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Veteran Nollywood actress Stella Damasus has spoken out about the frustrating barriers African actors face when trying to break into Hollywood. In a candid conversation with Arrow House, the award-winning actress unpacked the stereotypes that often hinder Nigerian actors from landing major roles on the global stage.
According to Damasus, one of the biggest challenges lies in Hollywood’s narrow and inaccurate stereotype of what an African should look and sound like. She explained that many casting directors in Hollywood have a rigid perception of Africans, one that doesn’t align with the reality of Nigeria’s rich diversity.
“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…” she said, shedding light on how some Nigerian actors are made to adopt foreign accents to meet the expectations of international producers.
The actress pointed out that the stereotype paints all Africans with the same brush; dark-skinned and East African sounding. “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,” she said.
Damasus also noted that most of the Nigerians who have successfully landed lead roles in Hollywood were raised abroad and possess accents that fit into Hollywood’s expectations.
She recalled a conversation where she was told bluntly that her complexion and accent didn’t make the cut: “We want an African to be very dark. That’s the kind of African that we are used to. We are not used to your kind of African. We want Lupita dark. You are not dark enough and you are not white enough to be half-caste, so it would be hard to place you. You are not mixed race. Then your accent, you don’t sound American or British, neither do you sound African.”
Challenging this view, Damasus questioned the blanket expectations set by Hollywood: “How do you think Africans sound? Because Africa is full of a million and one countries. And inside those countries, we have different dialects and different accents.”
Her words serve as a bold reminder of the need for greater authenticity and diversity in global film casting, and a call for the international movie industry to embrace Africa in its truest form, not a fictional stereotype.
