Comedian and actor Julius Agwu has spoken about his return to the movie industry after a long break, as well as his approach to acting and career longevity.
In an interview with Saturday Sun, the entertainer said he feels fulfilled returning to work he enjoys, noting that technological changes have reshaped filmmaking and content distribution.
“I feel great being back to what I love doing and among great talented colleagues. On the changes I have seen, obviously, the technology for making movies has changed. It has improved. Change is inevitable. As I was coming here a man wanted me to buy his music CD. I was like, “ What age is this man living in? Nobody plays DVDs anymore, let alone CDs. I don’t think I have seen a DVD player in a long time now. Those are changes. There was a time when it was only the Nigerian Television Authority on TV back when I started in the movie industr, but now, there are severaltelevisionn stations. Then, you must buy a movie VHR to watch movies but now, everybody has a phone and you can watch everything just by clicking. Now there’s ROK TV, unlike back then when it was only DSTV that could screen your movies.
“Now YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon are here. You can even have your own TV platform tomorrow. Technology has advanced and we are all global now. There are changes everywhere.”
Speaking on his choice of roles, Julius said he does not take every acting job.
“Not all movie roles. I select the movies I want to star in. I love acting. I love every aspect of the entertainment industry. Not that I am making too much money from the industry, but because it’s my field of endeavour with a lot of passion. I read Theater at the University of Port Harcourt. Theater Arts involve everything in entertainment. I don’t do acting just to make ends meet. I do acting for the love of acting and the passion. The movie roles are the ones looking for me now, not the other way round. They give me movie roles based on who I am in the industry.”
Reflecting on his influence in comedy, he described his style as natural and rooted in real life experiences.
“I am a grandfather when it comes to comedy. In fact, I am an ancestor when it comes to comedy. They call me Master in the industry, that’s because I have paid my dues in comedy. When I attend comedy shows, they remix my jokes. They change the names but the originality is mine. Some of the things I say as jokes are proper things that happen, but people find them very funny. I could be saying what happened to me on my way to somewhere and people are laughing, rolling on the floor with laughter. So the hilarious part is natural. It’s in the blood.”
On how his career started, Julius traced his acting roots to the early 1990s.
“My first movie came out in 1993, ‘Rattle Snake’ part 1. Then ‘End of the River’ followed. That movie birthed the ‘Odeshi’ slang.”
He also addressed questions about his background and language.
“People think I am from Owerri in Imo State. Igbo and Ikwere are related. My grandmother is Igbo, from Ikeduru in Imo State. Ikwere in Rivers State hears Igbo. Igbos understand the Ikwere language as well.”
Julius, who studied Theatre Arts at the University of Port Harcourt, began his career on stage before moving into film and comedy. Over the years, he has featured in several Nollywood productions including A Long Night, Torn, Wives on Strike, Dognapped and After Count.
He is also known for producing comedy shows such as Crack Ya Ribs and Laff for Christ’s Sake, and is regarded as one of the early figures in Nigeria’s stand up comedy scene.
