Nigerian Princess, Bridget John Taking Movie Industry By The Storm

She is from the Benin Royal family of the great Benin Kingdom in the south-south region of Nigeria. Bridget John has carved a niche for herself in the movie industry, both in Nigeria (Nollywood) and in the United States (Hollywood). With training in drama at the College of Education Special, Oyo in Nigeria and also a degree in Theater Arts from the University of North Georgia in the USA, Bridget who also attended Nick Conti’s Professional Actors Studio in Atlanta, Georgia, is having a blossoming career in the film industry. Her 30 years of successful business in fashion design has not prevented her from making her impact strongly felt in Nollywood and Hollywood with a series of awards to show for her professionalism.
Lately, she featured in a romantic comedy “Marrying A Campbell”. The Nollywood movie, though not yet released to the public, is already making the wave. “Marrying A Campbell” was nominated for 10 awards at the prestigious Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival 2021 and they went home with 9 wins including Best Actor, Best Movie Producer (Africa), and Best Actress (African Film) which was received by the film’s lead actress and associate producer Bridget John.
“Marrying A Campbell” was screened at Africa International Film Festiva (AFRIFF) and was a finalist at the festival. It also got screened at the 2021 Cannes International Pan African Film Festival, where Bridget won the Best Actress award.
“To God’s glory, I won Best Actress at the prestigious Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival 2021. What an honour. I enjoyed playing the lead role of Rachel Campbell in the full-length feature film, Marrying A Campbell God is awesome. He did it again,” she said.
The mother of two, spoke on the journey so far, her experience in the two movie worlds, Nollywood and Hollywood, and other interesting around her movie career

Her royal lineage in the Benin Kingdom
I am from the Benin Royal family of the great Benin Kingdom. My great great grandfather was the 32nd Oba of Benin; Oba Obanosa. His daughter was my father’s paternal grandmother. I am the second daughter of Late Chief John Osayame Igbinokpogie who was the Enoha of Benin Kingdom.

Experience in Nollywood and Hollywood
Being part of the two largest movie industries in the world opens me up to more opportunities and I have gained a wealth of experience. It’s been both challenging and rewarding. What obtains in Nollywood is very different from Hollywood. Training is key both in production and as an actress. The good thing for me is I had three years of drama training at the College of Education Special, Oyo in Nigeria and also a degree in Theater Arts from the University of North Georgia in the United States. I’ve lived in both countries for so many years and have the cultures embedded in me. This makes it easy for me to portray characters and understand the various lifestyles and expectations in both industries. 

Marrying A Campbell’s reception in the Festival Round
Marrying A Campbell (MAC) is a winner any day. It’s lined up for some of the biggest Film Festivals in the US where it has made a final selection at the various festivals. It was well-received in Nigeria where the screening rooms were full to capacity and overflowing with the audience being thrilled with its hilarious antics. In Toronto, Canada, it was a spectacle where MAC was the big winner at the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival, sweeping nine of the ten nominations in all major categories. It was also very well received at the Cannes Pan African Film Festival where I won the Best Actress Award.

Her role as the film’s protagonist, the matriarch of the Campbell household My role as Rachel Campbell was very intriguing. I studied the role for about two months and digested and imbibed all mannerisms I could attribute to the character, so when I got on set I was Rachel Campbell. It made me realise how parents’ decisions affect the lives of their children and it could be for the better or stair them in a different direction away from what their lives were destined for.

Marrying A Campbell is yet to be released, but it has hit the limelight with a series of international awards
It is no surprise that Marring A Campbell has generated as much buzz and garnered several awards and accolades. It was a well put together production with months of pre-production planning. The Producer Caesar Oruade put together a highly professional team of cast and crew and made sure his vision of producing high quality and the very entertaining film comes to life. We had a director extraordinaire, Ayana Saunders who paid attention to detail, not to mention the ensemble of A-list actors like Hakeem Kae Kazim.

When Marrying A Campbell is due for release
The producers are considering various distribution outlets for Marrying A Campbell and are open to further discussions with well-meaning distributors to ensure that the film is widely distributed globally.

What can be done for Nollywood to measure up with Hollywood and Bollywood
Nollywood has been the fastest-growing film industry in the world. This is a result of the ingenuity of the filmmakers. Their biggest challenge is financing. The originality and reliability of their stories are unmatched. In recent years, they have been able to produce blockbusters with a fraction of the cost of a Hollywood production and still make a great impact and generate substantial revenue. There are a lot of paying and free training videos online that some Nollywood filmmakers and actors have utilized and this has helped their growth as well. It would be great to see more Hollywood studio films and TV shows that tell our stories with African actors. Also, there should be more collaborations between industries.

Challenges as a Nollywood and Hollywood actress
As a full-time professional actress, I’ll travel anywhere in the world but most Nollywood movies are done on a shoestring budget and this could be a challenge for the production company to hire me from the US to shoot a movie in Nigeria. In the US, thousands of actors audition for the same role and a lot of things go into consideration to book the role; Great headshots, ongoing training, skills, workshops, self-tapes, subscriptions, and networking to name a few.
These are expensive especially when the expectation is that you should be a full-time actor. I cannot begin to tell you how much money I have spent on my craft of acting and building my career to where it is today and it never stops as you have to keep training as an actor and coaches are not cheap.

Some of your works in Hollywood and Nollywood
Some of the Hollywood productions I have been in include Jumanji, Being Mary Jane, American Street Tales, Changes, Auntie, and Sindustry. In Nollywood, I have been in Marrying a Campbell, Stolen, The Domino Effect, Mother’s Prayer, We Are Only Humans, Bound for Iraq, and many others.

How COVID-19 has affected her career and how are you able to navigate through this?
The entertainment industry was hit hard by COVID-19. Production studios halted productions and there wasn’t any work for actors. There are really no in-person auditions anymore. It was very expensive using self-tape services. There were times when I had seven auditions in a week and I’d have to pay to get each one self-tapped. I had to invest in my own equipment so, I can self-tape myself. There are fewer in-person workshops. A lot is done virtually now. It would’ve been better if we could continue to do it in person. Regular testing for COVID-19 is stressful as well regardless of your vaccination status. People that aren’t vaccinated can’t really work. I have now adapted to the new normal now.