Ivie Okujaye on Her Role and Transformation in the Film “Osamede”

When Ivie Okujaye Egboh talks about landing the lead role in Osamede, her voice carries a weight that goes beyond typical actor enthusiasm. “I hope to grow old, and when I’m like 75 or 80, I pray somebody asks me this question again,” she says, her smile evident even over the audio call. “This has been a dream role my entire life.”

The 37-year-old actress, who rose to prominence after winning the Amstel Malta Box Office reality show in 2009, has built a career spanning television series like Hotel Majestic and Enakhe, and films from Make a Move to her Netflix debut Tokunbo. But none of those projects prepared her—or perhaps everything did for embodying Osamede, the young orphan who becomes the chosen protector of the sacred Aruosa stone in what may be Nollywood’s most ambitious mythological epic.

In an exclusive interview with The Nollywood Reporter, Okujaye opens up about the intensive preparation for the role, the cultural awakening it triggered, and why she believes Osamede will inspire a generation of African storytellers.

Subconscious Preparation for a Superhero

Okujaye’s journey to Osamede reads like destiny in retrospect. “From the moment I was a kid, I knew I wanted to play a superhero character,” she reflects. “Subconsciously, I was training for it with every sport I did, with every dance choreography. I was very athletic and into stunts, karate, taekwondo and all that.”

This physical preparation proved crucial for a role that demanded both emotional depth and action sequences. But the challenge lay elsewhere: mastering the Edo language well enough to deliver a naturalistic performance entirely in the dialect.

“I was literally training and practicing the language for two solid months before the shoot began,” she explains. “They got me a private language coach, Mr. Osagie Elegbe.” The intensive preparation paid off, though it created a unique acting challenge. “Speaking the language while looking into another actor’s eyes and feeling emotions through lines I had just learned was a lot. It was like my brain had to compartmentalize—figure each thing out separately and then bring it back together to make it seamless.”

The fear of sounding inauthentic haunted her initial days on set. “I remember I walked over to the director behind the monitor on the first day, and I said, ‘Tell me the truth. Don’t sugarcoat it. Can you tell that I learned this language, or does it feel real?'” Director James Omokwe’s response—showing her the playback—reassured her that the months of preparation had worked. “It looked like this language is my first language. It looked so real.”

Fourteen Days That Felt Like Forever

When director James Omokwe mentions that Osamede was shot in just 14 days, Okujaye laughs. “Every time I hear James say we shot it in 14 days, I’m always like, wait, is he trying to underplay what we did? Because it felt like a month, to be honest.”

The compressed schedule worked because of meticulous preparation. “Everything was literally standing when we got there. In Nollywood, sometimes you get on location and that’s when they start prepping. These ones were ready. Literally every set was ready. Every set looked like real villages.”

The tight timeline created a collaborative atmosphere where nobody wanted to be the weak link. “I was very aware, and I think all the other actors would say the same thing—that we had such an organized schedule. Nobody wanted to be the one to cause a delay. Everybody was on their A-game.”

The moment when Okujaye fully became Osamede came early in the shoot, during a scene with veteran actor Paul Obazele, who plays her father in the film. “He leaned his hand on my shoulder and delivered a line in a way that only a father could. It felt so real. I hadn’t planned to smile in that scene, but when he touched my shoulder and said it, I smiled. And in that moment, I realized: God, I’m surrounded by people immersed in their characters.”

Going Home to Edo

For Okujaye, who grew up in Benin before leaving around age 12, filming Osamede in Edo State provided an unexpected homecoming. “James Omokwe did the movie justice by not shooting it in Lagos. He took it to Edo State, where the soil is actually red. The sand is red. Everything. He took us to the land where this story would have happened.”

The authenticity extended beyond locations. “Every day, I kid you not, hundreds of villagers came to watch us shoot, speaking different Edo languages. Just watching their mannerisms, being in their presence, it took me back. It felt like going back to ancestry.”

This cultural immersion sparked reflection on generational loss of heritage. “It also made me realize how we’re slowly losing touch with heritage. I personally can speak my language, but not as fluently as my mom. My kids can speak a bit, but less than me. With each generation, we lose a little more of our cultural nuances.”

From Screen Heroism to Real-World Action

The character of Osamede; bold, brave, and community-focused didn’t stay on set. “You can’t deliver those kinds of lines, experience those kinds of scenes, and walk away untouched,” Okujaye explains. “So for me, playing Osamede was such a gift, such an honor, an eye-opener, and just the inspiration I needed in this phase of my life.”

