Stella Damasus Exposes Hollywood Stereotypes Faced by African Actors

Veteran Nigerian actress Stella Damasus has shared her experience with Hollywood’s narrow portrayal of Africans, stating that stereotypes and unrealistic expectations often make it difficult for Nigerian actors to secure roles in the global film industry.

Speaking in an interview with Arrow House, Damasus expressed frustration at how Hollywood tends to favour a specific idea of what an African should look and sound like. She revealed that filmmakers often demand East African accents and very dark skin tones, citing Lupita Nyong’o as the model many are expected to resemble.

“Hollywood filmmakers insist that there is a particular accent that Africans must have to fit into their industry,” she said. “I’m like, we [Nigerians] don’t sound like that—maybe one or two small countries in East Africa do, but that’s not the voice of the whole continent.”

Damasus emphasized the diversity of Africa, noting that the continent has numerous countries, cultures, dialects, and ways of speaking, yet Hollywood still expects actors to fit a singular, often inaccurate mold.

She also noted that many Nigerian actors who have made it in Hollywood were raised abroad, which she believes may help them blend into industry expectations more easily. “Most of them have a different type of accent,” she explained, adding that filmmakers had once told her she wasn’t “dark enough” to fit their vision of a typical African.

“They said to me, ‘We want an African to be very dark. That’s the kind of African we’re used to. You are not dark enough, not white enough to be half-caste, and your accent isn’t American, British, or African,’” she revealed.

Questioning the logic behind such comments, Damasus asked, “How do you think Africans sound? Africa is full of a million and one countries, and inside those countries, we have different dialects and accents.”

Her remarks shed light on the challenges African actors face in international film markets, where stereotypes continue to limit the kind of stories told and the range of actors selected to tell them.

As Nollywood continues to gain global recognition, voices like Damasus’ are calling for greater authenticity and respect for Africa’s cultural and linguistic diversity in global cinema.