Veteran actor, Kanayo O. Kanayo, has stated that he puts in more effort in his acting roles than Hollywood actor, Denzel Washington.
He made this claim on the Honest Bunch podcast, saying that if Denzel Washington worked as hard as he does, his skin colour would change to charcoal.
“If Denzel Washington puts in the number of hours I put in a production here, his colour will change to charcoal the next day,” Kanayo said.
Kanayo also compared his movie roles to those of Arnold Schwarzenegger, emphasising that bad roles do not make bad actors.
He shared stories about the early days of Nollywood, recounting how American actors from New York studied the industry in 1992 and were impressed by the efforts and technicalities involved in production.
“They have come to under-study us. Americans from New York came to study us, and they said guys, ‘We see some efforts here and there, these things take us about one month to sort, how come you achieve it in one week?’ So it was now a course of study for them, they saw the zeal we put in”, he said.
He noted that veteran actors like Richard Mofe Damijo and himself have more patience and have sacrificed a lot to build the industry.
“We built this industry with tears, sweat, and blood; some of us are lucky to still have our health in a good place. We started the industry at a time when there was a light called two-kay. It was so hot. If two-kay falls on you or you go too close, all your hair will run.
“We have seen 99, 100 is nothing. And we can’t now come to this age where we allow everything to go. Don’t forget I am 62 and I am not in a hurry to check out, but I want a situation where at 70, 75, 80, and 90 as God would give me life, I will still be acting.
So I don’t want little people who don’t know anything about the industry to dig the grave from the leg,” the actor said
Reacting to how he has remained relevant in the industry amid ritual speculations, Kanayo clarified that he has simply put in effort to take care of his health and remain professional.
“The fact is this; I have never gone anywhere at 1 am to be more successful than anybody or more relevant than anybody.
“Maybe there’s an unseen finger or hand that has said, ‘Let him continue doing what he is doing.’ I am not the best actor, even though I have won the best actor at AMAA Awards in 2006.
“But the fact is I am a professional to the core, I try to do things, I try to observe things. For instance, health-wise I have tried as much as I can on my own because I have tried as much as I can to take care of my health and obey the call of nature myself,” Kanayo said.
Kanayo also advised fellow actors to prioritise their health, as there is no insurance in the industry, and shooting a full movie in one day can be detrimental to their well-being.
“Unfortunately, there is no insurance in the industry by which we can draw from a pool, you only earn when you are working; there is no royalty. When you are not working, then you are not earning,” Kanayo added.
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