Ghanaian actor and producer, Chris Attoh has spoken about his decision to relocate to Ghana.
He mentioned that he moved to Nigeria because he wanted to reach a bigger market and audience, as Ghana was too small for his ambitions.
Chris Attoh noted that the Nigerian industry is a vibrant and prolific film industry that offers more opportunities and collaborations.
“At the time, the necessity was that you had to be in the Nigerian space if you wanted a bigger market or a bigger audience. Ghana was great, but the truth is, Ghana is small, and if you are trying to get the attention of players beyond Ghana, not just Nigeria, you have to expand,” he noted.
“And Nigeria has numbers, Nigeria is making films every single day. I’m always looking forward to where we’re collaborating instead of being separated,” he said.
Commenting on the lack of progress in the current Ghanaian movie industry, he lamented the lack of mentorship and guidance for creatives in the Ghanaian movie industry, adding that he did not have the right people to show him the way when he was growing.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of not wanting to push ourselves. Growing up, we didn’t have the right mentors. We didn’t have people who brought us up and would take your hand and say this is the way. And it becomes a thing that’s heavy on my heart,” he bemoaned.
Chris Attoh Shares His Challenging Moments
Chris Attoh revealed that he got the pleasure of working with some of the most sensational people in the world.
Also, he noted that if one should stay in Ghana, it is a great deal, but should one expand, then he or she should be ready to learn more.
“I’ve been in roles with Omari Hardwick. Again, it’s not about the names. It’s about taking the knowledge from these people who are obviously successful to the world and saying how can I end it like that, and then how can I send it to the next person who is coming in my footsteps,” he noted.
“I would always say that the last project that you work on is always going to be the most challenging. But, you learn too many things that you have to represent yourself if you are coming from Ghana, and everybody knows you’re coming from Ghana, meaning, you have to be professional as it gets,” he said.
Speaking on the challenges he faced while practicing outside Ghana, he stressed the importance of constant learning and reading for the actors and actresses.
“It’s like any other industry. It’s growing, it’s updating, and you need to constantly learn. It means every single morning you have to rehearse, it means reading outside your scope, and reading is one thing I keep pushing for, especially to our youth today. How can you take control of the words on your script if you don’t have command of the English language?” he said.
He recalled when he flunked at his first audition and was honestly told that he was not going to make it in the town of his audition.
“The truth is you have to relearn everything. You cannot take the knowledge from here as it is and go out and think you can make it,” he revealed.
He mentioned that he put himself back to school because there is so much required from actors, stating that it wasn’t just about delivering the lines but coming from a much deeper place in the industry.
“This is the thing. You are dealing with studios that put millions of dollars on the line. They don’t have time for a lot of things. You are going to come in there and be excellent. And so the truth is, not even about the training but are you excellent? And that means are you training every day because this is your craft,” Chris Attoh asserted.
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