Casting: Rethinking Risk, Range, and Representation in Nigerian Films

Nollywood gambles with the wealth of undiscovered talents that lurks in the industry every time that star power is a criterion for casting,. As a result, every time a visibly 30-year-old actor is cast as a teenager, Nollywood loses a chance to prove its storytelling maturity and believability.

 

As such, two questions rear their sacrosanct heads. Why isn’t the industry taking more risks in casting unpopular actors for leading roles and why doesn’t it trust the power of fresh talents over the safe bet of star power?

 

From a producer’s standpoint, it may not be out of place to rely on star power to make a profit. After all, it is business. However, believability is what Nollywood sacrifices every time it tries to play it safe with casting. Not only that, the so-called “popular actors” are also sentenced to the typecasting prison. 

 

The usual culprits are Veteran actress Patience Ozokwor who remains Nollywood’s  undisputed “Wicked Mother.” Actor Timini Egbuson as Nollywood’s “Lover boy” is no longer new and this makes his characters predictable. Believability remains the currency of cinema, and it can be frustrating every time Nollywood spends it carelessly for commercial reasons and star power casting. 

 

The Cost of Playing It Safe 

There are many reasons filmmakers recycle old faces in Nollywood. The majority of the reasons often lean towards finance—this remains a fundamental challenge for filmmaking. “Many filmmakers play it safe with casting because they are afraid of risk,” Benneth Nwankwo says. 

 

The Nigerian documentary photographer and film director of Class of Secrets (2023) and Breakout (2022) opines that filmmakers believe using popular actors is the easiest way to attract attention and secure funding. Investors also play a huge part in the commercial pressure, he discloses. No doubt, this is why filmmakers keep recycling old faces, which, for them, equals automatic box office ticket sales. 

 

Nwankwo, however, expresses his fears about this school of thought. “This mindset limits creativity and makes the industry look smaller than it really is. I believe taking risks with casting opens doors for new talent and makes stories stronger. Audiences love good stories and fresh performances, not just familiar faces,” he shares. 

 

Contributing to why Nollywood filmmakers shy away from casting risks, writer and film critic, Seyi Lasisi thinks it is because of the cinema economics and the Nigerian economic situation. According to him, “Inflation is on an all-time high and filmmakers, who might have gotten loans or funded a project with life’s savings, have to recoup investments.” 

 

This is a blatant fact, he maintains, as filmmakers are aware that disposable income isn’t available to the general populace who are the major Nollywood audiences. Lasisi notes that what these Nigerian cinema and economic difficulties do to filmmakers is turn them into data-and-number obsessed filmmakers rather than artists who are looking for how to recoup invested money. “Thus, popular faces, influencers  and social figures, unmindful of their acting capabilities, are cast to cushion filmmakers’ risk and attract paying audiences to the cinema,” he adds. 

 

Nigerian actor and filmmaker Toyosi Benjamin of Dusty Dreams (2025), looks at it from the angle of the parlance —“Man’s got to do what man’s got to do.”  He says not taking risks in Nollywood casting may be wrong, but filmmakers need to sell their film and big names sell films. To buttress his point, he makes a comparison between features and series. “For TV series, it is easy to throw in a new face but in features, it is harder,” he says. According to him, the least budget for a film in Nigeria is N100 million and the question is always how filmmakers will get their money back. 

 

Benjamin reiterates that the point of making movies is to make money at the end of the day. “If I am guaranteed to make back a 100 million naira with an actor, you bet I’m going safe. I might take a risk on an actor as a supporting but not the lead except it’s a licensed  job: then, I can take a risk.” 

 

Nollywood cinematographer and director John Chizoba Vincent (JCV), examines why producers refrain from these risks, highlighting seven reasons. First, market security. He says sticking to star power makes it easier to pitch to investors, streamers, and marketers. Fear of risks comes next—this is because many Nollywood films are self-funded or funded with tight budgets. Other reasons he cites include audience expectations, limited development culture, time constraint, distribution power and star power politics. 

