The Story of Nollywood Actress Nonso Kalango

Ugo Aliogo in this report chronicles the journey into and how impacts in Nollywood Industry

With a face that is hard to ignore, Nonso Adika Kalango is here in Nollywood and determined to stay long enough to make her mark and have her impact felt in the industry. The actress who you may have seen playing the role of Buchi on Tinsel, Nigeria’s longest-running television series or as Ecquitus in the web comedy series ‘Mama and Papa Godspower’ is one of the most recent additions to the film industry.

Born in Kaduna state to a family of six – three brothers and her lawyer father, she had always set her eyes high on the prize. Losing her mother at an early age, Nonso had her father who looked over her and her siblings lovingly and is one of her biggest motivators today. Education was important in the Adika household, having a father who worked as a lawyer at the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and she aced through primary and secondary school and headed to Lead City University, Ibadan where she studied International Relations and Politics.

So how does a graduate of International Relations and Politics end up in Nollywood? Passion, or at least, that’s what it is for the 32-year-old actress. Not only did she study Acting for film at the New York Film Academy in New York, Nonso equally enjoys the thrill of telling stories and playing someone else for a while and has since put herself right into it. Having been in Nollywood for a little over five years now and being in productions such as Tinsel, Crazy People, Club, Assistant Madam and Jenifa’s Diary, she has learned a little about the inner workings of the industry and is determined to be a part of the success story.

For the energetic and hardworking Nonso, there are fewer opportunities within the industry and the existing ones are plagued by familiarity before you’re able to read for the role. This has been a problem in Nollywood for a while and she hopes that more people who deserve get to play roles and access better chances. So like many other actresses, Adika-Kalango has had a fair share of auditions and one of the best was Tinsel, which she auditioned for bagged the role of Buchi who is a naive psychopath. This role has taught her a lot, sharpened her acting skills and helped her work with different types of people in a lard organization. When asked what type of roles she’d like to act in, the petit actress had this to say “I love to challenge myself as an actor, and ready to throw myself in the mud for any role I find”. She, however, added that whatever role comes her way has to be able to carry her personality without compromise.

Despite all the hurdles involved, Nonso is still in for it. She enjoys filmmaking and wants to go the whole 360 and not be limited to the acting and the glossy part. Her love for filmmaking has her looking at directing films in a few years, a huge leap from her acting and producing career right now. Apart from acting, she also runs Redleaf Productions, a pre-production company committed to promoting the art of moving images. She is currently working on a film project called Verified, a product of a partnership with multiple award-winning director, Ramsey Nouah, blockbuster producer, Chris Odeh and online sensation, Lasisi Elenu.