Newcomers in Nollywood should be ready for the intellectual work that comes with the glamour of the industry, actress, Kehinde Bankole has stated.
The actress whose acting prowess was heavily made known in NetFlix’s ‘Blood Sisters’ said this known during an Instagram Live session hosted by Kunle Afolayan on Thursday, May 12, 2022.
She said, “Don’t see acting as a career you can come into when all other careers are not working for you. (Perhaps), you have been told that doctors and lawyers are more professional than actors, so you decided to start acting because you couldn’t cope in other fields. Acting is not just about looking good; it involves a lot of intellectual work. You have to think on your toes, otherwise, you would become irrelevant.”
Speaking further, the award-winning actress noted that being able to sustain relevance is where the real work lies.
“Being able to sustain relevance is the real work, being able to make it pay your bills. Stumbling on fame doesn’t happen like that for people every time, like the case of Olajumoke the bread seller. There are people whose stories are like that but it’s usually one out of every five hundred.”
Bankole also emphasised the importance of getting formal education before coming into the industry. She added, “Nollywood is gradually becoming structured, yet you are your own insurance. You have to create everything yourself. Getting a formal education in this area will be good. That way, if you don’t know what exactly you are coming to do in the industry since it is quite broad, you will know what you are never going to do. If you are trained, you will know your area of competence. You cannot just guess or gamble with it.”