In Criminal, Arukwe played an ex-convict, who leads a gang of criminals, played by Chuks Joseph, Bryan Okoye and Austin Onuoha, to hold a hospital hostage. It’s the kind of film that gets his blood pumping. He loved the character so much that during a heated debate with the cast, he insisted there was no bullying within their ranks. “Maybe I’m still thinking as the character,” he later said.

As a theatre-trained actor, he is one of the few A-list male performers who didn’t transition to cinema and TV from a career as a model. All he had was his talent at a time when the industry desperately needed numbers. People had begun to invest more in Nollywood and producers wanted to prove to investors they could get returns on their investments.

“I remember all so clearly when I started. It was a big problem for me,” he said.

“There was a time in this industry when it was mostly about Instagram and Twitter followers, and stuff like that. I didn’t understand it but knew it was something I had to be at peace with, because a production house wants to hire you and they’re looking at your numbers. ‘But can he act?’ That is the question I always ask. But there are some people who are blessed who are fantastic actors who have numbers and they’ve been doing well.”

After he played Toke Makinwa’s husband in Sugar Rush (2019), the doors to the big league opened. He featured in Prophetess (2021), The Set Up 2 (2022), and A Tribe Called Judah (2023), Nollywood’s highest-grossing film of all time. “It’s been really tough. But I love the job too much,” he said.

In an industry where actors can become obscure just as quickly as they become famous, Arukwe doesn’t worry about relevance. “I don’t, to be fair. I only care about performance. I feel like if I can give value, if I can give a really good performance, people will always come to me, regardless of whatever is happening. I might not be buzzing at the time, but my time will always come. That’s how I see it,” he said.

Arukwe is now 40, but he has been able to stay in the industry without any scandals, not even a social media drag, a public misstep, call out from a co-star or an ex-girlfriend.

“I’m sure I’ve made some bad choices that are just not out there. I’m a very reserved guy. I try to just live my life. But if it happens tomorrow, it wouldn’t stop me,” he said.

Over the years Nollywood has grown from a tiny market churning out hundreds of low-budget content weekly, to a beast netting millions of dollars in cinema ticket sales yearly, and submitting work for the Oscars.

It’s still not there yet, but the attention on the industry from the global north has forced actors to abandon old tropes of archetypal performances and embody their characters more. Arukwe is excited about this, but he doesn’t want the industry to become infested by method acting.

“I always tell people that it’s not every film that you have to use method. I don’t even think that method is a good technique for acting. But depending on the scene I might use method and use mostly listening and responding in the other scene,” he said.

“It can be a narcissistic style of performance. The thing about method actors is they are not the nicest of colleagues on set. Imagine if I’m playing a brute and I come on set, it’s a very unrealistic form. Method acting takes a lot of homework. You’re absorbing this person for months.

But away from method acting, the industry, and its obsession with numbers, Criminal, and even this interview, Arukwe has bigger fish to fry. He wants to do a Hollywood film.

“I think everybody has a dream to do something in Hollywood. That’s one of the reasons I started doing this in the first place. The next phase for me will be to do some big collaborations with Hollywood. Even if it’s not Hollywood, South Africa, or England. You know some major films, classics that will transcend time,” he said.

Although Skales did not provide details about the cause of his injuries, he expressed his gratitude in the post saying, “THANK YOU JESUS.”

The post led to a series of reactions from his followers and fellow celebrities who in turn expressed their concern in the comment section. Singer Nasboi said, “I am so sorry my brother 😢.” Nollywood actor Deyemi asked, “Accident? Sorry man”.

Big Brother Naija star Queen Mercy Atang commented, “Jesus Christ. What happened 😢,” while popular producer T-classic said, “Damn, I just hope this a makeup for a shoot.”

In a recent interview with Tacha on Cool FM, the singer explained why he would go ahead and marry someone even if his mother does not accept her. Starting from his family history, he stated that because of his parents’ inter-tribal marriage, they can only advise him.

Tacha probed, “Would you marry who your parents do not accept?”

“Yes, I would,” he said. “I think I’ve had this conversation before and they wanted to kill me. My mum is not a Yoruba woman. She’s from Warri and she’s a Christian. Meanwhile my dad is Yoruba and Muslim. You see it looks like something impossible right? Yet it happened.”

He continued, “So I always tell my mum that if she feels like she has trained me well enough she doesn’t have to worry about my decisions. She can only advice because at the end of the day, it is I who would live with the person I marry, not her. So if she’s giving me happiness allow me marry her. That’s how I think about it.”

He emphasised the need for open communication between parents and their children in the scenario where the parents don’t like their partners.

“I don’t think parents should be selective. They can advise, yes, they can see something they don’t like and tell me then I can find a way to straighten it out. Not that they’d say I should not marry her, because if I marry someone else who looks perfect to them, she may not be perfect for me,” said the singer.

