The negative is that we are beginning to lose our originality. We are beginning to join the band wagon to tell what is peculiar to other people and not to us. We are beginning to lose a bit of our identity cos there’s no longer us,” he said.

Njamah talked about the way casting works in the industry now compared to when he was active, noting the changes that have taken place.

“Fuji House was a one-camera shoot with hungry and passionate people. Now we have people who cast people who are beautiful and with Barbie bodies and followership and not necessarily for your talents. Some of us try to be that original because that’s where better stories are told. You want to tell stories with passionate people. Whether you like it or not, it’s a long shot but it’s possible. You want to give the actors that are worthy of the job and not the ones that are based on Instagram followers. We borrow from society and give back to the society by way of entertainment and pedagogical values.”

He stated that many filmmakers do not have good work ethics and emphasized that there is no effective way to oversee the performance of producers in the industry.

“Professionalism is lacking. Respect for those in charge, humility and the like is lacking today. The industry lacks checks and balances. Every Tom, Dck and Harry can wake up and call themselves a producer and just get on board and be doing stuff without being checked and of course, the guild system is not working so they can’t check. There are no criteria for who should become a producer. The system is also not working. Let’s just be mindful as producers, directors and actors,” he added.

He ended by saying that Nollywood is special and suggested creating a platform to promote and showcase our work, reducing reliance on foreign streaming services.

“That thing that they don’t like about us is what makes us, us. I am tired of people saying they don’t want to come into the country for coproduction cos we’re that and that and why are we relying on the likes of the streamers? Why can’t we do something that is for us by us so that they will come to us and ask for these things? We are solely depending on them to licence our movies, for survival. Speaking of coproduction, if you tell me you don’t want to come into the country for any reason, I’ll tell you you’re wrong, cos there are amazing producers here that you’ve seen their work. All you need to do is come to them and agree on modalities.”