Nollywood’s big 6 will always be Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Rita Dominic, Ramsey Nouah, Jim Iyke and Emeka Ike.
Regardless of who came before and after this array of actors, they are unparalleled.
I’ll give my reasons.
Let’s start with the females, the big 3.
The rise of Genny, Omotola and Rita in the early 2000s ushered in a new era in the industry, as their star power and unique on-screen presence led to millions of movie sales.
Their individual faces occupying a movie poster or cover ALONE, was enough to keep that film off the shelves of video rental shops for weeks and months because of the crazy demand.
NONE of their peers had their selling power. Not even the greats before them.
Their presence in films was a force to be reckoned with.
Regina Askia and Liz Benson obviously did their thing in the 90s, but the big 3 were at the forefront of a major shift in the industry in the early 2000s.
They changed the way people thought about actresses in the industry and became the standard by which all other actresses were measured.
And that still holds strong today.
Their impact on pop culture was and is still unmatched.
They brought a new level of glamour and sophistication to the industry, and their influence was felt not just in movies, but in beauty and style, to where their names became synonyms for beauty.
At the same time their personality traits were widely emulated by young ladies around the continent. Genny especially.
Unlike some other actresses, Genny, Omos£xy and Riri couldn’t be paired with just any actor – it had to be a costar who matched their larger-than-life presence on screen.
Else, it would be clear that the film is lopsided, with them stealing all the attention.
Which leads me to the big 3 males, Ramsey, Jim Iyke and Emeka Ike.
They were just about the only guys who could create a dynamic with them that was electrifying, and audiences couldn’t get enough.
The dominance of these actors led to endless speculation and rumours about a so-called rivalry between them.
The public was fascinated by the idea of a battle for supremacy, even if there was no truth to the rumours. The fascination! Their peers didn’t have it on that level.
There’s a reason these guys (except Rita) were given a one-year ban by film marketers and the Nigerian Actors’ Guild back then.
Their star power and cult-like fan base was unlike anything the industry had seen before.
They were deemed too big and expensive.
So it will always be the big 6.
Whether they didn’t have enough acting skills can be argued.
But the fact is that they were a revolution.
