Veteran Nollywood actor, Pete Edochie, has declared he is a senior in the Nigerian movie industry.
OsunDailyNG reports that the thespian stated this in a recent interview with Afia TV, saying he began acting before the Nigerian movie industry, popularly called Nollywood, was formed.
The legendary movie star said there was nothing like Nollywood when he made his movie debut in the 1985 adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s novel, ‘Things Fall Apart’.
According to Pete, seven years after Chinua Achebe’s adaptation, Nollywood came on board with the movie ‘Living In Bondage’, and he retired from broadcasting to join the industry.
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 tell 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.”
