Veteran Nollywood comic actor Nkem Owoh has revealed that his journey into acting was never planned, describing it as something that happened by “accident”.

Speaking on a recent episode of the Selah Meditate podcast, Owoh explained that he originally worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter and had no intention of appearing on camera.

According to him, his colleagues began to notice his natural ability to make people laugh, which eventually led to pressure for him to step into acting roles.

“My coming in front of the camera was an accident. I was a scriptwriter behind the scenes and people started telling me to start performing in front of the camera,” he said.

He recalled that Africa Television (ATV) later created a short comedy segment for him in the 1980s, which marked his first on-screen appearance.

“I remember ATV created a 7-minute programme for me to do stand-up comedy in the 80s. They told me to come in front of the camera because I was making people laugh behind the camera. With much pressure, I came in front of the camera. And I saw that what I was doing people were buying it, so that was how my acting career began,” he added.

Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia, also reflected on the downside of fame, noting that becoming a public figure came with a loss of personal freedom.

“Fame took away my freedom. A lot of people want to be celebrities, they only know the benefits but not the downsides. When you become famous you can’t do a lot of the things you were doing freely before. You become restricted in a lot of ways,” he said.

He added that while fame brings recognition, it also places limitations on everyday life that many people do not anticipate.