Jenifer Eliogu says she not threatened by younger actresses

Nollywood actress, Jenifer Eliogu

Three years ago, popular Nollywood actress, Jenifer Eliogu, ventured into music. Although she has always said that she thought she would become a singer instead of an actress, critics believed she ventured into music because she felt threatened by the new crop of actresses in the industry.

She told Saturday Beats that such remark is laughable because most of the new actors are not seasoned. She said that her contemporaries were the best set of actors Nollywood has ever had.

“I am not boasting but my set of actors is the best that Nollywood has ever produced. I am talking about actors from the beginning till late 2000. There are very few new actors that you can say are very good at the craft. In recent times, we do not have seasoned actors. I don’t mean to diss but that is the truth. Every young girl now wants to be an actress once they feel they have good looks and very long hair. The media also help them because once they appear in a movie, they are tagged as star actresses.

“We started acting when you had to go for auditions. And when you were auditioning, you had about 200 people auditioning for one role; so they gave you the role based on merits. Between 1996 and 2002, you found yourself going for various auditions before you could even get a movie role. When you went for auditions then, you met your senior colleagues for the same audition and it made you proud when you got the role. You lifted your head high when you read a script during audition and people applauded you. You read in front of about 1000 people and they applauded, not even the judges. When you got this role, you would know that you got them on merit.

“In recent times, nobody goes for audition. A producer takes his pen and paper and writes down who he wants to feature in his movie, including the lead role. I am a seasoned actress just like my contemporaries. We are professionals. Right now, they compete among themselves. I hear that in Asaba and some other places in the east, the girls pay money to be featured in movies. Some of them compromised to be featured in movies and I am supposed to be threatened by such actors? It is impossible,” she said.