Nigerian Actress Teniola Aladese has raised concerns about how actors are treated in Nollywood.
Naijaonpoint reports that in an interview, she said that many performers still receive far less than they deserve because people rarely discuss how much they are paid.
She explained that the silence around earnings has created a system that often leaves actors accepting whatever figures they are offered.
Aladese recalled a past conversation with a colleague on a movie set that opened her eyes to how much money actually moves within the industry.
She said many actors agree to low fees because they believe the budget is fixed, when in reality some films set aside far more for certain roles than what is eventually offered to the actors who play them.
She explained that this culture of secrecy has made many performers unaware of their true value, leading to a wide gap between what some actors earn and what others take home for the same level of work.
She said: “In my industry, people rarely talk about pay disparity, and I’m grateful to individuals like Timini Egbusin and Kunle Remi, who openly discuss their earnings with colleagues.
“I remember a conversation with Timini on the set of Love in a Pandemic, he might not even recall it, but he was talking about a project he’d been approached for and mentioned the amount offered. At that time, he wasn’t happy with it. He said something like, ‘You’re calling me to spend weeks on set for what I could make in two to three days elsewhere.
“Hearing that made me realise how much money is actually circulating in the industry. The issue is, because we don’t talk openly about pay, many people aren’t aware of the earning potential. They assume, ‘Ah, they offered me 100,000, I’ll just take it,’ without realizing that budgets are often flexible. For instance, a character might only be needed for a couple of days, but the budget might allocate 700,000.”
Aladese, who began her career as a production coordinator before moving fully into acting, has featured in projects such as Jemeji, Love in a Pandemic, Big Love, and the 2025 psychological film Gone, where she played Detective Christie Obi.
Her work has earned her awards, including the AMVCA Trailblazer Award in 2022.
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