Back in Abuja after filming, she took concrete action. “I reached out to two ladies who had always tried to get me on board their projects. I told them, ‘I think I’m finally ready.'” Now, working with Chairman Momo, she’s involved in projects helping women in remote areas of Abuja; places like Bwari and Kuje—particularly those in abusive relationships or struggling as undermined breadwinners.

“I’m not flying around in a cape, but I’m with a group of fantastic Abuja-based women, visiting communities that aren’t even my tribe. I’m Edo-Delta. These people aren’t Edo or Delta, but they’re human beings, and they’re women. I’m a mom as well, so it’s very easy to empathize with what they’re going through.”

Different from Previous Roles

Okujaye’s filmography includes emotionally demanding projects like Kanani and action-packed films like Tokunbo, but Osamede occupies a unique space. “All these movies you’ve mentioned are considerably big budget films with incredible production value,” she notes. “But there’s something different about Osamede. Kanani was one of the most emotional stories I’ve ever done. But it left me feeling almost broken because of the things the character went through. Osamede, on the other hand, kind of built me.”

The difference lies in the cultural grounding. “None of the other movies took me back home—took me back to wondering what life must have been like for my great-grandma and great-great-grandma. Osamede did that. Osamede is home.”

She predicts a lasting impact: “Osamede is the movie that in 30, 40 years I’ll be asked about, and there will be fondness in my voice because it’s just special. In terms of impact, in terms of staying true to where I come from, I don’t know that any has done that for me beyond Osamede.”

Celebrating Womanhood and Identity

Osamede functions as what Okujaye calls “a celebration of womanhood” and “a celebration of African resilience.” But rather than shifting her perspective on these themes, the role “reignited what I already knew the African woman was. But it was nice to put an identity to it. It was nice to almost feel it tangibly.”

The film’s approach to superhero storytelling particularly resonated with her. “When you watch the movie, you’ll realize there aren’t as many superhero moments as you might expect. You watch Wonder Woman, and every three minutes she’s throwing somebody across the room. Osamede didn’t do that. They allowed her innate strength—the strength she had from within—to be her main power, while her supernatural abilities were more like her sidekick.”

This distinction carries political weight in contemporary Nigeria. “In this time where the political atmosphere is not favorable to the progress of our country, it’s a time where we really need people who are brave enough to strategically speak up and hope that leads to change. Osamede did that.”

Inspiration for Future Filmmakers

Okujaye believes Osamede will motivate other Nigerian filmmakers to explore mythological storytelling. “We have so many stories. Mythological stories, fantasy stories, the stories we were taught in primary school, about the gods, the apple, the calabash that fell from the sky.”

She references Sango as a previous touchstone: “Maybe for 30 years, Sango was our reference point for mythological superheroes. Even now, people still see Wale Adebayo, who played Sango, and they talk about him in that light. This is going on maybe 30 years.”

“Movies like this don’t just come, break the box office, and go. No. They stay. They linger. They’re the kind of projects that make you proud to have been a part of them.”

A Message for Young Women

As our conversation winds down, Okujaye’s focus turns to the film’s potential impact on young African women. Her hope is twofold: that they find supportive communities and that they embrace their natural identity.

“I pray young girls are able to identify their own circle, the crew, the team that can help them move forward, not compete with them or take advantage,” she says, reflecting on her own experience with the Osamede cast and crew.

More importantly, she hopes the film counters contemporary beauty standards. “We’re in an era where artificial beauty is praised, and natural beauty is teased as not beautiful. It’s making a lot of people lose their principles and lose their identity. I hope a lot of young African women watch Osamede and remember that there is beauty in how we look, in how we talk, in how we stand, and the strength in who we are.”

Looking Forward

“Osamede represents a career pinnacle for Okujaye, but also a beginning. The role has already changed how she engages with her community, and she expects its influence to continue growing. “It’s one of the loudest voices coming out of Edo State in terms of film. I know Edo people are going to be proud. I know other cultures, other traditions, and other tribes are going to be inspired.”

For an actress who has spent her career building versatility across genres, Osamede offers something rarer: the chance to embody not just a character, but a cultural awakening. “It was perfect. Honestly, it was almost spiritual. It was God’s timing. Perfect for me right now.”

As Osamede” continues its journey from Cannes to African film festivals to Nigerian cinemas, Okujaye carries with her not just the satisfaction of a dream role fulfilled, but the ongoing inspiration to be a real-world hero in her own community. The cape, it turns out, was optional.