Nkem Owoh has enjoyed a successful career for over 3 decades.
The 90s saw him star in films like Ikuku (where he got the name Osuofia) and Pam Pam.
However, the 2000s were the years that cemented his reputation as a beloved comic star.
After the film ‘Ukwa’ became a hit in the year 2000, it seems old Nollywood realised that an endless amount of stories could be centred on Nkem Owoh.
His unique persona spawned a whole wave of movies featuring Osuofia-type characters.
The jester, the drunken orator, the nagging husband and womaniser. Like, everything but a responsible man. Lol.
Ukwa (2000) Fake Doctor (2001) Onye Eze, Long John, Spanner, Anunuebe, Police Officer (2002) Mr Trouble, Osuofia In London (2003) A fool At 40 (2005) Johnbull (2007) His holiness (2008) Agaba (2008).
With several unmentioned comic films in between.
Yes, Nkem Owoh was on a roll with the village set comic films for the whole decade of the 2000s. His body of work from that VCD rentals era is vast.
Despite appearing over and over again, viewers never grew bored.
Why? He never ran out of humorous ideas even as a niche actor.
It’s incredible to imagine how he managed to blaze such a trail in those years.
So amazing that, in recent years, entire pages have been created to celebrate and catalogue Nkem Owoh classics and punch lines from that significant era.
I see some of his clips from those days and I’m like, mehn, Osuofia is a treasure.
