Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s character in the upcoming film, Rampage. Rampage which is set to hit cinemas on April 13 is a must watch for movie lovers.
In the science fiction monster movie, The Rock – Hollywood’s biggest and most bankable movie star at the moment – will be playing a character named Davis Okoye, a primatologist who is Nigerian by adoption.
Directed by Brad Peyton — the man behind 2015’s San Andreas — Rampage follows Davis Okoye, who must team up with George, a gorilla-turned-raging-creature following a rogue experiment, in order to stop an invasion of giant monsters.
“Since my character was adopted by a Nigerian family, I wanted his last name to pay homage to one of my all time [favourite] NFL football players — The “Nigerian Nightmare”, Christian Okoye.”
With not just one but two of our favourite actors playing Nigerians who end up saving the world — a serious anomaly in Hollywood — it looks like we’ll have to update our list of the best Nigerian characters in Hollywood film and TV.
It’s worth noting, however, that while it’s great that Hollywood is suddenly interested in letting Nigerians characters lead the show, it would be even better if the representation wasn’t just on the surface — a Nigerian name and an ankara jacket isn’t enough.
