Adunni Ade has been candid about the difficulties she had in the beginning in Nollywood getting roles due to her skin tone.
In a recent interview with Channels TV, the actress—whose father is Nigerian and whose mother is Irish by birth—said that it was difficult for her to get acting roles because “scripts are not written for people who look like me.”
“I’ve stated this a number of times, and each time I do, it’s not because I’m trying to be negative or paint the film industry in a bad light. But if you want to have a conversation about filmmaking, you really need to be serious. Because we are all Black in Nigeria, scripts are not made for individuals who look like me,” she said to Channels TV.
She continued by saying that although skin lightening is becoming more common, especially in Nollywood, being light-skinned and being partially white are two distinct things.
“Yes, a lot of people—males as well—like to have light skin. They may even add something to give themselves that appearance, but having light skin and being that color are two distinct things. They can still acquire parts more easily than I could and still pass. “I identify more as white,” she remarked.
She clarified, though, that she didn’t let it stop her from making movies in Nigeria. Since then, she has worked as a producer, producing Soole, a film that will be released in 2021.
“It pushed me into filmmaking because I wasn’t getting the roles that I wanted,” she stated in the interview. “And casting someone based only on their color is one of the main things I vowed I would never do. Everyone will always get an opportunity on my set, regardless of who they are, as long as they are human. I’ll give it a go as long as you can interpret the character,” she continued.