If you are on a mission to excel at something you are passionate about but things aren’t looking up just yet, you are not alone; favourite Nollywood star and producer Funke Akindele-Bello says to ‘not give up and be expectant’, as she addresses young people in a recent video on her YouTube channel.
From the days of ‘I Need To Know’ to her many disappointments at the beginning years of her career, the mum-of-two says she wants young people to look to her person and her peculiar story for motivation to not give up in the face of challenges.
Recall that the actress has had her fair share of troubles, particularly with finding love and having children of her own, till she met her current husband, Abdurasheed Bello aka JJC Skills and the duo welcomed their set of twin boys last December despite prophecies that claimed the actress was destined to be childless.
In her grass to grace story aimed at young people, the brilliant actress whose career successes puts in a niche of her own in the Nollywood film industry said she did not have it this good from inception.
She told of how she almost gave up acting because the opportunities just weren’t there for her despite her passion but her mother alongside other good people encouraged her to stay on.
The talented actor in the video spoke personally to young people who she says are going through a lot to survive and wants them to find hope and encouragement from her that they can overcome their struggles and challenges with determination and faith just as she did.
Read transcription of the video below:
I am going to be very personal here, talk about some things I’ve been through in life and liken them to whatever you are going through right now.
Many young people are going through a lot to survive. Struggles, challenges, obstacles and they may want to give up.
I want you to look at me and my story. When I started acting in 1998, I remember how I struggled to get up there, I got a lot of “no’s”. I was the ‘queen’ of auditions and ‘wakapass’ roles. I would read so well and people will clap, I will be so excited and would think when I get the list, I would get a supporting role. But all I got were roles like church extracts. I remember crying on those occasions.
But my mother would tell me that I’ve got the passion and it is a God-given talent.
She would give me money for my transport fare; sometimes I would trek to some places then take a bus to meet up.
I could count the number of shoes I had then, maybe two or three. But today, the story has changed. Things changed for me positively.
After ‘I need to know’, I didn’t get any more roles, I went down; I got back to attending auditions and lobbying, calling people and knocking on doors but none opened. I felt I had lost my chance.
I can remember going for a project and I met an actress who spoke to the producer on my behalf. I remember going to Osogbo for the movie, I packed all my clothes, I was so happy because I was told I was going to play a supporting role. I got there, and we were supposed to film but something happened to the generator and we couldn’t film. I was waiting to be called to film in my hotel room but they did not.
On the fifth day, they called me and I was shocked. I was asked to play the role of a secretary in two scenes. This was after playing a major role in ‘I need to know’. It was devastating for me, I was crying but an actor advised me to take it.
I took the stipends I was given and went back to Lagos. There were different situations like that where I could have given up but my mother’s words kept encouraging me till I got my big break to produce my own movie.
