Model cum actor and presenter, Uti Nwachukwu, entered the entertainment scene as a star, this was after emerging winner of the Big Brother Africa reality show ‘season 5’ in 2010, where he had won $200,000, plus some other endorsements deals.
Uti revealed that with this status most film producers and directors thought that though they needed his talent and profile to boost their casts, but they were scared thinking he was going to be too expensive for them to hire him.
“There was a time producers were scared to call me. But I tell them that is where relationships come in. First, it is true that I am not going to be cheap. But this is not to say that I am super expensive. It also depends on the script. If I fill the role, then we can negotiate. I read the script, and see the movie is worth it. I then give it my best shot. I want people to see the movie and believe the film. And the scripts are really coming to him. I am affordable to the right people. I am expensive for non-professionals.”
The current trend in the Nigerian film industry is a situation where almost every actor produces their film themselves. But Nwachukwu says, though he is also a writer, he is not yet considering film production.
“Man proposes and God disposes. But I know it is not yet time for me to produce my own movies. God has blessed me with acting talent, and for now I am satisfied with exploring this talent. I am not in a hurry to produce because I am getting jobs. Many are going into production because they are not getting jobs. I am fine. It is not going to be impossible for me to get at least two calls for jobs within a short time,” he explained.