Hollywood Made Me Realise I Was A Commodity – Genevieve Nnaji

Veteran Nollywood actress, Genevieve Nnaji has opened up about her experience seeking partnerships in Hollywood after the success of her 2018 film, LionHeart that was bought by Netflix for a rumoured $3.8 million.

She stated that she never found the support she expected in Hollywood, adding that the experience made her realise that she was a commodity.

She explained that Hollywood wanted what she had, but simply for their own benefit.

The thespian disclosed this on a panel at the 2024 AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum/Afreximbank Annual Meeting.

She said, “For the first time, I realised I was a commodity. I thought, you know, given what I had done with Lionheart, and all of that, I was going to have an opportunity to do more. Getting there and having the kind of support, that obviously CANEX is bringing on board, but I thought I could find it in Hollywood. That was not quite the case.

“They wanted what I had but for their benefit. It was all about their story. It was all about how, even if it was our story, I could make it more authentic to their own understanding of whatever Africa is because they did have a lot of literature in their archives.”

She also said that she could have gone to Hollywood years ago but decided to stay back to contribute to the development of Nollywood.