JOE OKECHUKWU

"Celebrity is about humility and responsibility to the community. An actor should be able to stay at the level of the general public who created their image."

Dark, tall and handsome actor King Joe Okechukwu is an amazing character. Multi-facetted and versatile, the Rings of Fire star is easily the hardest working man in the industry.

Joseph Chidi Okechukwu was born in 1975 nearby Enugu in the South Eastern part of Nigeria. He followed his primary and secondary education in Nigeria and studied International Leadership at a University in Ghana.

As a child, he used to entertain family and friends, his family always expected him to get into show business and he got their full blessing for that.

In 1985, he was showcased in a school play, that marked the beginning of his involvement in the entertainment industry.

Ten years ago, his good friend and I Have a Dream star Bob Manuel Udokwu introduced him to the world of home videos.

In 1997 he first got a chance to feature in the movie "Rituals" in which he featured as a cult leader, but the breakthrough came two years later in 1999 when he played a pastor in the movie "Mark of the Beast".

The Ring of Fire star doesn't really look up to anybody in Nollywood. Eddie Murphy and double-Academy Award winner Denzel Washigton inspire him the most.

The dark chocolate complexion coupled to the supermodel looks of the Enugu born actor have created a solid female fan base home and abroad. Nigerian films websites' forums are hot with female fans' requests for information about the heartthrob as well as love declarations.

Most importantly, his compelling performances onscreen that let transpire his heartfelt emotions and bold courage have rallied around him a solid fan base around the world.

"Nollywood needs to grow and get the technical expertise that it needs to improve the quality of its productions" states the opinionated star. "The people at the head of Nollywood institutions are not always cut out for the job and as a result don't always take the right decisions." he adds.

"Hopefully, the government is getting involved now and is expected to inject into the industry the much-needed funds to expand the productions budgets that will grant room for quality and diversity." he concludes.

Living from acting alone.

Before taking up acting, the International Leadership graduate worked as a marketer to make ends meet.

He has kept a love for writing and has recently published a collection of wisdom quotes in the field of self-help and self-improvement. He remains active in business and marketing developing various projects and initiatives. He is also a fair singer though no action has been taken in that direction yet.

2006

From his own admission, this year has been a decision-making year in which he has taken a break from acting and didn't appear that often on screen.

The reason being a wish to mark himself out from the crowd and reflect on the nature of his acting career.

The critically acclaimed actor wishes to limit his on screen appearances to meaningful projects that will serve his career which means becoming pickier and choosier of the projects he accepts to endorse.

His other endowments in the business field requiring much of his time and attention, he intends to make a name for himself by only accepting projects he deems worth of his time and efforts.

Next year should see the logical follow-up of the decisions taken this year. A realignment of priorities and goal-reaching activities. A sequel of his book is planned to be released in installments.