The
holy book says “do not neglect your days of little beginning.” Nollywood
Actress, Mercy Johnson, sure knows what that means. Mercy Johnson who is
rumoured to be the highest paid Actress in Nollywood, recounts her days of
humble beginning in an interview with Saturday Tribune. She says she and her
family once lived in an uncompleted building.
See
excerpts of the interview after the cut:
Sometimes
when I cry in movies, it isn't the script that makes me cry. When I recall my
humble beginning, I give thanks to God. When I remember how we moved into an
uncompleted building and had to take cover whenever it rained because of the
condition of the house; how my brother did a menial job as a bricklayer to earn
a living and those days when we rolled over a stick to cover the windows up
till the point when I started acting and raised money to cover the roof… I
recall those days we were living with lizards because the floor and the walls
of the house were not plastered, or when I had scars as a result of my several
falls.”
“After my secondary school education, I failed the
University Matriculation Examination (UME) and came back to Lagos to get a
degree. While that was on, I watched Genevieve Nnaji in a movie entitled:
Sharon Stone. I later approached a friend for assistance to feature in a movie.
He said I had a great body and that I would make a good actress. He later took
me to the National Theatre, but a role did not come until a year later, when I
had my first lead role in a film entitled: The Maid. The Maid was my starting
point and it was quite challenging to play the lead role because it was my
first movie. I was fidgeting when I saw the likes of Eucharia Anunobi, whom I
regarded as a screen goddess during my secondary school days. I never thought I
would make it with people like that. So, when I saw her, I was so excited and
considered standing beside her as sacred. She actually realised that and later
helped me by giving me the needed courage."
Thanks for sharing your
story, Mercy. You are an inspiration to many people….