"I love telling stories that don't demand assimilation," says Yvonne Orji, star of "Insecure."
Here are some interesting facts about Nigeria: With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the world's seventh most populous country. The official language is English, but the country is home to over 500 languages, including Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. The capital is Abuja, the national anthem is "Arise, O Compatriots," and the country's most famous export is movie and television actors, as everyone knows. Oil is the country's largest export, but performers aren't far behind.
If you've turned on the TV or gone to the movies in the last five years, there's a good chance you've seen a Nigerian or first-generation Nigerian actor from the United Kingdom or elsewhere: John Boyega in "Star Wars," Uzo Aduba in "Orange Is the New Black," Cynthia Erivo in "Harriet," or Chiwetel Ejiofor in "12 Years a Slave." Nigerians have found a home in almost every part of Hollywood, including Chuck Lorre sitcoms ("Bob Hearts Abishola" starring two ladies of Nigerian heritage, one from Nigeria and the other born in the United Kingdom). Many Nigerians who come to America these days have origins in Nollywood, which is similar to Bollywood in Africa but considerably bigger, with the Nigerian film industry releasing more films per year than India and occasionally even the United States (albeit the budgets aren't as enormous). Despite the pandemic, Nollywood produced over 2,500 films in 2020, according to Statista. As the streaming boom has accelerated a hunger for true global culture, Nigeria has shown to be a natural incubator for Hollywood stars, eager to take the screen.
But what distinguishes the latest wave of Nigerian infiltration — and, in some ways, defines these performers on screen — is that they don't seem particularly interested in playing Americans, despite the fact that many of them excel at it. They're also taking ownership of their own material by branching out into writing, directing, and producing, with a focus on authentic, culturally relevant storytelling.
"The audience is tired of only seeing the world through the lens of a white male middle class," said David Oyelowo, a British-Nigerian actor who played Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2014 film "Selma." “ Actors such as Idris Elba and Daniel Kaluuya have spoken about their Ghanaian and Ugandan roots, respectively.
ORJI, YVONNE
Orji comes from a line of African royalty: her grandfather was a king, and her father was the leader of the village where she grew up. Her family was understandably disappointed when she declared her plan to pursue a career as an actress and stand-up comedian rather than a career as a doctor or lawyer. Nonetheless, for the 38-year-old, it proved to be a wise career choice. She plays Molly Carter, a sharp-witted lawyer who continues making awful love decisions in HBO's "Insecure," which just completed its five-year run. Her comic specials, such as HBO's "Momma I Made It!" where she takes aim at her Nigerian mother's competitive standards, are when she truly unleashes her ferocious powers. "Every opportunity to remind me that I wasn't a doctor: 'So, you want to sell yourself all over the world," she says in "Momma" (2020). "That work ethic, that gangster-ness," Orji remarked with a grin, is what drives so many Nigerians to succeed in the entertainment industry. Nonetheless, for the 38-year-old, it proved to be a wise career choice. She plays Molly Carter, a sharp-witted lawyer who continues making awful love decisions in HBO's "Insecure," which just completed its five-year run. Her comic specials, such as HBO's "Momma I Made It!" where she takes aim at her Nigerian mother's competitive standards, are when she truly unleashes her ferocious powers. "Every opportunity to remind me that I wasn't a doctor: 'So, you want to sell yourself all over the world," she says in "Momma" (2020). "That work ethic, that gangster-ness," Orji remarked with a grin, is what drives so many Nigerians to succeed in the entertainment industry.
Next up, she'll be working on "First Gen," a semi-autobiographical Disney+ series (produced by Oprah Winfrey) about a Nigerian family who immigrates to America and then suffers a nervous breakdown when their daughter drops out of medical school to become, as the mother dismissively puts it, "a clown".