 

The Need To Bet on Risks 

To take risks or not to take risks? Nollywood filmmakers and casting directors are always stuck with these choices. It’s like being between the devil and the deep blue sea but the hard pill to swallow is that many of them would rather avoid risks. No one wants to lose their investments. Beyond the entertainment viewers enjoy, filmmaking remains a serious business in a capitalist-driven economy like Nigeria. The goal like every business is to make a profit regardless. 

 

Whether to take risks or not, Nwankwo says Nollywood filmmakers should take more risks in casting actors because the dependence on popular faces only recycles the same actors and stories. This, as he puts it, “creates the impression that our industry is not growing.” 

 

He also addresses the notion that it is what the audience wants, which often suggests that the audience is rigid and contributes to the reluctance of Nollywood filmmakers to take risks. “The truth is that audiences are not as rigid as many filmmakers think. People are open to new faces as long as the story and performance are strong. That is why I believe risk is necessary if Nollywood must expand and compete on a global level,” he says. 

 

Disagreeing with Nwankwo’s stand particularly in the Nollywood audience, Benjamin said the audience may ask for new faces, but they still don’t watch it. With this perspective, one wonders what the audience truly wants. Analyzing the state of Nollywood actors in the past five years, he notes that the industry has yet to have a global actor within these years. 

 

For Vincent, Nollywood needs risk to grow, but risk must be strategic, he insists. It doesn’t always mean huge budgets. It can mean casting actors beyond the usual stars that people already know or telling stories outside romance and comedy genres—rampant in today’s Nollywood films. The cinematographer says opportunities also abound in experimenting with structure, language, or culture of the people. “Any industry that would dominate globally must take calculated risks. Nollywood can do the same but with planning, partnerships, and vision: not gambling.” 

 

What Risks in Casting Should Be Like 

Taking risks has not always been an easy route. It is like hanging on to a cliff,  left with two choices: to either jump down or hang on. Sometimes, both choices have a dead end. While risks in Nollywood’s casting are seldom, what is the big picture if they were to truly exist without fear in the industry? 

 

Lasisi paints the picture of banishing influencers, skit makers, popular actors and all who can’t act away from the Nollywood screen. “It means casting unpopular, young and better actors. It also means that filmmakers are concerned about taking artistic decisions, not business ones when casting.” Importantly, he adds that these might not be possible if the Nigerian economy, distribution challenges, cinema-going-culture and audience education isn’t improved.

 

Citing examples of filmmakers who took risks with actors, Benjamin says Charles of Play comes to mind for casting Stan Nze as a lead for Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story. Another example is Jide Kene who led Ramsey Nouah’s Living in Bondage. However, he notes that both were big risks that paid off because they were paired with good actors. This is what Benjamin believes taking risks with actors should be like. 

 

On the other hand, Nwankwo explains with his series,  Not Perfect Date. He pointed out giving opportunities to new talents who had never been seen on screen before, and they delivered powerful performances. He recalls that it was a similar case with the Class of Secrets (2023). “Many of those actors have since grown into names audiences now recognize, and it shows what can happen when risks are taken,” he says. 

 

In addition, Nwankwo insists that taking risks in Nollywood casting will involve having an ensemble cast so that audiences can experience something fresh and balanced. Producers should attend auditions with open minds, not just to tick boxes, but to genuinely discover raw talent while directors shape actors into stars that audiences can connect with.

 

Instead of recycling the same bankable actors, Vincent suggests that a director can give a lead role to a stage actor with no film credit, whose talent outweighs their fame, or a complete newcomer discovered through auditions or short films. 

 

“Think of how Genevieve, Ramsey, or Timini were once unknown, today’s fresh face could be the next box office name if given room to shine.” Vincent also cites a scenario where an actor known for comedy gets a dark and dramatic role instead of being typecast into a certain role. A pretty face actress can take on a gritty and unglamorous character while a gentle-looking actor becomes a villain. This is what it would look like if Nollywood could be more open-minded in casting actors for roles.