Nigerians in Hollywood 1

When one talks about Nigerian actors in Hollywood, many people think about household names such as Chiwetel Ejiofor, Adewale Akinuoye-Agbaje, Hakeem Kae-Kazim and Uzo Aduba.

However, the good news is that is there are so many other up and coming actors, writers and producers of Nigerian origin in the USA. And they are doing really well in the highly competitive industry.

Idara Victor

Idara Victor.  Picture Credit: Regard Magazine

Best known for: Rizzoli & Isles

Idara Victor was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Stan and Barbara Victor. Both parents are from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Her father was a writer and accountant while her mother a social worker.

Idara, the middle of three girls, started dancing and playing the piano at the age of six. At the 13, her aunt entered her into a beauty contest, Miss New York Junior Teen, and she won. An agent tried to push her into modeling but Idara was more interested in acting.

At the University of Pennsylvania, she studied entrepreneurial management and marketing but also studied acting privately and performed plays with friends at parks.

After graduation she returned to New York and enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. From there she started working on Broadway and on TV, getting roles on TV shows.

She currently plays the part of Nina Holiday, a crime scene analyst and computer technician, in the police drama series Rizzoli & Isles. She also has a recurring role in the historical drama series, Turn: Washington’s Spies. She has also appeared in a host of hit TV series such as Castle, Grey’s Anatomy, Mad Men and Vegas. Others are Private Practice, The Young and the Restless, Law & Order, Guiding Light and All My Children.

Idara says she would love to work “with my friend Uzo Aduba very soon”.

Adepero Oduye

Adepero Oduye.   Credit: Wikipedia

Best known for: 12 Years a Slave

Adepero is an actress, director and writer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Nigerian parents, she is one of seven children.

Although she graduated pre-med from the prestigious Cornell University in 1999, Adepero decided to pursue an acting career instead. She has appeared in TV series such as Law & Order, The Unusuals, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Louie, among others.

Her theatre credits include Fela!, The Bluest Eye, and Eclipsed. She also made her Broadway debut opposite Cicely Tyson in The Trip To Beautiful.

Adeporo's breakout role came 2011 when she starred in the critically acclaimed film Pariah. She played the role of an African-American teenager embracing her identity as a lesbian. Her wonderful performance earned her several awards, including the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She was also nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture. Her performance so touched Meryl Streep that the latter, during her Golden Globe-winning acceptance speech mentioned her as one of the best performers of the year.

The following year Adeporo joined an all-star cast for the remake of the classic Steel Magnolias. This time she won the NAACP Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.

But she wasn’t done. She starred alongside fellow Nigerian Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years A Slave, which won the 2014 Academy Award for Best Picture. She was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

In 2015 she appeared in The Big Short, a film that won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Her directional debut, Breaking In, has won many awards. The short film is based on her brother’s experience with the New York police.

One of her upcoming projects is The Dinner, starring Richard Gere.

Nyambi Nyambi

Best known for: Mike & Molly

Nyambi Nyambi.   Credit: www.newsok.com

Nyambi Nyambi is a character actor who was born in 1979 in Oklahoma to Nigerian parents. His parents are from Cross River State of Nigeria. Both his parents and his sister graduated from the University of Oklahoma. But Nyambi chose a different path.

He attended Bucknell University where he played Division 1 basketball. An injury-plagued senior year in college made Nyambi switch from sports to acting, which had hitherto been just a hobby. When he performed Martin Luther King’s “The Eulogy for the Martyred Children,” he knew he was hooked on acting.

He enrolled in New York University for a Master of Fine Arts in acting. He is also working at a second master’s degree. He, however, plans to get a degree from Oklahoma to continue the family tradition.

Nyambi has appeared in some TV series such as Law & Order. He also played a bit part in films like Day Night Day Night, Saint Janet and in William Vincent alongside James Franco.

His stage credits include The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, and Coming Home.

His big break came when he was cast as Samuel, a Senegalese waiter, in the hit sitcom Mike & Molly. Nyambi says just 15 minutes after his screen test he got a call that he has got the job.

Although he never saw himself as a comedian, Nyambi enjoys his role in the sitcom. And why not? It is his most prominent role to date.

Nkechi Okoro Carroll

Best known for: Bones

Nkechi Carroll.   Credit: www.imdb.com

Nkechi Okoro Carroll is an actress, writer and producer. She is also the founder, CEO and producer of Rock My Soul Productions, a company that produces and promotes commercially viable television programming.

Nkechi was born in Nigeria, but she grew up in various countries including Ivory Coast, England and USA. By the time she was 14, she spoke three languages fluently and was performing with the Oxford Youth Theatre in England.

Nkechi received her B.A. in Economics and French from the University of Pennsylvania in 1998 and her Masters in International Economics from New York University in 2002.

She originally produced for theater in New York and Philadelphia before moving to Los Angeles to embrace film and television. She initially experienced frustration and started making short films while teaching herself to make feature films from the Internet.

Nkechi’s writing credits include the procedural drama series Bones, its spin-off The Finder, and the movie Forever No More. She is currently supervising producer/executive producer of the crime drama series Rosewood, starring Morris Chestnut.

Her upcoming work is Family Honor, a police drama series explored through the eyes of four foster sisters who see themselves on both sides of the law. The project, which Nkechi writes and executive-produces, has been bought by NBC.

 She and her husband, Dr. Jon Carroll, currently host A Breath of Fresh Air with Jon and Nkechi, an internet-based talk show.