Renowned Nollywood actor, Wales Ojo, has vocalized his belief that contemporary actors have placed greater emphasis on “artificial acting” rather than authenticity. He firmly stated that present-day Nollywood actors have increasingly prioritized “artificial acting” at the expense of the genuine and organic performances that were characteristic of veteran actors.
According to Wale Ojo’s statement, he expressed his nostalgia for the old era of Nollywood, where films featuring actors such as Ramsey Noah, Rita Dominic, Pete Edochie, Omotola Jalade, and Genevieve Nnaji used to captivate him. He commended the quality of the narratives during that time, highlighting how those stories used to evoke excitement. Moreover, he praised the remarkable acting performances that accompanied these well-crafted storylines.
According to Wale Ojo: “When I used to watch the old Nollywood, those were the stories that used to excite me. Those are Ramsey Noah’s flicks, Rita Dominic, Pete Edochie, Omotola Jalade, Genevieve Nnaji. The stories were really good. The acting was great.
“I know that things had moved on, but in this age of artificial intelligence, perhaps, they [morden day actors] have taken on more of artificial acting rather than realness which was there [old Nollywood], and which you actually find more in Yoruba movies, by the way.”
“ I remember watching Hubert Ogundes, Jide Kosoko, Baba Suwe, Papilolo. These were real hard core veterans at that time.
Things have changed and they must change. Things have changed for the better and some things have also changed for the worse. And I can understand this feeling of nostalgia for wanting to go back to the old Nollywood. The wonderful thing would be to marry that old Nollywood now with new Nollywood so that it is a marriage that would please our audiences.”
