Popular Nigerian comedian and actor Bovi Ugboma has revealed that he turned down several Nollywood roles because they were stereotypical and did not reflect his full potential.

Speaking on the CreativiTea podcast, he explained that after gaining recognition for a character, he was repeatedly offered similar roles, including that of a gate man or passive village characters.

Bovi said he rejected those offers because he knew there was more to him as an actor. He reminisced on his background of watching Hollywood and Bollywood, stating that it made him understand the danger of being typecast early in his career.

He added that from his teenage years, he had been determined not to let a single character define his career.

He said:
“We all stood out in our different ways, and because my character was playing that typical Warri boy, the rustic village one. I started to get offers in Nollywood, but they were all tied to either being like that character, or a gate man, you know, or a passive role, and I turned all of them down.”

“Yeah, because I was like, I know there’s more to me, you know, I grew up watching TV, I grew up understanding how different industries work, Hollywood, Bollywood, so I was like, it’s too early for me to get stereotypical in my approach to my career.”