Most people’s introduction to Uzor Arukwe was probably in Sugar Rush (2019), an action comedy where he plays Knight. Or Size 12 (2019), a rom-com where he plays Jide. Since then, he has been rising with the level of urgency with which he quit his finance job and embraced acting. Uzor is a brilliant performer; no one can miss that. However, what comes to mind when one thinks of the characters he plays?
When I showed some friends and acquaintances a picture of Uzor and asked which films they remember him from and what kind of role they expect him to play, the responses, though not from a formal survey, revealed a pattern. Words like Igbo, Rich, Accented, Cheeky, Humorous, Womanizer, Outspoken, Insultive, Rich, Poor, and Soon to be rich were some of the words they thought. “Igbo” came up the most, paired with the rest in different combinations. If Uzor Arukwe is the quintessential Igbo man, then a closer look should be taken at the essence of these Igbo masks, his performance in them and their masquerade.
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In Niyi Akinmolayan’s Prophetess (2021), Uzor Arukwe’s focus is tacked to money as he plays Eze-ego, the owner of Sure Banka, a sports betting company. Determined to protect his business, he goes on to match-fix. Eze-Ego translates to “King of money,” and everything the character does is guided by the philosophy of money. The psychology of his character and performance is exaggerated and made tribalist to entrench how central money is to his character. Uzor Arukwe spares no expense in portraying this, but there is only so much an actor can do about the writing. So in a way, Uzor delivered on the story. Even Lateef Adedimeji’s Ezekiel seemed more dynamic and dimensional than Uzor’s Eze-ego. The few times his character attempts to break into a third dimension, like his clan and children, he soon reverts to the de facto 2-D characterization. For some reason, this stereotype fits most of his other Igbo characters, but some other times, Uzor presents a human being shaped by specific circumstances, and not merely repeating social caricatures.
In Kayode Kasum’s Sugar Rush (2019), Uzor Arukwe brings Knight, a crime boss, to life with his swagger and a unique voice, which started as a joke on African Magic’s Unbroken set, which he then used to bring Knight to life. Quirky characters aren’t new to Nollywood, but Uzor’s choice of voice makes the character memorable for his cold, compelling, and commanding authority. Uzor brings personal emotion and physical specificity to Knight; this challenges these clichés and offers something new, setting him apart. However, it doesn’t help that Knight had to scream all his lines, each a variant of “Where is my money?”
Uzor continues looking for his money in Funke Akindele’s A Tribe Called Judah (2023) as he plays Chairman Chigozie Onuoha, an Igbo businessman and money launderer. Uzor tried to bring something to these money-searching characters. When fans asked Uzor for his most challenging role yet, Arukwe replied, “A Tribe Called Judah because I had to consciously replace the L word with the R word, to make it feel natural & believable.” And the producer lauded him for nailing the role; this isn’t far from the truth. Uzor plays Chairman while repeating the same vocal inflections and accent with which most expect an Igbo man to have, but he did more on the character’s emotional patterns, and gestures, showing regard for his character in the context of this story. Uzor straps Chairman with a comedic sense that ensures he is always the one laughing last, and a colorful sense of fashion that distracts from the darkness and insufferableness Uzor brings to life. Chairman Chigozie is a well-done Nigerian translation of the mean, shady, ruthless businessman. Chairman isn’t Vito Corleone or Tony Montana but he rests easy in the mob boss character pantheon. These characters, when well done, become archetypes that transcend demography instead of a simple stereotypical mask, which gets foisted on a demography.
In Akay Mason’s Bank Alert (2023), Uzor continues his “where is my money” as he plays Modestus, the head of a money laundering gang. Arukwe’s Modestus as the villain is both entertaining and familiar. While the movie struggled, Uzor plays Modestus with a level of precision and physicality that shows he knows he is ruthless and isn’t in the wrong film. That is, until the film muddies itself into an action film that renders whatever tact and impression the character had garnered. It falls into the same trap as Prophetess.
And when Nollywood is done with the “where is my money” mantra, they give Uzor a new one, “I am going to marry you”. Uzor is cast in Love in Every Word (2025) as a character who mostly goes as Odogwu, a name that has become shorthand for the loud, wealthy Igbo man. Love in Every Word is a film that hopes to illustrate that strong-accented Igbo men can also be romantic, progressive and not misogynistic. Once that is understood, as the characters reiterate this several times in the film, one gets a sense of the kind of shoes Uzor is meant to fill as he goes to great lengths to emphasize this purview, but the writing fails him despite the screen time he has. Everything Odogwu does is to drive home this point, and there is almost no room for anything else.
While the title Odogwu translates to “One who treads on thorns”, from the Igbo phrase “Òdé ógwú”. It signifies bravery, office, leadership, and charisma; the film strips it of these. Arukwe’s character is reduced to a flashy persona with no clear nuance, dreams, or emotional depth. An archetype reduced to a stereotype, evidenced in a character reduced to surface traits, missing the nuance and responsibility embedded in the title.
One might assume that the lost nuance “Odogwu” happened from the phonological contraction of “Òdé ógwú,” but that’s not quite the case. Illbliss’s portrayal of “Odogwu Malay” in King of Boys (2018) seamlessly blends into the archetype as it presents a more complete interpretation of the title. Odogwu Malay is powerful, yes, but also a father, strategist and a leader, commanding respect and influence. It is striking, even disappointing, that in today’s Nollywood, the words “Odogwu” and “leader” now feel like antonyms when they are synonymous. What once spoke to bravery and earned stature has now replaced the verisimilitude of the Igbo man with a glossy, exaggerated performance that feels more like spectacle than truth, and Uzor Arukwe now seems to embody that very representation.
When examining his body of work, it’s hard to say Uzor Arukwe is this or that or has been typecast, especially as he features in diverse roles across other films, Size 12 (2019), Momiwa (2024), and Thin Line (2024) were some of the other films that came up in my unofficial poll. It’s also hard to say because he brings some level of dynamism to these characters. But there is only so much he can do because his performance is ultimately up to the director. Uzor can stand out as one of the greats if he is allowed room to breathe. A director who encourages new ways of doing things and a solid character study can open space for creative expression. Alternatively, a director focused only on hitting familiar beats may unknowingly limit his potential.
Across different films, with different voices guiding the scripts and cameras, Uzor Arukwe appears again and again, not as a chameleon, but as a man handed different masks to play the same role. The names shift, the plots twist, but the side he’s asked to show remains unchanged.
Line up these characters, and their distinctions dissolve. Yet within this repetition, Arukwe performs with an ease that never shouts, a brilliance that glows just beneath the surface. He is the twin history forgot, like King Louis XIV’s brother in Dumas’s tale, kept behind a metaphorical mask, his full inheritance denied by an industry blind to his range.
What’s the use of range if we only let Uzor Arukwe stand in one corner of it? In doing so, Nollywood does a disservice, not just to Arukwe, but to itself. Amidst the questions and mantras Nollywood has saddled his character, I pose a question and a new mantra to Nollywood: Isn’t it time Uzor Arukwe was given a question only a great actor can answer?
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Good stuff
Quite a lengthy read
Uzor is quite a versatile character and actor