Funke Akindele opens up on the sacrifices behind her record-breaking film and reveals Tyler Perry as the mentor who shaped her craft.
Behind every box office record lies a story nobody sees. For Funke Akindele, that story is one of skipped meals, sleepless nights, and a self-taught education that began not in a film school, but in front of a television screen watching another storyteller work.
Her latest film has now crossed ₦2.7 billion, cementing her as Nollywood’s reigning box office queen. But in a candid recent conversation, she pulled back the curtain on what it actually took to get there, and who quietly inspired the vision behind it all.
Funke didn’t shy away from admitting how draining the journey was. She described stretches where she forgot to eat, stopped attending social gatherings, and even skipped styling her hair unless red carpet appearances demanded it. Greeting neighbours, visiting family, unwinding with friends, all of it took a back seat while she poured herself into research, writing, and endless production work.
It’s only now, with the film’s success secured, that she says she’s slowly returning to herself, enjoying skincare routines and simple moments of rest she’d long set aside.
What’s striking is that Akindele never studied filmmaking formally. Instead, she credits her screenwriting instincts to years spent studying the work of American filmmaker Tyler Perry, whom she considers a creative role model and someone she hopes to collaborate with one day.
Like Perry, known for emotionally rich stories anchored by strong Black female leads and beloved comedic characters, Akindele’s own filmography, from her fan-favourite “Jenifer” persona to leading women in projects like Your Excellency, echoes that same blend of heart and humour.
Akindele also opened up about staying relevant across nearly two decades in the industry. Her answer: constant reinvention. She admitted to growing restless in any one creative space for too long, always asking herself what comes next once a milestone is reached.
She also addressed criticism over using dance as a promotional tool, insisting her work goes far beyond viral moments and shouldn’t be reduced to it.
