Nollywood actress Jemima Osunde and social media influencer Enioluwa Adeoluwa recently responded to a viewer on X (formerly Twitter) who voiced frustration over seeing familiar faces repeatedly cast in Nigerian films. The critic cited upcoming films featuring Adedimeji Lateef and Bimbo Ademoye, expressing a desire for "new faces" in the industry.
Enioluwa responded with an insightful take on the realities facing Nollywood actors. He pointed out that, unlike Hollywood, the Nigerian film industry currently doesn’t offer the financial stability that would allow actors to work on just one or two projects a year.
“People say they’re tired of seeing the same faces, but in Nollywood, actors can’t afford to do only one film a year— the pay isn’t enough,” he explained. “The industry simply can’t introduce a large number of new faces as people hope because, financially, many emerging actors wouldn’t be able to sustain themselves. No one wants to be both famous and financially unstable.”
