Don’t we all love the movie Bad Guys? After all, they make films more interesting and fun to watch. The heroes get all the hype but deep down, we all love a good villain because a movie is not complete without an evil force to battle against.
Villains never ‘get the girl’, ‘save the day’ or even make it to the end of the film but they spice up the tubes, keeping us on the edge of our seats from start to finish. And we all know villains have more fun; get most of the best lines and also the Oscars.
Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin in 2006’s The Last King of Scotland, Robert De Niro, as a young Vito Corleone in 1974’s The Godfather Part II and Denzel Washington as a corrupt L.A police detective in 2001’s Training Day are all good examples.
Back here in Nigeria, Nollywood has had quite a number of villains whose roles are still being talked about. Here are some of our favourites who are good at being bad.
Patience Ozokwor
No movie which requires a baddie is complete without her, making her the ultimate bad guy. So renowned is this Enugu State born actress for her portrayal as a wicked woman, that it becomes almost impossible to pick her best role.
From playing a manipulating mother, wicked mother in law, greedy wife, down to a sugar mummy in movies like Billionaires Club, Market Sellers, Money Love and Emotional Crack just to mention a few. The Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, Fine Arts graduate has carved a niche for herself as Nollywood’s greatest villain.
Over the years, many have found it difficult to separate her from her roles that it isn’t uncommon to hear remarks like ‘she must be wicked in real life.’ However, speaking in a recent interview, Ozokwor was quoted as saying, “When I play the role of a bad woman, I see myself at that instance as a mirror through which I want society to see and appreciate the fact that it is not good to be bad.
This is the reason I do it with so much passion that it becomes almost believable and by extension, I also see such roles as an opportunity to minister to lost and wicked souls that jealousy, hatred, envy and all the likes can only bring one to ruins.”
Segun Arinze as Black Arrow in Silent Night 1 , 2 and 3 (1996)
Segun Arinze played a spectacular role as the leader of an armed robbery gang in this 1996 trilogy. He held viewers spellbound with his lines which really reflected his ruthless nature. His characteristic neck twitching also added colour to his character. Lately, the actor has been busy as a voice over artist and events compere but he is still remembered for this role.
JT Tom West in State of Emergency (2004)
Up until an auto crash took his life in 2006, West was known for his bad guy roles in Nollywood action flicks which was the in thing back then.
However, he was at his best in this Teco Benson movie. Acting the role of a good soldier turned terrorist, West, alongside his special squad of hitmen, held the president and ministers hostage for hours until they were eventually overpowered.
The actor, famous for his ponytail and good diction, had been touted as Nollywood’s most likely player with a chance to make it to Hollywood.
Hanks Anuku in Formidable Force (2004)
The 42 year old Hanks Anuku played the role of a criminal on the run who found a friend in Genevieve Nnaji in this movie. Anuku was at his best playing the elusive fugitive who performed impressive stunts and displayed a dextrous use of language.
Although he was often criticised by many of putting up a fake accent, the Auchi Polytechnic graduate soon became known as ‘Nollywood’s Gangster’ for his roles in movies like Accidental Discharge, Derico and Twin Brothers.
His ability to act in Yoruba and English movies, as well as his physique, ensured that the former actor remained one of movie producers’ favourites.
Chidi Mokeme in Who Will Tell the President? (2007)
Chidi Mokeme has always told anyone who cares to listen that he loves to play the bad roles and proved his mettle in this Teco Benson flick. Fondly called GQ by fans, he played a sniper who was contracted by the opposition to kill the president.
Perhaps what Mokeme had going for him in this movie was its storyline which featured the president double crossing the group of money bags that influenced his election, thus hiring Mokeme’s character to kill him.
The movie was fast paced and Mokeme carried out some great stunts like being suspended from a helicopter to jumping down from hills. His character was fashioned after Antonio Banderas’ wandering Mariachi in the 1995 movie, Desperado.
