Aspiring actress Nneka Nkem, in a recent interview, talked about how bad she felt for not being able to join Nollywood earlier because she was a plus-size lady.
But her turning point came when she auditioned and secured a role in What Other Couples Do. Today, the Nnamdi Azikiwe University graduate of Psychology is an inspiration to many plus size women that nothing is impossible as long as you set your mind at it.
The Imo State-born screen diva opened up on her battles with inferiority complex and sexual harassment as a plus size. She also revealed how she almost lost her life trying to lose weight.
She said:
I’ve always loved Theatre Arts since when I was in secondary school. I’ve always wanted to act in movies but my father didn’t like it. My parents don’t like showbiz. My father particularly told me that he doesn’t want to see me on TV. Being a science student in secondary school, he expected me to be a medical doctor; he wanted me to read medicine.
In school when I wanted to switch from science to arts, he told me he wasn’t going to permit that. However, in school, I belonged to the art/drama club and I used to participate in drama secretly without letting my dad know.
When I got to university, I discovered that I actually had to make decisions on my own. I had a friend who was filming at a particular place in Awka, so I said ‘Let me follow you, I want to see how all these things are done’.
The first day I went to the location with her, I told the director that I’d love to be an actor too, and he said ‘okay’. Later, he needed an extra character for a particular role, so he asked me if I could try, and that was it. The rest is history.
Speaking on the move that made her popular, she said I had a major TV series, Mr. X Family Show, a RMD production that is currently showing on AIT at 7pm every Sunday.
At a particular point, there were movies I thought were going to break me, but the one that really gave me that break was What Other Couples Do directed by TC Nnachi for Iroko TV.
It was within that period that I started doing skits for Nedu of Wazobia show. It was also within that period that Oga Landlord comedy series came out.