Celebrated Ghanaian actor, Adjetey Anang has recalled how he was rarely considered for any other roles apart from ‘bad boy’ roles at the beginning of his acting career.
Adjetey Anang, who became famous for his role as ‘Pusher’ in the popular series ‘Things We Do For Love’, shared his experiences with typecasting in the film industry.
Anang remembered how, after his breakthrough role, he was only offered scripts featuring similar ‘bad boy’ characters.
“It wasn’t easy at all because right after or even during ‘Things We Do For Love’, I did have scripts coming with similar characters because they thought that, ‘Oh, you’re the guy who can play it best.’ And it was consistent…”
Adjetey Anang
Realizing that the industry’s perception of him could impact his career, he decided to turn down such roles.
“I was like, ‘No, this is gonna stick.’ Because, in society out there, people were thinking that perhaps I am the character and that’s how I can live up to the character so well. I needed to change that perception.
“And one of the ways I thought could help was by making sure that I don’t keep playing those kinds of roles or characters over and over.”
Adjetey Anang
“And so it was deliberate … They were not even considering me for any other,” he added.
His determination paid off when director Shirley Frimpong-Manso recognized his talent beyond the ‘bad boy’ stereotype, casting him in diverse roles that allowed him to showcase his range as an actor.
“I think Shirley made that difference, also helped, contributed very well. She had seen me on stage playing other roles, and she gave me the opportunity to also excel in other roles. And then people were like, oh, okay, let’s give him a chance.”
Adjetey Anang
The actor revealed that acting on stage is the most difficult but he prefers that to being on screen.
“Stage, which is the hardest too. It’s exciting having a live audience. The audience builds you, they do all the things that you shouldn’t do in theatre. It’s a blessing in disguise. They get you to stay in character.”
Adjetey Anang
Anang Reveals Lowest Salary Received as an Actor
Adjetey Anang disclosed that the lowest salary he has received as an actor was GH₵4,000.
He revealed that he agreed to feature in that movie not because of the money but because he “believed in the content” of the movie.
According to him, it was the same movie that earned him his first Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards (AMVCA) best actor award.
“I’m talking of 2018. No, I’m not joking. You see it was one that I had believed in the content and that actually brought me my first AMVCA best actor award.”
Adjetey Anang
The revered actor also provided some nuggets on how to successfully produce movies to entice the Ghanaian audience.
Adjetey Anang further lamented about some challenges he has faced in the movie industry and how he dealt with them stressing that he’s featured in movies with very low budgets but had good content.
“Well, lack of character development is an issue but because of my experience, I’m able to hold it. It’s an issue but there’s always a way out. More so, the text when you realize there has not been more research because whatever we put out there is going to have implication on the audience.”
Adjetey Anang
Adjetey Anang has been featured in a new movie, ‘The Groomsmen’ which is set to be premiered on Friday, July 12 at the Silverbird Cinemas in Accra Mall.
READ ALSO: Ghana-Nigeria Collaborate on Digital Economy and Empowerment Initiatives