“I’m sorry to say, but our parents would die at one point so I’m the one who’s going to continue with my happiness or sadness. So I’m of the opinion that if parents see what they don’t like in our partner, they should tell us. But selecting partners for us won’t go well,” he concluded.

The arena packed full of fans sang along as Kizz Daniel performed ‘Twe Twe’, ‘Too Busy To Be Bae’, ‘Sooner’, and ‘Showa’ for which he was joined on stage by his wife.

With his landmark show, Kizz Daniel became the latest Nigerian artist to sell out the OVO Arena as he follows Adekunle Gold who recently sold out the Arena.

Kizz Daniel’s 2024 has gotten off to a strong start with the Davido-assisted remix of his hit single ‘Twe Twe’ becoming the biggest song of the first quarter of 2024 according to TurnTable Charts.

The nominees for this 10th edition were announced on March 24, 2024, with much fanfare.

Among the films that were nominated, Breath of Life, Over the Bridge, and Mami Wata emerged as front-runners.

In the acting categories, there are first-time nominees whose performances show great promise, especially as the voting process in these categories has been changed from public voting to select jury.

See below the first-time nominees in the acting categories ahead of the 2024 AMVCA on Saturday:

Acting is nothing new to Adedoyin, who has consistently put on a fantastic show in movies like October 1, The Bridge and Ile Owo. In Breath of Life, he portrayed young Timi, a talented and accomplished man whose life is cruelly turned upside down when he moves to Nigeria with his wife and daughter in the 1960s. For this role, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. BB Sasore is the director of the film, which is currently available on Prime Video.

Yekini, better known by his stage name Itele D Icon, started acting in 2000. He has been in numerous films, such as Omo Ghetto: The Saga and Jagun Jagun (The Warrior), in which he played Gbogunmi. For this role, he was nominated for the first time for an AMVCA in the Best Supporting Actor category. Moses Inwang is the director of the film, which is currently streaming on Netflix.

Chikere was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Legbe, in the Netflix film, Blood Vessel, directed by Moses Inwang. The film follows Legbe and five others as they desperately flee their oil-polluted and politically unstable town. In a bid for a brighter future, they had to hide on a ship smuggling stolen oil, unknowingly putting themselves in grave danger as they faced a treacherous journey across the Atlantic.

Beyond Ewenla’s work as a producer and a broadcaster, he has been featured in multiple films. This year he secured his first AMVCA nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Ayorode in the film, Over the Bridge. The film tells the story of a man’s journey while grappling with his emotional state and the quest to rediscover purpose in the midst of internal and external pressures.

Adelana’s role in the Netflix film, Ijogbon (The Chaos), directed by Kunle Afolayan, earned her a well-deserved nomination for Best Supporting Actress at this year’s AMVCA. The film tells the story of four teenagers living in a remote village called Oyo Oke, whose lives take an unexpected turn when they stumble upon a pouch containing uncut diamonds.

Onojaife has built a filmography showcasing her acting talents in films such as When The Living Is Dead, Brotherhood and Domitilla. Her portrayal of Ibukun in the film, The Origin: Madam Koi-Koi, which tells the tale of a vengeful spirit who haunts the hallways of boarding schools, marked a breakthrough moment for her. The performance earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at this year’s AMVCA.

Ezekiel’s performance as Abbey in the Netflix film Blood Vessels, directed by Inwang, earned him an AMVCA nomination for the first time in the Best Lead Actor category this year.

With her outstanding performance in the Netflix film Blood Vessels, Dibor was nominated for an AMVCA for Best Lead Actress, her first nomination. In the film, Dibor portrayed Oyin, the girlfriend of David Ezekiel‘s character Abbey, who becomes pregnant unexpectedly and has to deal with her father’s wrath.

On May 4, 2024, Makinwa responded to a fan’s question on X which read, “If you could go back in time, what would you do differently?”

She said, “Nothing. Regret is so exhausting!!!! Wait, maybe bleaching my skin, it was the dumbest thing ever and I’m just so thankful for good genes and money cos…”

Makinwa’s revelation led to a series of reactions in the comment section, with some applauding her for admitting her truth, and others encouraging her to “return to her natural skin tone.”

A commenter highlighted the danger of skin bleaching saying, “Thanks for sharing, people don’t know how damaging it can be to their skin and internal organs.”

“Then stop once you stop you reverse it; the only reason you’re still light skinned is cos you’re still doing it,” said another commenter.

An X user commended Makinwa saying, “This is so great coming from you, hopefully, others see this and learn before it’s too late.”

“But genuinely asking, if you decided to stop won’t you just get back your natural skin tone back? I love how your dark-skinned sister looks and I think that’s how you looked as well. Anyway, you look beautiful now still, just think it might be exhausting,” a curious fan inquired.

“Ommoo, if you no get money ehn you eyes for don see shege. Anyways, it’s terrible to bleach. The end result will destroy your skin eventually!” said another.