Zack Orji

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Some call you Zach Orji, others Zack Orji. What are your real names?

I was born Zachee Ama Orji in Libreville, Gabon. However, most people call me Zack.

When ever we talk about actors it looks like they have always been actors. What is your background before acting- education, experience etc

I hold a B.Sc. (Hons) Estate Management degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I graduated in 1984.

Apart from Gabon and my fatherland Nigeria, my formative years; primary and secondary education were in Cameroon, Benin and Togo where I attended both French and English schools. This accounts for my being bilingual. Before becoming an actor, I used to design and make aquariums for sale and on order.

Fine Arts was where I made one of my best grades in secondary school. The aquanum market was dull so I moved on to shoes. Back in my secondary school my principal used to call me an all-rounder. I was senior prefect, I was speaker in senior debates, I was in the dramatic society, I was school champion in shot putt and discus; state champion in shot putt (1978) and went on to represent my state nationally

You must be a unique Nigerian actor since you speak French fluently. Have you thought about acting in French?

I would like to act in French. In August 2002, I was in Kinshasa, Congo where alongside my Congolese colleagues; I did a 5-minute promo in French for Vodacom to promote their short mail service in that country.

Nigerian Movies have become de facto Africa’s popular movies. How do you see this evolving?

I see the role of Nigerian movies as a pioneering one. Other sister African Nations will follow our footsteps and begin to do their own homegrown movies.

There will be more collaborations than we have already done with Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon and Sierra Leone, transcending language barriers.

Which are your all time favorite foreign and African Films?

a. Guess who’s coming to Dinner
b. The Good The Bad and The Ugly
c. Sound of Music
d. Sarafina
e. The Unforgiven Sin
f. Tenterhooks
g. Web
h. Return To Kazondia
i. Games Women Play
j. All my Life

What is your take on Films made on celluloid and Filmmakers like Sembene Ousmane or Basek Bakobio?

Nothing compares to the big screen. It is awesome, it captivates and it is the ultimate created world. My recollections of the big screen, watching movies like “The Good, the bad and the Ugly”, in my very early teens, are still very much vivid. Celluloid gives you the “feel” of the big screen.

However, recent breakthroughs in digital technology have given birth to digital video cameras with very high definition. You can shoot your films with these high definition cameras and watch them on wide screens, enjoying the same picture resolutions.

George Lucas used such high def cameras and said “I will never shoot another film on film”. Filmmakers like Sembene Ousmane or Basek Bakobio are torchbearers who have inspired a lot of Africans and people of black descent. They have made indelible marks and therefore occupy a pride of place. However, we must strive to traverse their footprints and leave something behind, in order to build up on their foundations

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Zulu Adigwe

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Remember Mr B, the popular character in the late Ken Saro Wiwa’s soap, Bassey and company who would always fantasize about making his millions in the 80’s? His name is Zulu Adigwe. Zulu is unarguably one of the finest theatre artistes to have come out from the African continent.

Although he came in as a replacement for Mr. Albert Egbe after the latter pulled out of the comedy series, Adigwe was able to prove himself and that marked the beginning of his steady rise to fame. Unarguably, one of the finest artistes to have ever emerged from Africa, Adigwe who made a first class from the University of Ibadan is a thoroughbred professional. Zulu has put in over two decades of practice as a crossover artiste and has traversed the stage, TV, home videos and music.
Journey into showbiz www.nigeriamovies.net
I started performing at the age of seven but professionally, I started in Europe in 1970 when I got into university. I had my first experience in film business, I was in the university and I was already in the professional field. I did a lot of things outside showbiz but showbiz was the main thing. Outside showbiz, I have been a teacher, I have taught at nursery schools, I have taught in primary school, secondary and the university level. I still teach but not in institutions, I teach privately because I love impacting knowledge into people who want to come into showbiz.

Coming to Nollywood
I joined Nollywood in 1999. My first movie was Blood of the Orphan. I came into Lagos on invitation from friends who knew me. I was acting in Bassey and Company in Enugu and in 1987 Bassey and Company was rested. Before that time, I had come into Lagos to feature in Checkmate, I was a pioneer cast in Checkmate but something prompted me to hold on and I stayed in Enugu. In 1998, people started prompting me to come to Lagos but before then, I was already resident in Abuja.

First movie www.nigeriamovies.net
The first movie I did was Blood of the Orphan and from there people picked interest in me. Till date, I have lost count of the number of movies that I have featured in
Family
I have three kids, two boys and one girl. My wife’s name is Blessing. I met her in Nsukka. I had relations in Nsukka who were neighbours of my wife’s people. She got so used to my profession and when we got our first son, I travelled out of the country. I was in the U.S for two months and we’ll be celebrating our silver jubilee as married couple soon.

Views on Nollywood www.nigeriamovies.net
I think that I am extremely proud of the classification of our film industry. It shows and exhibits the enormous talents in this country. This is an industry that government has not made any iota of input and it grew to be the third largest globally. So, that tells you what Nigerians can do. I have done so many things for this country free of charge, just to make things function. We were doing things in those days at National Theatre, running up an down with our resources and getting no feed back, we just wanted to do it.

Vision www.nigeriamovies.net
I don’t have any special dream or vision because I believe an artiste is born to serve humanity, it is a professional service. Although people say let me be a star so that I can make money, but for me money is secondary. I want to have something to contribute to humanity.
Some of Adigwe’s movies

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