In Nollywood and around the world, movies require quite a lot of work and finesse to make them appealing to the audience. Oftentimes, the production and acting crew become anxious to see the best version of the final on-screen rendition of a movie. And – well, expect a number of bloopers. But that’s just an unavoidable part of the movie industry. You need to see some of the most interesting behind-the-scenes stories from Nollywood movies that ended up as your favorites.
Actors and actresses forget their lines. Some of them get nervous and nearly break down. Sometimes the script gets changed as new developments or ideas suddenly pop up. Sometimes the unpleasant happens as well, and they need to handle it. The show must go on, right?
Let’s take a peek into some of the most interesting behind-the-scenes stories from Nollywood. It gets hot in there sometimes.
Hilarious: Jim Iyke and Uche Maduagwu ‘Fight dirty’
Jim Iyke returned to acting in 2020 after a long hiatus to cater for his son. He stepped right into the movie set of ‘Bad Comment’, directed by Moses Inwang, with co-actor Uche Maduagwu. And would you believe it – Jim Iyke paid Uche Maduagwu the sum of 4.8 million Naira to pull a stunt on the public.
They apparently ‘fought dirty’ behind the curtains – Jim ‘beat’ Uche anyhow for questioning how he got his wealth. The stunt spread like wildfire all over social media.
Bimbo Ademoye ‘Loses her Voice’
On the set of ‘Gangs of Lagos’, actress Bimbo Ademoye recounted how her fear of heights nearly numbed her. She disclosed this on one of her Instagram posts. In the posted video, Bimbo was seen climbing a ladder and ‘questioning her existence’ out of fear. After the third attempt that induced her into a screaming fit, she lost her voice for five days.
Harassment of Thugs: Femi Adebayo, Omoni Oboli
Femi Adebayo, son of veteran movie actor Adebayo Salami went to Ilorin, Kwara State to shoot a movie sometime in 2020. From nowhere, street urchins also called ‘Area boys’ stormed the set to demand for money. That would not be the first time thugs would disrupt a movie set.
Omoni Oboli also recalled her encounter with Area Boys on the set of the movie ‘Wives on Strike’. Omoni starred in the movie with co-actresses Uche Jombo, Chioma Akpotha, and Ufuoma McDermott. Suddenly, thugs burst onto the set and issued threats that they would damage their equipment. Several attempts by the women to calm them down (and probably pay them off) failed.
Then Ufuoma McDermott blurted out from nowhere: ‘That thing that you drank this morning, me too I have even drank it.’ Well – from pleading with them to mere bragging, the Area boys ended up taking up the same role in the movie.
Getting Aroused On Set – Sorry Man
Sometime in July 2019, actress Juliet Ibrahim recounted how a movie director grabbed her hand to tell her she was arousing him. This was in an interview with BBC Pidgin. And truly, looking down Juliet saw his ‘sixth finger’ shooting out. The embarrassed actress quickly took off.
Well, we can say actors are only human – though they must learn the art of self-control. Sometime around 2018, hunky actor Bolanle Ninalowo disclosed in an interview that he got aroused a few times on set. An assertion backed by another actor, OC Ukeje way back in 2016; and rapper Vector Da Viper while recounting their experiences on movie sets. It’s a risky world after all.
Sola Sobowale Trembles in ‘King of Boys’
Sola Sobowale recounted how working with director Kemi Adetiba on the set of ‘King of Boys’ brought the best out of her. She was driven to the edge of fear and anxiety. She nearly fainted, and found herself trembling uncontrollably at certain points without realizing it.
After one of such rehearsals that probably drained her, she could hear Kemi calling out, saying ‘Get Aunty S a chair; get her a bottle of water.’ When Sola asked what was going on, Kemi replied, ‘Aunty S, you are fainting’. Sola recalled sitting down and finally realizing she was shaking vigorously.
Sola Sobowale also starred in the movie ‘The Wedding Party’ and its sequel. She reportedly had serious moments of anxiety and meltdown on the set of ‘The Wedding Party 2’. In fact, it took the movie director,.Niyi Akinmolayan over two hours to reassure her that viewers will love her performance. Sola had been the star actress in the original movie ‘The Wedding Party’. Thus she was constantly under pressure to perform just as well in the sequel, as she did in the first movie.
Jumping from 3rd Mainland Bridge: Tobi Bakre’s Stunt Double
On the movie set of ‘Brotherhood’, stuntman Director Tough was required to play body double for BBNaija star and actor, Tobi Bakre. The stuntman revealed on Instagram that he was afraid as he prepared to jump off the 3rd Mainland Bridge into the lagoon.
Director Tough posted the picture of the jump. He was quoted saying, ‘High fall stunt from 3rd mainland bridge for the Brotherhood movie. Happy New Year. Yes I was scared. Yes, I tasted shit and concentrated pee. Of course it was one take
.’ Thank God it was only one take indeed.
