Popular Yoruba movie
actress and producer, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry
has said it was sheer determination and
hard work that got her to the top in the
Nigerian movie industry.

The Edo State- born actress who is set to release
her latest movie, Komfor, following the success of
her blockbuster, Gucci Girls, disclosed this in a
chat with Entertainment Cafe. When Aigbe-
Gentry started acting, she could not speak
Yoruba fluently but she later mastered it and
succeeded in the Yoruba genre of Nollywood.
“I remember a day I was on set. Abbey
Lanre was directing and I started speaking
Yoruba. He asked: ‘Why is this lady
speaking Yoruba like an Igbo girl?’ My
Yoruba was not fluent then. But because of
the passion I had for acting, I had to learn
the language on the job. I am a goal-
oriented person. Whatever it takes to learn
any language, I will go all out to learn it so
that I can give meaning to the character I
am playing,” she reminisced.

Aigbe-Gentry, who loves playing challenging roles,
also said the kind reception she got from the
artistes in the Yoruba movie industry aided her
climb to the top.
“I have been really lucky because when I
came into the Yoruba movie industry, they
all accepted me. The people I met there are
fantastic. They are warm. They don’t want
to know to know where you are from. They
are not tribalistic. As long as you are good
at your job, they give the opportunity,” she
said.
Aigbe-Gentry’s road to the top was not devoid of
setbacks. She remembers the day she cried when
she was paid N2,000 after spending more than
two weeks on set
“I already had a car and my own business. I
had a cosmettics shop.I was alreay doing
well. For me to be paid N2,000 was an
experience I cannot forget. It has really
helped me because it shows that I have paid
my dues. It has also made me a stronger
person,” she said.

Asked why she loves playing challenging roles,
she said such roles stirs her creattve spirit and
brings out the best in her. She said Omotola
Jalade Ekeinde is one of her role models because
she has proved thar one can be married and still
succeed as an actress.
Aigbe-Gentry’s forthcoming movie, Komfor,
will be released soon. It tells the srory of a
lady whose kind gesture latter turned bad .