I decided to become an actor even though I was 'a very good Business student' – Lawyer Nti

According to Richmond Xavier Amoakoh, his desire for acting was birthed in senior high school (SHS).

Amoakoh is the popular actor fondly called Lawyer Nti from the hit TV series Kejetia vs Makola a parody of the legal and judicial scene in Ghana.

“The first time I saw my colleagues act on stage was when I was in senior secondary school,” he said, adding: “The feeling I got, I just knew this is for me.”

He noted that he was “a very good Business student,” at the time, but he went to see his assistant headmaster and informed him that he believed acting “was what I think I should be doing”.

“I should be acting, I should be focusing on acting and directing so that’s what I want to pursue,” he remembered telling the school official.

He said the assistant headmaster informed him that if that is indeed the path he wants to walk then his options are the University of Media, Arts and Communication’s (UniMAC) National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) and the University of Ghana’s (UG) School of Performing Arts.

He said he favoured UG, Legon, over NAFTI because he did not know the latter. Also, the former was prestigious, a school he knew his mother would accept even though the change in course was going to be a controversial conversation at home.

Prior to his official “form-three examinations,” in SHS, he wrote the popular November-December (Nov-Dec) remedial examination. He excelled but decided against going to the university prematurely, he said.

“My first [real] acting was in the School of Performing Arts,” he mentioned, noting he was “raw” unlike his mates who had prior experience in acting.

His attitude, he indicated, was “I’ve come train me, shape me – and the school did just that.”

Nana Kwesi Asare asked Lawyer Nti which of his parents he thinks he got his acting gift from.

“I think it’s God,” he answered.

“Well, my mother too has some talent,” he added, explaining: “She can mimic people so well.”

According to him, his mother is good at doing impressions of others, especially their voices.

Lawyer Nti appeared on Class 91.3 FM's The Big Show, Saturday, July 1, 2023.