Ace Nigerian actor Jim Iyke has revealed how a group of Nollywood film producers and directors made the decision to stop casting him after he stood up for his colleagues who were poorly paid for their craft.
Jim Iyke made this revelation at the International Youth Empowerment Summit held in Accra, Ghana. In the circumstance that played out in the year 2004, the actor described how he stood up to a group of Nollywood filmmakers who had begun making an enormous profit off of Nollywood films, demanding that his colleagues who were upcoming in the industry be better paid for their service.
Iyke’s demands were met with deaf ears, after which he called some actors in the industry, asking that they demand more pay. In response to Iyke’s actions, the Nollywood filmmakers decided to stop casting Jim Iyke, as well as other actors who had heeded his advice and begun demanding higher pay for their service. According to Jim, these actors who were labeled G8 included, Jim Iyke, Ramsey Nouah, Emeka Ike, Richard Mofe Damijo, Nkem Owoh, Genevieve Nnaji, Stella Damasus, and Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde.
“Apparently, our producers were becoming multi-millionaires and the actors, not me, I mean guys that were slightly lower, were struggling,” Jim said at the summit.
“…And so, I called the group and said, we need to change the structure, without us they don’t exist. We are the ones the fans know. We have the gift and the talent why should they be earning more than us?”
According to Iyke, the Nollywood producers maintained that they were the ones who made the actors and that the actors were nothing without them, thus, they were to be satisfied with whatever pay they offered them.
The actor explained that the filmmakers were forced to eat their own words after dwindling profits forced them to call back the G8 actors they had backlisted.
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Jim further explained that the reason he was bold enough to stand up to the producers was because, unlike most of his colleagues, he did not owe his success and rise in the industry to any particular person, but sheer hard work and his refusal to settle for small roles.
“On the negotiating table, everybody had something to say. I made you, without me, you wouldn’t have been that. I gave you, your first chance. My colleagues kept quiet because everybody had a leaning, had somebody to point at to say without you I wouldn’t have been whatever it is that I became.”
“So, I said one thing, can somebody stand up and truthfully claim that without them I wouldn’t have come up. Not one person. Because I knew how I started. I knew the belief that I had… I refused to do small roles. For the first 2 to 3 years of my career, they kept giving me small roles and I refused them. I said if it is not a major lead then I’m not doing it.”
Jim Iyke who described the ban as a blessing is one of the few “old Nollywood” actors who successfully transitioned to the “new Nollywood.” Unlike some of his colleagues, Jim Iyke seemed to have properly managed his career as he still remains relevant in the industry. Lucrative endorsement deals and shrewd business choices have helped to keep Iyke’s wealth afloat.
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