Onyinye Odokoro wanted to be an actress, so as she was winding up her bachelor's degree in nursing, she started posting monologues on social media.
The Nollywood producer, Mimi Bartels, loved her content and reached out. She asked if Odokoro wanted to travel to Lagos and be a part of a film production. The actress told her parents in Enugu that she was going to see her supervisor. It was a lie. She instead travelled to Lagos to work on the production and begin her dreams of being an actress full-time.
Since then, she's been in movies like Domitilla: The Sequel, Adire, Unwanted, an international TV series, and plays a starring role in the upcoming Netflix original series, Baby Farm. How did she do it and what should one expect as a working actress in Nollywood?
In an interview with Pulse Nigeria, she doesn't mince words.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
How does an actor typically get a job?
Sometimes we go for auditions, sometimes it's recommendations. We never know how the job comes to us. Of course, you do your part, show up on time, and memorise your lines. But other actors do the same thing.
What happens during an audition?
It depends. I've done all kinds of auditions. I've done auditions where you come by 5 am and you’re there by 5 pm and it's not yet your turn. I've also had the closed audition where there are like 80 other people there. They do this when they want to consider a lot of people for a role, but they want it streamlined. So it's not an open call, but it's also not a few people.
I've also done auditions that are just me and two other people. They work basically the way an interview works for white-collar job applicants.
For the open-call audition, they typically tell you to have your monologue ready. Sometimes you come and you're number 300 and by the time you start your monologue everyone is tired and they’re like “Thank you.” And you just leave.
How does one know there is an audition happening?
For the open audition, they typically post them on social media. This can be for an Africa Magic series or even a Kemi Adetiba film. You can imagine if a Kemi Adetiba calls for an audition. Everybody will come. People will travel from far and wide to come. Even people who don't want to audition but just want to see Kemi Adetiba will come.
For the closed one, you might get a side, which is an excerpt from a script. The side can be from the film you're auditioning for or from a film already released. You read the side when it's your turn and leave. You either get a callback or you don’t.
How do they decide who gets cast for the role?
There are a thousand reasons why somebody gets cast; it can be your height, the language you speak, your complexion, or your performance. They call you or send an email to inform you. Sometimes if they're not sure, you might get another callback but it’s typically shorter.
When do you get the full script?
The moment they cast you, and you confirm availability, they send you a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), and after you sign that, you get the script. Sometimes you have a role on offer when you don’t audition for the part. They just ask you if you want to be in the film. In that case, they might also share the script with you.
How do you prepare for the role?
The first thing you do is read the script to get the story. Then you go back and begin to study the script and pay closer attention to your own character and their relationship with other people. Then we have the table-read where the actors just come and read the script together aloud.
Some productions have rehearsals before shooting starts. Rehearsals are very important, especially in movies that have a rhythm to them. You need to know how the camera will move and how your co-star will move. This is not something that you come to set on the first day of principal photography and learn.
What happens if you get the script and you don’t like the role?
There was this one time when I got a script and I thought to myself, “I can’t do this.” I spoke to the director and in that case, they agreed with me and suspended filming. The topic of the film was feminism. But it was portraying feminism in a way that was not accurate and I didn't want to be at the helm of that. The story says that feminists are women who are angry at men for breaking up with them. The actor can decline a job. You just do it with respect.
What happens on the first day of filming?
You show up to set. If you have makeup, you do makeup. If you have a hair transformation, you go there. In pre-production, these things have been arranged. You send them your measurement and when your character is needed on set, you go on set.
If something happens to the actor while filming has started, what happens?
Two things; either they suspend production or they call somebody else. If you've not gone too far, they can reshoot the part. I was sick once but it started before we started shooting.
Does the actor refund the money?
Refund it how? Did I cause my sickness myself? For that job, they'd not paid me when I fell sick. But life happens. It’s an unforeseen circumstance. That's the production problem.
What will you say is the difference between a Hollywood and a Nollywood production?
Hollywood has more structure. While filming Unwanted, which is a Hollywood series, the production bus came to pick me up to set. They flew me, business class. I had my whole apartment to myself. Anywhere I wanted to go, there was a car. They film Monday to Friday, no weekend. They operate a nine-to-five. If it's 7 pm on the dot, the production ends because the actors need to rest.
The producers are always on set to enforce it because they don't want to pay extra money. That's not something we have across the board in Nollywood. If they keep you beyond 7 pm in Hollywood the agents and managers of the actors are calling, to complain. I don't have an agent in Nigeria. I am my own agent, manager, everything. You see people film a 10-episode series in five weeks in Nollywood. Unwanted has eight episodes and we filmed it in seven months.
How much should an upcoming actress expect to earn in Nollywood?
It depends on your purchasing power. A more famous actress will be paid more for the same role and the same work. I have been paid ₦15,000 for a role before.
What does it mean to be a working actress in Nollywood?
It's interesting to hear Hollywood actresses talk about how they were waitresses or doing delivery before they got their big break. It's all fine until you go to a restaurant in Nigeria to be a waitress and you tell them on Saturday you have an audition.
But even more so, how much do waitresses earn in Lagos? In America, you might be able to survive doing a care job. But that's not the case here. Rent in Lagos is high and you have to be here because acting is not a remote job.
You see actors making appearances when they get invited to places, it costs money. I always tell people I'm in the work because I’m passionate about it, otherwise, I'll be in the UK practising nursing, earning £5,000 per month.
We have actors who are doing multiple productions at the same time to make ends meet. A lot of times I feel despondent.
What advice do you have for people who want to be professional actresses in Nollywood?
Seek mentorship. Ask people questions. Be in it for the passion and not just the stardom. There are jobs you take not for the pay but to build visibility.