Stella Damasus, a seasoned actress, has discussed the difficulties Nigerian actors face in landing Hollywood parts.
She clarified that the main obstacle to Nollywood actors landing Hollywood jobs is the Hollywood stereotype of Africans, which she claimed Nigerians don’t fit into.
According to the movie star, the Hollywood stereotype about Africans is that they are all as dark as Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o and have East African accents.
According to her, this makes Nigerian performers unsuitable for parts in Hollywood. The majority of Nigerian performers who have landed major roles in Hollywood, she noted, were brought up overseas.
In a conversation with Arrow House, Damasus explained, “Hollywood filmmakers insist that there is a particular accent that Africans who want to act in their industry must have. So, that’s why they forced our people to put it on…
“I’m like, we [Nigerians] don’t sound like that, maybe one or two small countries in East Africa. I’m Nigerian, they are Ghanaians. We are different people and we all sound different. We [Nigerians] don’t sound like this. That’s what Hollywood wants. That’s what they are used to.
The majority of Nigerians who have acted in Hollywood productions are English-raised individuals. The majority of them speak with a distinct accent. “And we want an African to be very dark,” the Hollywood directors told me.
We’re used to seeing Africans like that. We’re not used to Africans like you. Lupita should be dark. It would be difficult to place you because you are neither white nor dark enough to be considered half-caste. You’re not a mixed-race person. You don’t sound African, American, or British because of your accent.How do you believe Africans sound, I ask. Because there are a million and one countries in Africa. Additionally, we speak many dialects and accents inside those nations.
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