Veteran Ghanaian actor, Kofi Adjorlolo, has reignited debate over the roots of fame for Ghana’s movie talent, insisting Nollywood did not create Ghanaian stardom.
Speaking on The Real Talk Podcast with Elizabeth Essuman, Adjorlolo argued that Ghana’s film scene had already produced recognizable stars and thriving productions long before Nigerian filmmakers began inviting them across the border.
“Though the Ghana Movie Industry may be having its own problems; it does not mean that Nigerians made us, Ghana Films made Ghanaian actors,” he declared. “Ghana movie industry and the movies produced made us popular before the Nigerian producers noticed, and called us.”
Adjorlolo traced much of today’s cross-border narrative back to Ghana’s own success stories, noting that the industry, often referred to as Ghallywood, once held a sturdy position on the continent. “Ghana movie is not down, actors are acting daily, producers are producing daily, work is ongoing daily; rather, it is the promotion and marketing that is lacking – and we’ve got to fix that area,” he stressed.
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The veteran actor stressed that many well-known actors, Majid Michel, Van Vicker, Jackie Appiah, John Dumelo, Juliet Ibrahim, Nadia Buari, Yvonne Nelson and others, earned domestic acclaim before their Nollywood breakthroughs. “Ghanaian actors gained their breakthroughs in their home country before being introduced to Nollywood,” he reminded listeners, pointing to homegrown productions as evidence of Ghana’s capability to nurture bankable talent.
While conceding that Nigerians have displayed remarkable business drive, Adjorlolo maintained that Ghana deserves full credit for its artistic foundations. He called for attention to the industry’s persistent gaps in promotion and marketing rather than simply blaming external influences.
The seasoned actor, who recently shared his lifelong passion for music dating back to childhood, urged colleagues to focus on solutions instead of criticism: collaborative strategies, he said, are key to restoring Ghanaian cinema’s visibility.