Orji stated of her Hollywood ambitions "I want to present complex stories from the continent,". It isn't simply the white man who colonized us that I am uninterested in. 'Oh, you know, we were slaves,' isn't it. "I'm not interested in it," she stated. "I'm a sucker for stories that don't necessitate assimilation."
OYELOWO, DAVID
"The Water Man," a Netflix film about a young boy who leaves home in quest of a fabled cure for his mother's sickness, marked the "Selma" star's directorial debut in July. As the boy's father, Oyelowo made sure to include Nigerian references in the movie, such as bits of Afrobeat music, popularized by Nigerian musician Fela Kuti in the 1960s and 1970s, playing on the radio in several scenes."You'll notice those Nigerian touches — it'll pervade everything I do," the 45-year-old said to TheWrap. And it's evident that he'll be doing a lot. In September, he and his production company, Yoruba Saxon, struck an overall contract with ViacomCBS and MTV Entertainment Studios for original and unscripted content, including a limited series based on the true story of Bass Reeves, the first Black deputy United States marshal west of the Mississippi (Oyelowo is playing the lead). He'll also appear in Hugh Howey's postapocalyptic sci-fi novel "Wool," which will be adapted by Apple.
However, Oyelowo stated that he still wishes to identify and perform characters that are uniquely Nigerian. "I used to get screenplays where a character was simply described as 'African,'" he added. "When I say, 'Well, what type of African are you?' people are astonished." Where did you get it? Which tribe are you from?' "Those days are long gone."
YASHERE, GINA
Chuck Lorre knew he was stepping outside his comfort zone when he came up with the concept for his latest CBS sitcom, "The Big Bang Theory," in which an American businessman falls for an African immigrant single mother. As a result, he and his team began a painstaking and meticulous search for a consultant who could assist them in bridging the cultural divides that would inevitably arise in "Bob Hearts Abishola."
“They Googled ‘Nigerian female comics,’” recalled Gina Yashere, 47. “And that’s how they found me. I came on originally as a consultant, then once I got into the room as a producer-writer, I wrote myself into the show.”
She made it her duty to make the program as culturally specific as possible after she was comfortably ensconced in the script — as a crazy best friend. Despite the fact that the cast included performers from all over the world, she insisted that the lead role, Abishola, be performed by a Nigerian — Folake Olowofoyeku was cast; see below — and that the character itself be a Nigerian. "In Hollywood, we've never had these opportunities," she remarked. "Speaking Yoruba on primetime — this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"The concert is a love letter to all immigrants working in America," Yashere said, adding that the message extends beyond Nigeria.
OLOWOFOYEKU FOLAKE
Before being cast as the lead in "Bob Hearts Abishola," Folake Olowofoyeku would find herself mentally hitting her forehead during auditions. With a sardonic laugh, she continued, "I've been in a room with a group of white executives attempting to teach me an African accent."
She grew raised in Lagos, Nigeria's largest metropolis, as the youngest of 20 children, where her parents wanted her to enter the family business, law, and politics. During a summer trip in New York, however, she snuck away to City College to pursue acting classes and ended up staying and graduating with honors from the college's theatrical school.
It was beyond her wildest career ambitions to be cast as the lead in a Chuck Lorre production - "a freaking legend," she termed the producer. She, on the other hand, isn't astonished that her compatriots are doing so well in Hollywood. "Nigerians can be found wherever," she stated. "I'm sure there's a Nigerian at the North Pole," says the narrator.
Olowofoyeku, who is also a musician who goes by the stage name The Folake, believes Nollywood's boom has coincided with the rise of Afrobeat music. She also intends to use her clout to open an art gallery in Los Angeles for Nigerian artists. And, while she is content in Lorre's reality, she is fascinated by science fiction and fantasy and wishes to write stories in that genre.
"We've been fed nonsense (claiming) that only a certain style of story sells," she remarked. "With social media and the accessibility of travel, we live in a global society now... it doesn't make sense for our pictures to be consistent or watered down." We want to see a range of things because that's what we see on the streets."
