Daniel Etim Effiong, the Nigerian actor, says he quit working in the oil & gas industry amid his quest to find fulfillment.
The film star spoke about his career growth in an interview with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, the TV host.
After quitting his oil and gas job, he worked as a content producer for NdaniTV.
In 2017, he directed a five-minute-long short film titled ‘Prey’, featuring Tope Tedela and Odenike Odetola.
“I studied chemical engineering because I was great at it, having done the sciences in secondary school and my teachers asked me to do it,” he said.
“I had members of my family who were in the oil and gas industry that blazed the trail for us. I decided to go into oil and gas and did just that. I was in oil and gas for two-three years. I wasn’t getting satisfaction and fulfillment.
“I was also doing art on the side, doing open mics and spoken word in the evenings. That gave me more fulfillment. I got great feedback and had a little chat with my folks and decided I was going to do it full-time.
“Doing acting wasn’t about money. I tried and failed to make the switch before when I was at the university. I told my folks in my third year I wanted to leave chemical engineering and start over with theatre arts from scratch.
“They thought I was crazy, called family meetings, distracted. That killed the dream. Then it came again two years into oil and gas. I didn’t tell anyone. I really thought about it and made the leap. I’ve been flying since.
“Acting was my first love. I did it at church, at school, and at every opportunity I had. But storytelling, directing, and producing came as a soft landing for me.”
Effiong featured alongside Kenya’s Sarah Hassan and Catherine Kamau Karanja in the 2019 movie ‘Plan B’.
The movie got him a nomination in the ‘Best Actor in a Comedy’ category at the 2020 AMVCA.
He starred in a number of 2020 movies.
He played a lead role in ‘Fish Bone’ produced by Editi Effiong. It also featured Shaffy Bello and Moshood Fattah.
He was featured alongside Ike Onyema and Atteh Daniel in the short film ‘Storm’.
Still, in 2020, he directed a documentary titled ‘Skin’, produced by Beverly Naya.
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