It’s first AMAA crest for nollywood best, Adesua Etomi

Actress, Adesua Etomi-Wellington, was not at the Landmark Event Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos, where the 15th edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) held penultimate week. But when the award presenters opened the winning envelope and announced that she had won in the best supporting actress category, the hall erupted in loud applause as if to say, ‘who else’ if not the slim built actress married to the musician, Banky Wellington.

It was for her engaging run in Kemi Adetiba’s critically-acclaimed King Of Boys (KOB) that Adesua received the AMAA honour. She ran over seven other actresses, including veteran, Joke Silva, and the delectable Linda Ejiofor to win the award, her second major award (first was her winning the AMVCA for best actress in 2017).

To say the category in which Adesua won was a tough category is to state the obvious. But critics agree that she deserved the win, maintaining that she was steady and showed stuff in KOB. Clearly, Adesua has, with this award, registered her name on the continent as an actress to watch.

Nicknamed ‘Sunshine’ by her friends and colleagues, she has from an appearance in her short film, Brave, to a leading performance in that engaging telling by Royal Pictures Academy, Knocking on Heavens Door and the ground -breaking television series, Gidi Up, shown stuff and proven that she is that actress any good producer would engage if he or she wants one that can live a role believably.

Born in Owerri, the Imo State capital, to a father from Edo State and a Yoruba mother, Adesua acts with a lot of depth, throwing herself into a role and making every role she has played seem as though it was written with her in mind.

Indeed, most directors who have worked closely with her since she join the industry after her university education, affirmed that she is good and that the humble, friendly and amiable actress, who also sings, has brought some spark to the Nigerian stage and screen acting firmament.

A graduate of Physical Theatre, Musical Theatre and Performing Arts at the City College, Coventry, United Kingdom (UK), Adesua decided on a career in acting at the age of seven. Inspired by the great works her teachers at Corona Private School, Lagos did with the drama club, Adesua, the youngest of three children, joined the school’s drama club, where, as she revealled, she learnt the technique of expressing herself.

So, on moving to the UK, she decided it was “acting or nothing else,” in terms of a career. It was to prepare her for what is today a lifetime career that she enrolled at the City College, graduating with distinctions. Not done with studying, she enrolled to study Drama and Performance Arts at the University of Wolverhampton, where she bagged First Class honours and the prestigious ‘The Foursight Theatre Award.’

Adesua practiced a bit in the UK, but mainly on stage, took a 9am to 5pm job, just to get bye, but she soon dumped the job for a full-time career in acting. She returned to Nigeria in 2012 and after a chance meeting with the talent spotter and developer and one of Nigeria’s notable producers and directors, Emem Isong, Adesua said she got what she further described as an awesome opportunity to express herself. Emem it was who gave Adesua her first major break as a leading actress in a movie.

She recalled that it was after her performance as ‘Debbie’ in Knocking on Heavens Door, produced by Emem, that things started to literarily look good with her and the movie industry.A huge fan of some Nigerian accomplished actors, such as Richard Mofe Damijo, Rita Dominic, Nse Ikpe Etim, Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Ekeinde, Kate Henshaw, Ini Edo and Kalu Ikeagwu, and a gifted performer, who disclosed that she loves God and was a member of the church choir for 10 years while in the UK, Adesua has also featured in numerous theatrical productions and musicals, including the riveting Saro, the Musical, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s wives, Anatomy of a Woman and Shattered.

A movie buff and a home buddy, who is easily drawn to a movie with a good story, realistic dialogue and believable characters, Adesua said she has found acting a rewarding career. “I am happy. It is beyond money for me. I am completely passionate about acting. Acting is a calling in my opinion. It chooses you and you can’t get it off your mind.

“So, when I talk about my projects, it is like I am talking about my baby. The money will come. I just have to be patient and also pay my dues. “But it has been rewarding, I can’t lie. Theatre has been very kind to me. I have only been here for less than a decade and God has been so faithful. It has been great,” she enthused.

Her career ambition is to continue to improve as an actress and to contribute in making the world a better place and continue to act as long as God permits. “I also love to be an established actor recognised all over the world. I know this would be a bit too ambitious, but I want to dominate the world of performing, take part in a couple of international projects, produce my own stuffs and call the shots,” she surmised.