Hollywood made me feel like a commodity – Genevieve Nnaji

Renowned  Nigerian actress, Genevieve Nnaji has opened up about her experiences while seeking partnerships in Hollywood following the success of her 2018 film, LionHeart.

She revealed that she realized she was being viewed as a commodity, with Hollywood primarily interested in exploiting her talent and African stories for their own benefit. Instead of embracing authentic African stories, they wanted to use her to tell their own narratives.

Genevieve expressed these sentiments during a panel discussion at the 2024 AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum/Afreximbank Annual Meetings. She admitted that she had initially hoped to have more opportunities in Hollywood, considering the success of LionHeart and her own capabilities.

“For the first time, I realized I was a commodity. I thought, you know, given what I had done with Lionheart, and all of that, I was going to have an opportunity to do more. Getting there and having the kind of support that obviously CANEX is bringing on board, but I thought I could find it in Hollywood. That was not quite the case.

However, she soon discovered that Hollywood wanted to utilize her talents solely for their own gain, disregarding the essence of African stories.

“They wanted what I had but for their benefit. It was all about their story. It was all about how, even if it was our story, I could make it more authentic to their own understanding of whatever Africa is because they did have a lot of literature in their archives.”

Despite the allure of Hollywood, Genevieve, who has starred in several Nollywood movies noted that she made the conscious decision to remain in Nigeria and contribute to the growth of the local film industry . She explained that she had a dream to build an industry in Nigeria that could rival Hollywood, as she firmly believed in the power of telling authentic stories for her own people.

While she respected the achievements of Hollywood and Bollywood, she believed that Nollywood had an equal chance to make its mark. Realizing that Hollywood’s vision did not align with hers, Genevieve decided to wait for the right opportunity. However, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic caused a shift in the world, and Africa began to emerge as a significant player in the global entertainment industry. Despite the challenges, Genevieve remained steadfast in her commitment to Nollywood and the potential it held.

“But I am Nollywood. I could have gone to Hollywood a long time if I wanted to. But I had a dream to build an industry in Nigeria that could rival it. That’s because I’ve always believed in that. I have always believed that we were capable of actually owning an industry like that, that told our story for our people. I wanted that. I respect what Hollywood is doing. I respect what Bollywood is doing and I felt like Nollywood had an equal chance at it.

“So when I found it wasn’t quite what they had in mind I was like I’m just going to wait this out and the Covid happened and the worlds switched at that point and Africa sort of became it,” she added.