BY HARRY OKORUWA
As the countdown to the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards climaxes this weekend, here is a profile of the front runners of the prestigious Best Actor diadem.
Mike Ezuruonye
The talented actor was born in Lagos on September 21, 1982. He had his secondary education in two schools – Federal Government College, Taraba and Archbishop Aggey Memorial School, Lagos. He studied Accounting at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. This sojourn in different parts of Nigeria may have influenced his profound capacity to act and perhaps explains why he is so adept to playing roles that portray people who are Hausa, Ibo or Yoruba. He worked briefly as a banker before making his acting debut in a television series Ultimate Hero, which was directed at the time by Zeb Ejiro. Mike made his Nollywood breakthrough when he starred in Broken Marriage, Critical Decision and ‘Burning Desire. Since these movie flicks, he has since featured in over 30 other best selling movies. Mike has been nominated for his role in the crime story, Breathless, where he played the part of a disgruntled son Ben whose relationship with his father Prof. Okpodu is strained. The movie is a forensic account of the murder of an asthmatic lady in the beach house of her boss- Prof Okpodu. The incident leads to a series of events that revealed secrets of Prof Okpodu and his sons. Breathless also boasts a very formidable cast in Bimbo Manuel, John Njamah and Uti Nwachukwu, among others. Only time will tell if Mike has done enough to win the covetous best actor award at the AMVCAs via this movie flick.
Majid Michel
He acquired the nickname Shaker on set while starring on the television series Things we do for love, which had a plot centred on a Lebanese boy. Majid attributes being given the role due to his Lebanese heritage. The actor made his breakthrough in Nollywood through the movie, Silent Scandals acting alongside Nigerian screen goddess- Genevieve Nnaji. The film received wide positive critical review for its high production values and Michel’s performance, along with his strong on-screen chemistry with Genevieve Nnaji. He is known for his intensity which is concentrated in his eyes, a quality that makes him ideal for romantic roles. Majid as he is widely called by his fans is in contention for the best actor with the film, Being Mrs. Elliot, where he played a starring role alongside Omoni Oboli who is his overbearing wife – Mrs. Elliot. Mr. Bill Elliot (Majid Michel) has a lot of issues with the wife who makes him look like a stranger in his own home. His wife thinks he is naïve and she is not in support of the adoption plans of the two sons of a dying relative.
Van Vicker
Joseph Van Vicker better known as Van Vicker started his incursion into the entertainment world in 1997 as a television personality with TV3 Ghana and later became a presenter for Groove Fm in 1999. Vicker appeared in the Ghanaian television series, Suncity, which depicted university life. He played the character of LeRoy King Jr., a fine art student born in the United State who arrived at Suncity to complete his education. He made his film debut in 2004 with the movie Devine Love acting alongside Jackie Aygemang and Majid Michel his school mate at Mfantsipim School. Van Vicker has been nominated this year in this category for playing the role of a master armed robber who lives a rich benevolent life style during the day. He helps the poor and donates to many activities, while leading his gang at night to rob poor victims in the movie – A Long Night. A Long Night was Van Vicker’s first movie after he recovered from a broken leg which he sustained during a friendly football match between Ghanaian actors and their Nigerian counterparts. The movie also features Uche Jombo, Dayo Amusa and Julius Agwu as fellow cast members.
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Daniel K Daniel
Daniel K Daniel is a blossoming actor who had to ditch his dreams of becoming a pilot because he was diagnosed of Myopia- short sightedness. He is the eldest of four children and has a younger brother who is currently an up and coming musician who goes by the name Kiss Daniel. Daniel started as a model and in fact got his break in acting when supermodel Steiner Eunice Opara, dragged a reluctant Daniel to a movie audition. The directors – Kabat Esosa Egbon and Tola Balogun were impressed by Daniel’s talent and gave him his very first acting job in the Television series All About Us. His big movie break came when he took the antagonist role in the Amstel Malta Box Office production – The Child starring alongside Alex Usifo, Joke Silva, Wole Ojo and a host of others. Daniel has been nominated for his portrayal of a Soldier who lost part of his memory after being attacked by rebel soldiers while on peace keeping mission.
Segun Arinze
Born Segun Padonou Aina but widely known as Segun Arinze or simply Black Arrow a name he acquired from a role he played in a movie titled Silent Night in 1996. Before he became a household name in the movie industry, he had some success in music. He released his debut album Dreams in 1992. In fact, it was his music label Premier Music that changed his birth name to Segun Arinze because the music executives at the label felt his original name would only suit a Juju musician and not the Pop musician they were about to introduce to the music scene at the time. A true and true veteran in Nollywood, Segun Arinze was nominated for his role in the movie Jaja The Great. The movie was inspired by a series of events in the early 60s after independence.
Blossom Chukwujekwu
After winning Best Supporting Actor in a drama at the AMVCAs in 2015, Blossom Chukwujekwu acting skills has yet again garnered him a nomination for his performance in Falling. Blossom as he is fondly called by his fans made his debut in the 2009 flick Private Storm acting alongside Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and Ramsey Nouah. He is a graduate of Mass Communication from Benson Idahosa University where he held the position of the President of the Association of Mass Communication Students (AMCOS) in the 2007/2008 session. He was also an active member of the popular House of Theatre (H.O.T) where he played the lead in the stage drama, Godless: The path to dawn. He played a lead role in Falling a movie about a couple seemingly on the brink of living the rest of their lives together, suddenly torn apart by an accident that leaves the man in a comatose state with a prognosis of “brain dead”. His partner is left to fend off indications that she has abandoned her partner in his vegetable state, and revelations are made in the course of the movie that test the increasingly fragile fabric of their love.
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Fans of Nollywood can only wish for the best for all the nominees because they all deserve to win the accolade for their professionalism in the roles in which they have been nominated. For the actors, they would wish individually, that they have done enough to win it, however, the prize goes to one person but being nominated for the category should serve as a big consolation.
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