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Veteran actress, Stella Damasus has recounted how she earned N10,000 for her first movie role in Nollywood.
Damasus made this known during an interview with media personality, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu,
“My first movie was ’95 into ’96, that’s the film ‘Abused’. I had no idea what I was doing but I went for it. I got it by accident. I didn’t plan to be an actor. I thought I was going to be a singer because I worked in a studio,” she said.
“A friend came to my house and said they were going for an audition. I lived in Surulere and she was going to Ikeja. I went with her. I saw tons of people standing outside under the sun. She went in and came out.
“Someone called me and asked if I had auditioned. I said I haven’t and didn’t come there for that. They said they liked my look and how I sound. They asked that I come read for the movie. They gave me a script. I read and left.
“Three weeks later, they called to inform me I got the part. My pay was N10,000. My studio salary then was N700.”
Asked why she left Nigeria at the peak of her career, she said: “I’ve been in the US (myself, my husband, and my kids) since 2013. One of my children had to study a course not offered in Nigeria. Another was for health reasons,” the actress said.
“My husband had to take a project at an American university. Having considered these, we decided to move.
“Before I made for the US, I didn’t act for about two, three years. I had this routine of taking breaks to examine my strides and the impact of my work. I had a rethink about the prospect of my career outside entertainment.
“If I hit my 40s, what will I do? Wait for scripts or create my own thing? Leaving my country, who’ll know me? I decided I’ll build my brand globally. That’s what I hope to do and it’s a gradual process.”
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