acquired a mid-level agent. Other
challenges include being type cast due
to language and mostly ethnicity. I have
worked very hard over the years to be
able to speak Standard American but
sometimes the jobs require regional
accents like southern or specific
accents. In addition, Black TV shows
or movies prefer to use only blacks to
play them and not an African yet we see
native blacks playing Africans and
putting on annoyingly fake accents.
In terms of awards and nominations that
I have received, I was nominated and
won best actor award in the short Film
Kwame at the 2009 Mexico International Film Festival. Other nominations are:
Favorite Actor, Nollywood & African
People’s Choice Awards (2015); Best
Actor in Film or Series, African Entertainment Awards (2015) and my favorite
a Kenyan one – Best Actor, Diaspora
Awards
I am glad to have been a part of the
highly successful movie God’s Not
Dead. I just finished shooting my parts
in God’s Not Dead 2, the sequel to this
awesome movie. I am currently putting
a team together to start pre-production
work on a feature film that I wrote
called Cheza which will be short in part
in Nairobi. I would like to assure those
who came to the casting of this film in
2012 at the Nairobi Cultural Theatre to
be patient. I have also written a TV
show called The Wives that I will shoot
in Kenya next year. I am finishing the
final stages of pre-production before
shooting the 2nd episode of my TV -,
Dysfunctionally Organized.
I believe that if Kenyans in the Diaspora
get together or support one another, we
can do great things that will bring
prosperity and pride to the Kenyan
Community. A great example is the
emergence of Face of Kenya as a great
banner and forerunner of other great
organizations to follow in its example.May I also note that the movie Industry
in Kenya has great potential. There is a
deep well of talented actors to fish from
and with the right resources and organization, the Kenyan movie industry can
be a force to reckon with.
IDEA DIAPORA 41
Finally, to all those aspiring to be actors, work hard. Nothing is ever handed to
anybody. Put in the effort of getting ready, going to school, attending workshops,
auditioning etc. so that when the opportunity comes your way you will be the person
for the job without question.
Biography by Benjamin Onyango