The ability to make someone short look very tall, someone young look very old, and someone older look very young is one of the beauties of cinema. In a recent interview with Streamdorm, Osas Okonyon described how she transformed to become the convincing-looking teenager in Chinàzaēkpērē Chukwu’s ‘Her Daughter’s Mother’.
Osas Okonyon, who played a teenager named Ejiata in Chinàzaēkpērē Chukwu’s ‘Her Daughter’s Mother’, held its recent screening at the 2026 edition of Film Africa on October 28. She played the eldest daughter of Ejiro, a bright 16-year-old who aspires to become a doctor but is held back by her mother’s overprotectiveness.
“Ejiata is so special to me. It definitely took a lot of soul-searching, a lot of mind work, a lot of confrontation with the realities of everyday women and everyday children, especially young girls in the society. Physically, I knew if I was going to convincingly be a teenager, I knew that some things had to switch physically,” Osas told Streamdorm.
At the time of filming, Osas Okonyon was in her 20s, and she landed the role of a teenage girl who is struggling. “I knew that if I was going to convincingly play Ejiata, then I would need to do just, you know, a bit of work. So I decided I was going to go on a bit of a diet just to lose a bit of weight. I decided to cut my hair. None of this was asked of me, to be honest. It was just one of those things that I felt,” she said.
Physical changes aren’t enough; a way to know a good actor is if you see the character and not the actor, and to achieve that, Osas Okonyon had to become Ejiata: “I had a lot of conversations with my director, who also happens to be my best girl, my really close friend, Naza. We talked very deeply about who Ejiata was … and discussed the story in depth. And so I had to fully try to understand who she was, where she was coming from.”
“I mean, we’ve all been teenagers, and so I definitely brought some of my own personal experiences as a teenager into that, you know. The teenage [years are] when you start to actually understand a bit of how the world works. Some things are just dawning on you. You’re learning a lot of new things, and it can be a lot to take in, especially at that age. You know, that’s where you find a lot of pushback against society, what some people might term “rebellion”. I don’t like to term it that, but, you know. “So just that general stubbornness and… so just all of that anger and the sadness,” Osas Okonyon said.
Describing who Ejiata is, Osas Okonyon revealed: “Ejiata was a very interesting teenager. She wasn’t just…she didn’t really get to be like her mates in that; from very young, she had to witness a lot of the sacrifices that her mother was making, and that definitely took a toll on her and me because I had to get into that mind frame and that state of mind really. But all in all, it was, it was really an honour. It was a privilege to have had the opportunity to tell that story and just to be a vessel through which her story will be told.”
Earlier this year, Osas Okonyon played the titular character in Uyoyou Adia’s ‘Evi.’ We had the opportunity to ask a few questions about the film, including acting and music.
‘Evi’ was released in theatres in March 2026, and you performed a few songs for the movie. How was that experience (the song recording), and what attracted you to a movie where you get to perform?
Honestly, it was the music. The music attracted me. The experience was amazing; I wouldn’t lie to you. I mean, majorly because I’ve wanted to be in a musical, drama, or just a film that lets me explore that part of myself and that part of the talents that I have. So it was absolutely amazing to get to do that and just to get that opportunity. The fact that it was going to be a film about music was the attraction point, honestly, and when I eventually read the script, even better then; it had even more depth to it beyond the music. But definitely the music attracted me.
Still on music in film, will you be interested in a Nollywood musical in the future, and if you are to nominate a director to pull off a potential musical, who will that be?
Absolutely. I mean, I love music; I mean, I’m very open to being Nollywood’s version of Julie Andrews or Judy Garland or even, you know, Cynthia Erivo. So yeah, I’m definitely open to doing more musicals in the future.
I would also say Bolanle Austen-Peters; that’s one woman who I think is an absolute powerhouse. She’s done it on stage countless times, and so she’s bringing it to film and deciding to do a full musical. I definitely hope I’d be part of something like that, you know.
Osas Okonyon in the upcoming Raphael Idu’s Advocate of the Gods
Talking to Streamdorm on the upcoming Raphael Idu movie ‘Advocate of the Gods’, Osas told Streamdorm it “was actually the first major film that I got cast in when I decided to fully get into Nollywood.”
“I’d been doing, you know, bits and, you know, I’d been one leg in, one leg out. I wasn’t sure if I was going to pursue a career as an actor until 2023, and in that year was when I… So it’s, it’s so crazy that it’s coming out in 2026 [laughs], you know?”
Osas told us she is “so grateful to Rathore for that opportunity. I think that it’s really, really, really beautiful. The concept is very fresh, very original, [laughs] you know? I think that people would really be intrigued by the beauty that it is. I really cannot wait to see it.”
Answering the question of what audience should expect from her performance, Osas said, “For my performance in the movie [laughs], I definitely am looking forward to seeing it as well, you know, just to see, if anything, to see where I was and how much I’ve grown. I’m certain it will come out great as well because at the time, what I conveyed, the emotions I conveyed, the choices I made were very true to me and true to the way that I interpreted the character. I just think the audience should expect freshness, beautiful storytelling, and beautiful performances overall.”
“Tope Tedela and Akah Nnani are such amazing people. They made me feel so welcome on that set. I really cannot wait to see it, and I cannot wait for everyone to see it and experience it as well,” Osas Okonyon said.