Nollywood Made Me. Hollywood Will Pay Me.

"I don't even know how to process emotions really. So that's why people think I'm cold."

Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde said this quietly. Like she wasn't unraveling 36 years of survival mechanisms built by a 12 year old who lost her father and was told to be strong for everyone else.

But she's lived it.

A girl watches her father die. The family tells her to hold it together for her mother a woman she barely had a relationship with. She doesn't cry. She doesn't grieve. She just... keeps going.

This is the conversation we avoid about success.

Omotola is Nollywood royalty. TIME 100. Oscar voting member. 300+ films. 30-year marriage. Four children. Properties around the world.

And she still hasn't fully mourned her father.

"Have I still till this day mourned my dad? I don't think so. I just keep going every time saying that I want to make him proud."

Here's what else Omotola shared:

On rock bottom:

Omotola described sitting outside a neighbor's house a man in the oil business with her mother. By the gutter. Until 1AM. Waiting for him to come home so they could beg for money to buy food.

"We just sat down there by the gutter waiting for him to come and see if we can beg him so he can give us money to buy food for the house."

This is the same woman who would later turn down opportunities that could have made her a billionaire.

On walking away from billions:

"I tell people if I wanted to be a billionaire, I would have been it easily. Because I have been in situations where no one would have known. And I would have taken things and compromised my stand. But I said no and I walked away. Many, many times."

How do you walk away from that kind of money when you've sat by gutters begging for food?

"If there's anything I hate, it is to feel like I am subservient to anyone or that I am at anyone's mercy."

On the 2005 Nollywood ban:

The marketers, the gatekeepers who controlled distribution tried to ban Omotola and other top actors from the industry. Why? Because they were pushing for standards. No breaks on set. No trailers. Child actors with no minders.

Most actors apologized quickly and came back. Omotola refused. For two years.

"They called everybody back for a meeting. I didn't go. So they extended my ban to two years."

On why Nollywood hasn't exported like Afrobeats:

"Mostly funding. With music, it's not as expensive to create. My film had basically six main characters, but the credits? We had almost a thousand people working behind the scenes."

But there's another problem:

"Film is actually quite snobbish. Even with the Oscars, you can't even get acknowledged to present an award. It's that intense."

On why Netflix and Amazon left Nigeria:

"Subscriber rates were not as high. In Nigeria, we all can share. We love to share. We are family oriented."

On residuals:

"I've put in 30 years here. I've never received a kobo in residuals."

Meanwhile, after just a few Hollywood jobs, envelopes of residual checks pile up at her LA home.

On relocating to LA after COVID:

"Lagos is hectic. There's parties, there's invites, you're constantly thinking of impressing this person. In Cali, nobody cares."

She breathes now.

"I needed that after working in this industry since I was 15. I deserve some peace."

On the health scare that almost killed her:

While editing her directorial debut, she was barely sleeping. The stress triggered a health crisis. Emergency surgery. High BP. Her gallbladder was about to explode.

And from the hospital bed? She called her editor.

"I was like, 'I'm coming. I've done the surgery. I'm alive. I'm coming back to the studio.' The guy was like, 'Don't call me. What is wrong with you?'"

On what she's most proud of:

"From that little girl who lost her father when I was 12, who was sitting by gutters... to someone today who has properties around the world. How could I just be proud of one thing?"

She paused.

"God has been too good to me. I'd be too ungrateful to pick just one thing."

On Nollywood vs. Hollywood:

"Nollywood made me. Hollywood will pay me."

🎬Watch the full episode

Omotola breaks down 30 years of Nollywood from the VHS era to streaming, from the 2005 ban to Hollywood residuals. Plus: her directorial debut, the health scare that almost took her life, and why she'll never compromise her standards.

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🎬MOTHER'S LOVE

Omotola's directorial debut.
Lagos Premiere: March 1st | Cinemas: March 6th

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We didn't record this episode to celebrate success. We recorded it because the people who make it rarely tell you what they lost along the way. And the ones brave enough to say it out loud are the ones worth listening to.

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Chika & Eche
Co-Hosts, Afropolitan Podcast