Nollywood actress and film maker, Funke Akindele has revealed the sacrifices she made for her latest movie, Behind The Scenes which has grossed N2.7 billion.
Speaking with Bella Naija, she said: I put myself very busy and gave my all. She said she gave herself up to work, didn’t do her hair, didn’t go to parties, didn’t visit people’s houses to say hello.
Akindele said she was in it neck deep, put in the time and is now reaping the rewards. The director said it took a lot of sacrifice, sleepless nights, forgetting to eat and giving her all.
. . . “What I do differently to attain this level of success is lots of work. By “a lot of work” I mean, “do your best.” I gave myself up for work; I don’t even do my hair unless I am going on the red carpet or somewhere important. I don’t do parties, I don’t go to say hello at home, I stop everything. I’m buried in work, I give my time for it. Now I feel relaxed, fresh, doing the skincare. It was a lot of sacrifice, sleepless nights, forgetting to eat, giving my all.”
Funke said nobody told her to dance for her movie and she does more than dance. “On dancing to promote her movie, Funke said no one asked her to dance and stated she does more than just dance. The box-office queen said people should stop reducing her work to just dancing, as she also does nails for people.
Speaking at Wema Bank International Women’s Day program with Morayo Afolabi Brown, Funke speaks on the sacrifices she made to build her brand. She revealed she had to give up her social life, didn’t attend parties and locked herself up in her Estate for almost two years. “My colleagues were angry with me, called me a sadist, not knowing that I was building my brand,” she said.
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Akindele had shared some of the steps she took toward making her dream a reality in a post on Instagram. It didn’t happen in a day,” she said. “It took learning, praying and choosing to re-strategise, re-evaluate and re-execute.
In another post, she spoke about the pressures she faced in the industry, revealing that it didn’t break her but matured her. According to her, it taught her patience, discipline and emotional control.
The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) had honoured the box office Queen for her record-breaking achievements.
Funke took to her Instagram page and said that she was honoured and recognized for her hard work and consistency in the entertainment industry and she expressed her gratitude.
Funke had broken records as her 2025 Cinema movie, Behind The Scenes, grossed N2,100,000,000 in one month. She said she was excited and thanked God for being on the move and for her big win.
Late last year, Akindele celebrated 27 years in the movie industry. She acknowledged how God’s favour and hard work has brought her this far, and shared the secret to achieving continuous success.
