Veteran Nigerian actor Pete Edochie has asserted that his acting career predates the emergence of Nollywood, saying he first took to the stage in 1962 at the age of 15.
The celebrated actor made the remarks in an interview, challenging anyone who considers themselves his senior in the acting profession to come forward and prove their claim.
According to Edochie, his first major stage performance was in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in 1962, at a time when acting in Nigeria was largely centred on theatre.
“By the time I did Merchant of Venice in 1962, I was 15 years old. Then, there was nothing like film; they were all stage,” he said.
‘I Acted Before Nollywood’
Edochie argued that his career was already well established long before the Nigerian film industry became widely known as Nollywood.
He recalled featuring in the television adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart in 1985, several years before the term Nollywood became associated with Nigeria’s home-video industry.
“When I did Things Fall Apart, there was nothing like Nollywood. I did Things Fall Apart in 1985. Nollywood came on board in 1992 when they did Living in Bondage,” he stated.
Edochie Claims International Recognition
The veteran actor also claimed that he was among only two African actors recognised by the American film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) following an evaluation of filmmaking efforts across the continent.
He identified South African actor John Kani as the other African actor he said was recognised by the studio.
“MGM evaluated filmmaking efforts of the continent of Africa and they said there are only two people who were recognised, Pete Edochie and John Kani of South Africa,” he claimed.
Edochie further asserted that his work attracted international attention, saying foreign journalists travelled to Nigeria specifically to interview him following one of his film performances.
“I am the only person in this country who did a film and white people flew in to come and interview me. No other person can achieve this. Let the person come out,” he said.
His comments underscore his long-standing claim to being one of the pioneers of Nigeria’s acting tradition, having built a career across theatre, television and film before the emergence of the modern Nollywood industry.
