Acting doesn’t give overnight riches — Jide Awobona

Actor, Jide Awobona, has opened up on the financial realities of pursuing a career in acting, cautioning against expectations of quick wealth in the industry.

Citing his experience, Awobona told Sunday Scoop, “Fulfillment in acting and it being lucrative are like two parallel lines. No passionate actor starts with the primary aim of making money, though you might be fortunate to strike deals or get acting gigs that will make you smile to the bank.

However, this mostly comes to actors that are diligent, consistent, passionate and exceptionally good.

The Nigerian movie industry just started becoming really lucrative, and that’s as a result of the several streaming platforms now acquiring our contents, thus giving more investors the confidence to invest a lot on movie productions with minimal or no fear of running at a loss.
We are gradually getting there, but anyone who is thinking of becoming rich overnight shouldn’t think of being an actor. You need to be passionate first, study the industry, then you can decide.”

Asked about the sacrifices he had to make for his career, Awobona said, “I have made countless sacrifices for this profession, and it’s hard to single out one as the greatest.

Whether it’s cutting vacations with my family short and paying extra to change our flights immediately—like we recently did to fly back to Nigeria to shoot Lisabi, a film by Lateef Adedimeji—or pushing myself physically to fit a role, the commitment is constant.
For my latest film, Inspector Jero, I had to fast and only ate fruits to slim down for the part, even though I usually only fast during Ramadan due to my ulcer. While in the university, I carried over a course, because I was filming Super Story.”