Ghanaian Actors And Actresses Aiming For Hollywood: Ambition or Delusion?

In recent times, a substantial amount of Ghanaian actors and actresses have expressed their desire in breaking into the Hollywood film industry, and achieving mainstream success.

A few of these actors and actresses dream of such grand success with just a few movies under their belts, whilst others have conveyed their aspirations in working with some of the big names in Hollywood.

With the huge difference between the Hollywood and Ghollywood acting credentials, it may be safe to say that the only shot some of these Ghanaian actors and actresses have in Hollywood may be as extras- even those roles would most likely be difficult for them to secure, but if achieved, would surely be a career highlight for them.

There is no doubt that Hollywood and Ghollywood cannot be compared to one another- Hollywood is way ahead of us. Not only in terms of having been around much longer than Ghollywood and its status as the world’s leading film industry, but also due to the high quality of acting portrayed by its actors, and the advanced technological implementation in their movies.

Although Ghollywood has made a substantial amount of progress, and can be rated as one of the most successful film industries on the African continent, to try and compete with the big guns of Hollywood does not only seem like a dream far beyond reach but also, a delusional fantasy.

The most evident obstacles standing in the way of our Ghanaian actors and actresses includes a considerable lack of experience, but there are also aspects which are beyond our control, such as a lack of monetary funds- there is no competition regarding the budget of a First World country (USA) against that of a Third World Country like Ghana. However, aspects of Ghollywood which are definitely not too much of a task to improve include the acting ‘skills’ of our actors and actresses- emotional scenes where actors are supposed to be ‘crying’ are filled with nothing but over-the-top hysterical screams, without any sign of actual tears, whilst ‘fighting’ scenes resemble a playground tussle between school children.

These are just some of the under par performances that make the idea of a Ghollywood actor in Hollywood quite laughable. There is no doubt that Ghana has produced some of the best actors and actresses on the African continent- evident by the number of African Movie Academy Awards won by Ghanaian actors and actresses. Yet, we must remain realistic enough to remember that the African movie industry and the Hollywood movie industry are on completely different ends of the spectrum, and if Ghanaian actors truly harbour desires of stepping foot on a Hollywood film set then they need to raise their game- majorly raise their game.

We know our actors and actresses are good- so good they are taking over the African movie industries, but they need to find alternative (and better) ways of expressing their emotions onscreen. Why not ensure that their body language is co-ordinated with the words they speak? Why not actually become ACTORS and ACTRESSES rather than obsessing about looking good onscreen?- even Beyonce Knowles had to act like a psycho in ‘Obsessed’- paying no mind to how she looked, her focus was on giving her audience the most realistic performance possible.

What the majority of Ghanaian actors are failing to realise is that it is not enough to simply take on a role as someone else- acting has several different layers. Lacklustre and clichéd performances may be able to cut it in Ghollywood, but to reach the bright lights of Hollywood; they need to step their game up!