THE NEXT AFRICAN HOLLYWOOD STAR

‘The Spirited Actor’s’ extensive search for the next “African Hollywood Star” commenced this week and the mantle was first laid in Ghanaian hands.

Drumroll…

Explosive fireworks…

Who would represent Ghana and showcase African talent on quite a worldwide scale?

‘The Spirited Actor’ is a reality show organized by Davis Media Group partnering with Paradise Entertainment in Ghana in a bid to reach out to African actors and provide the absent platform to showcase and train talent on the worldwide scale of Hollywood. Major pioneers behind this show are Tracey Moore (with an experience of twenty years in the field, trained music artistes into acting such as Eve and Ludacris), Samad Davis (directed movies such as “Three Can Play that Game) and a guest judge, Rockmund Dunbar (of Soul Food and Prison Break fame).

Ten people are selected through extensive auditioning, five from Ghana, and five from Nigeria. These ten are flown to New York to live together for ten weeks, during which they would undergo intense acting training, the kinds of which they would get in any good acting schools. The major acting coach is Tracey Moore and there would be many agents, directors, casting directors, etc. across the Film Industry in the United States who would contribute to the process as trainers or judges, cutting down the ten to an exclusive two. This would mean African actors would be put to the scrutiny of powerful filmmakers who can make or break their careers. The two picked are those who have grown the most during the period and are flown to Hollywood. However, one lucky person is finally picked to act in a movie directed by Samad Davis and starring Morris Chestnut.

The auditions began on the 25^th of August running through till the 27^th of August.  Over six hundred aspiring Hollywood stars choked the national Theatre to fulfill a dream. Successful applicants were given cut out stars to indicate their passage into the next stage of the auditions. The others who could not satisfy the judges’ baffled appetites were given a sweet “Thank you”. The National Theatre saw many of the ecstatic Chosen who yelled “Hollywood, here I come!” Some came out bursting with angry comments in the bitterness of disappointed dreams.

The selection process was based on the applicants’ delivery of monologues that had been released to the public a month before the audition date. Others could choose to perform their own monologues. Tracey Moore stated clearly that she was looking for “talent, commitment and hard work”. A total of twenty-eight stars were given out of the hundreds that auditioned and these special twenty-eight were put to a final test to cut down the number to ten. These people were screened through interviews probing into the dynamicity of their characters and out of this, a final ten were chosen for Ghana.

The final audition to select the lucky five representatives of Ghana was held on the 29^th of July at the National Theatre. This time the judgment was open to the public. Many people, family and friends of the Lucky Ten, media, Ghanaian movie stars, disappointed aspirants, were present to see and support the Lucky Ten who the judges had selected as the ‘best of the best’ of all the Ghanaians that had come to audition.

The Ten were put through various acting tests: Improvisation and monologues. Rockmund Dunbar, Samad Davis and Tracey Moore were present as judges but were only present to give constructive criticism. The night saw a series of impressive acting and fiascoes. The range of the Ten were explored for all to see: the ready-for-work actors who impressed the audience with their humor and naturalism to the actor just groveling for cheers by doing a full split or melodramatically tearing his shirt open and falling to his knees, overcome with emotion.  The final ten are to be voted for by texting for your favorite actor in order to choose the five that would represent our motherland, Ghana.

Now lies the huge responsibility of the public in that despite the fact that the show is organized by private companies, it is the name and reputation of Ghanaians that is being carried out there on a worldwide via Hollywood scale. It is because of this colossal scale that interested Ghanaians should feel very free to criticize and implore if they feel that the people selected are truly not the ‘best of the best’ that could have been derived from Ghana. It is not only the national, but the continental image we are selling and we should care tremendously about that.

On a much more minor and petty scale, this show is yet another competition between Ghana and Nigeria and we, as Ghanaians, would definitely want to take the crown this time being beaten by shows such as Big Brother where Ghana has once again lost out. To do this, it should only and really be the ‘best of the best’. It is difficult to imagine Nigeria sending substandard actors to represent the Nigerian acting industry.  

God bless our homeland Ghana.

Rockmund Dunbar, guest judge