The actress, who has featured in a number of movies shot in the country, said the only thing she did then was to believe in herself regardless of her plus size.

“Some movie producers refused to give me certain roles to play because they feel I am not sexy and can’t play sexy, and then put a slim person there, but I believe if I had been given that role, I would have performed better than the slim person,” she said.

She was speaking at the Access Bank Pan-African Conference dubbed, “Woman, Be Unstoppable; Break the Bias,” a platform created for women to collectively promote a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination, and embrace one that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

It also sought to inspire women across the African continent to look beyond the biases they face and pursue their dreams.

Sharing her past experiences with participants at the conference, the actress mentioned that some of the local movie producers condemned her size, and told her in the face that she does not fit for a movie role.

“I never gave up, and instead, I had to upgrade and better my craft to make me who I am today,” she added.

According to her, after her successful role in ‘4play’ movie, the producers who condemned her size are now chasing her for roles.

She urged women to accept their looks, upgrade themselves in their craft instead of concentrating on what people think about them.

A graduate of University Ghana’s School of Performing Arts, she is known for her roles in several movies including ‘Reckless’, ‘Broadway’, ‘I Stand Accused’, ‘Princess Tyra’, ‘Power of the Gods’, ‘Last Victory’, ‘My Sister’s Honour’, ‘Sin Of The Soul’, ‘4play’, ‘A Sting In A Tale’, and ‘Adams Apples’.

She has been around for a while, but her role in Venus Films’ ‘4play’ gave her the opportunity she needed to show her talent.

However, he says he can play any role given to him and his size should not be a hindrance.

“I can play any role given to me by any director but I am very choosy when it comes to accepting roles. There are certain roles I refuse for personal reasons but the fact of the matter is that I can play any role any tall person can play.

“We make movies to educate and entertain so I am very cautious about the kind of roles I play. Imagine me accepting certain roles which won’t go down well with children who are watching,” he told Graphic Showbiz recently.

Dabo, who has been in the movie industry for nine years, said the decision to go into acting was one he took on his own.

“I took my own decision to go into the industry. I didn’t allow my size to discourage me, neither did I allow anyone to discourage me. Even my mum discouraged me when I decided to go into movies but I was not perturbed,” he disclosed.

Sharing his thoughts on what it takes to survive in the movie industry, Dabo said, “Always tell yourself that you are unique in whatever field you find yourself in, it’s a learning process but you need to be humble. I had to take very meagre artiste fees at the beginning of my career but I didn’t give up and rather polished my talent.”

Dabo also spoke on the seeming dwindling fortunes of the movie industry, saying people were more fixated on English language movies than those from Kumawood.

“In that case, who will speak for those of us in Kumawood? The government should build a cinema for us in Kumasi like the National Theatre in Accra where producers can show their movies and reap from their toils; that will help the industry.

“The TV stations are not helping at all, they show a lot of foreign content at peak times. If the government should put in place a policy for them to show only Ghanaian movies, it will go a long way to help.

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“Social distancing will not make it possible for us to shoot now because of the nature of our work. We usually act in close proximity to one another, hug, visit, etc. So I guess the industry will have to be on hold for now till the coronavirus pandemic is over,” he said.

Aside from acting, Dabo is also into football and he currently manages an Accra Hearts of Oak player called Daniel Barnieh Afriyie.

“I used to play football myself but my stature didn’t help me. I have plans of opening an academy after the pandemic, so corporate bodies and individuals who would want to sponsor me can come on board. I will very much appreciate their support,” he stated.

Dabo, who said he had also made some good money from TV commercials, called on corporate Ghana to give him more commercials as he was willing to charge reasonable fees.

Delving into relationships, Dabo revealed that he was single at the moment. “I used to date in the past but I am not at the moment because I am into ministry now doing kingdom business. That doesn’t allow me to do a thing like that,” he noted.

He concluded by urging people to be careful even as the lockdown put in place by the government over the coronavirus pandemic had been lifted.

“The lockdown has been lifted but let’s continue to follow the precautionary measures and stay safe. God loves Ghana but I don’t think He loves us more than He loved Job, but look at what he went through. God will certainly take us through these trying times, let’s just trust Him,” he said.

According to her, she charges between GHS 3,000 and GHS 3,500 per role which is dependent on the script and cast.

Describing her salary as moderate, Emelia revealed she accepts such amount due to the slow market of the movie industry.

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“These days the scripts don’t come, producers don’t call and even when they do sometimes the movie never happens. They will tell you it’s money issues,” she said.

Speaking at the press launch of Zion Train Production’s ‘Heroes of Africa (Tetteh Quarshie)’, Emelia said she suspects producers back out of movies because they take risk into consideration .

In an interview with JoyNews’ entertainment show host Becky, the Nollywood actress said, she has lost out on movie roles because of her faith.

According to her, producers and directors say she has “too many restrictions” even when they come up with “beautiful scripts” suited to her personality.

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She described the conflict between faith and her movie career as “challenging.”

Photo: Chioma Akpotha was in Ghana for the International Youth Empowerment Summit

“I feel as if I’m punishing myself. I am being restricted because I have to stay a Christian but this is what I enjoy doing,” she said.

The Nigerian will not give details of movie roles she lost out on except to say “most of those projects are high grossing projects.”

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“…Quite frankly it hurts,” she said on EWITHBECKS show on Joy Prime last Sunday.

But, she maintained that her stance will not change because her faith comes first.

The Africa Movie Academy Awards ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’ runs training sessions with young and aspiring actors dubbed ‘Master Class’.

EWITHBECKS show airs on the Joy Prime channel every Sunday at 5:00 pm with the talented host Becky.

Source: myjoyonline.com