Bimbo Akintola: Many actors live from hand to mouth

Bimbo Akintola, the Nollywood actress, says many actors are living from hand to mouth despite the glitz and glamour of being in the entertainment industry.

The ’93 Days’ actress said entertainers will not be able to live a robust life if the industry remains unregulated and actors do not get royalties.

“Until actors start getting what is really due to them, such as royalties, the industry cannot be robust. In Nigeria, when you shoot a film, you only get whatever fee is paid; you don’t get royalties from subsequent monies that the movie makes,” she told PUNCH in an interview.

“If we truly want positive and meaningful change, the industry has to be properly regulated. The truth is that people are living from hand to mouth. Lagos is not an inexpensive place to live.

“By the time you deduct your rent, children’s school fees and other expenses, you would realise that the money you are making is nothing. That is why everybody is becoming producers; meanwhile, that shouldn’t be so.

“You cannot just say you are a producer without following the laid down procedures but there are no enabling laws.”

Royalties are fees paid to artistes and actors for each time their works are used at a public performance.