The Nigerian veteran actor, Pete Edochie has revealed that he began acting even before the inception of Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry.
In an interview, he mentioned that his made his movie debut in 1985. He mentioned that his first.movie role was in the adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s novel, ‘Things Fall Apart.’
The legendary actor also went on to say that when he started acting, there was no “Nollywood”.
In his words he said
“I’m a senior in the movie industry. I mean, when I did ‘Things Fall Apart’ in 1985, there was nothing like Nollywood. By then, Nollywood was slumbering sonorously in the womb of time.
“It was seven years after that Nollywood came on board with ‘Living In Bondage.’ I went around the world before Nollywood came. By the special grace of God, after I did ‘Things Fall Apart,’ I was celebrated internationally.
“The BCC flew in here [Nigeria] to interview me and flew into America to interview Chinua Achebe. And Achebe said, ‘Pete Edochie gave that role an interpretation after my heart.’ Before he died, he was calling me Okonkwo.
“Seven years after Nollywood came and when I retired from broadcasting, I joined Nollywood.”